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Planned Parenthood Organizes National #PinkOut Day Protest

By Coburn Palmer
Published on: 08:16 PST, Sep 26, 2015

Planned Parenthood organizers are tired of Republican efforts to cut their federal funding and are planning to turn the country pink with a national day of protest Tuesday, September 29 dubbed #PinkOut Day.

The #PinkOut Day protest will be live in real time with rallies of pink-clad demonstrators across the nation and digitally, with supporters pinking out their Facebook profiles and standing with Planned Parenthood on social media.

Planned Parenthood enthusiasts are also encouraged to share a #PinkOut selfie and start a crowdfunded PP Thunderclap, according to their website.

“It will tell anti-abortion extremists and politicians that we are everywhere and we will not let them use fraud and deception to shut down the health centers so many women rely on for care. It will be women and men nationwide standing together to say: We’re not backing down, not today, not ever.”

With more than 20 rallies planned in major cities across the country, supporters are hoping the #PinkOut Day protest will force conservative Republicans in Congress to halt their efforts to destabilize the organization.

Congressional Republicans are threatening to shut down the government over Planned Parenthood funding, and the showdown has already claimed the career of Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner.

The 25-year career Congressman stepped aside as part of a last-ditch effort to avoid a catastrophic government shutdown engineered by conservative Republicans intent on pushing through their agenda, according to Think Progress.

“While John Boehner was never a champion of women’s health in this country, even he recognized that defunding Planned Parenthood wasn’t what the American people wanted.”

The controversy began this summer, when an anti-abortion group released a series of highly edited videos claiming to show Planned Parenthood doctors discussing the sale of aborted fetus body parts. Across the country, pro-life supporters erupted with rage and demanded an end to the organization.

Planned Parenthood organizers and supporters quickly came to the organization’s defense pointing out federal funding of abortions has been illegal for decades, but that didn’t stop the controversy.

Now, the organization that serves the reproductive health needs of men and women across the country is turning the country pink in an effort to continue their mission of providing for women’s health care.

With 61 affiliates and 700 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood cares for 2.7 million patients annually, and one in five women will visit the organization sometime during their life.

They provide health services, including gynecological exams, breast, and cervical cancer screenings, contraceptive services, abortion care, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and HIV testing, according to their website.

“It’s time to show the world — and our opponents — just how big, loud, strong, and… pink we are. That’s right: PINK. Now, it’s OUR turn.”

[Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]

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