Planned Parenthood Action Fund Launching “Women Are Watching” Bus Tour

Syracuse, NY (WIBX) - Planned Parenthood is going on a multi-state road trip. It's to launch the group's "Women Are Watching" bus tour. The women's advocacy group will make its first stop at Hanover Square in Syracuse at 11:30 a.m., Sunday 8/19. Jordan Fitzgerald, National Director of Field and Electoral Operations of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, says the aim is to educate voters about what's at stake this election year.

She said, "I can use Mitt Romney's own words...he wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade, he said he would be delighted to do that. He pledges to get rid of Planned Parenthood, which would deny women access to birth control and cancer screening and would end the nation's family planning program, which provides preventive care to 5-million women, and cut off access to birth control for the women who just need it the most. He also supports extreme positions like the Personhood efforts, which have been rejected in Mississippi, Colorado and Oklahoma, that could even ban common forms of birth control and IVF, (In Vitro Fertilization) so again, I think that the contrast between President Obama and Mitt Romney could not be starker, and that's why we're seeing a clear gender gap in this election."

Fitzgerald says Romney is "out of touch" when it comes to women's reproductive rights and health and says it's important to educate voters as the November election nears. "And when women know about Mitt Romney's position on access to birth control and just basic preventive care that Planned Parenthood provides every single day, the choice is clear that Mitt Romney's just wrong for our health," she said.

Planned Parenthood is the nation's leading women's health advocate and health provider. "We see 1 in 5 women that come through our doors every day, we see first-hand what it means for them to have access to basic preventive care, like birth control, breast exams, STI treatment and screenings, and we provide life saving screenings to these women and families," Fitzgerald said.

She adds that the multi-state bus tour is mainly to educate people about women's reproductive rights and the healthcare issues that have taken center stage this election season. "Most Americans must recognize planned parenthood and family planning are common-sense, and we just want to make sure that people know that we are here for them no matter what." she said. The "Women Are Watching" bus tour kicks-off tomorrow morning in Manchester, New Hampshire, with plans to visit 11 states across the country, making 20 stops in different cities along the way.