With threats to family planning and community health centers in Governor Scott Walker’s proposed state budget, supporters of Planned Parenthood rallied at the Capitol on Friday. Walker is proposing to eliminate the Title V Maternal and Child Health Program which uses state and federal money to provide family planning services. “Our services have no place in balancing a state budget,” said Meg Robertson, a nurse practitioner with Planned Parenthood. “This absolutely vicious attack on reproductive health rights of both women and men is deplorable.”
Wren Keturi is a UW Madison student. She said she and many others rely on Planned Parenthood’s services. “All of our friends, our peers, our family, and even Republican sons and daughters need Planned Parenthood,” said Keturi. Planned Parenthood’s “Big Pink Bus” made a stop on the Capitol Square. The bus is on a national tour, as family planning services face budget threats in state budgets from House Republicans in Washington.
State Representative Kelda Helen Roys referenced Fitzwalkerstan – an alternate universe Wisconsin. “Fitzwalkerstan is a place where GOP lawmakers, led by guys like the Fitzgerald brothers, want to outlaw birth control. They think contraception should be illegal,” said Roys. “They believe that we should be going back to the days when insurance companies could cover Viagra, but not cover contraception.”