I think women have the opportunity to change the landscape and change the direction of America.
— Cecile Richards
Even though my mom was talented and had a college degree, she lived in the era when the conventional wisdom in Dallas was that my dad worked, she was supposed to stay home and take care of the kids, and that was that. There really weren't other opportunities for her, and most of them were volunteer opportunities.
My mother was obsessed with clothes, so - as people do - I went in the other direction.
The women who walk into Planned Parenthood clinics come from every background, every political persuasion.
All my life, I've been lucky to work in social justice, starting as a labor organizer working with low-wage working women.
Try to know where the best ice cream is in any given airport terminal.
I worked with women who were nurses and workers, women who worked in hotels, janitors who basically cleaned buildings, worked two jobs just to support their family. And, it really taught me a lot about how much opportunity I had to do anything I wanted to with my life.
The good news is when we are in full-on sisterhood, women are the most powerful, political force in America.
Thanks to President Obama, being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition!
And because of President Obama, more women than ever are serving in the Cabinet and on the Supreme Court.
As I say, I can't wait until Congress - half of Congress can get pregnant so we can quit fighting about birth control and Planned Parenthood.
I would be excited if we could reimagine workplaces that start from a premise that women are going to be a central part: Women are going to bear children, people are going to raise those children, and it's not going to be a nuisance - it's actually going to be understood as part of the deal.
I'm not a fashion person. I basically like to wear navy blue, and I don't need a lot of extras.
For women, access to reproductive health care isn't a political issue.
The need for health care doesn't come with a party label.
Never turn down a new opportunity.
I've led a very privileged life. You know, I've gotten to choose the work I do, and I hope every job I've had has been a little bit about trying to push the ball forward, particularly for folks who may not have the same opportunities that I've had.
It is not up to women of color to save this country from itself. That's on all of us. That's on all of us.
President Obama understands women. He trusts women. And on every issue that matters to us, he stands with women.
Nearly 100 years ago, when Planned Parenthood was founded, birth control was illegal.
I'm grateful to women who have the privilege and ability to tell their stories and applaud them for doing that. And also recognize that there are many, many women in this country who will never have that opportunity.
If you look at the workforce and the way our laws work around so many issues, it's as if women are supposed to retrofit themselves into a workplace that was never created for them.
Dealing with men in Congress - for the most part, it's pretty dispiriting in terms of the lack of regard they have for women. And they're not even... it's like they don't know what they don't know, and they don't even care what they don't know.
No parent wants their child to get an infection or get pregnant before they're ready.
One of the things I'm proud of at Planned Parenthood is the number of health centers providing trans care, which was largely driven by young activists.
My dad was a civil rights lawyer, and he was actually defending conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War.
You can go a lot of places or make a lot of money, but there's nothing quite like having a job where people actually say to you, 'Thanks for making my life better.'
All across the country, the Women's March inspired doctors and teachers and mothers to become activists and organizers and, yes, candidates for office.
So why are we having to fight in 2012 against politicians who want to end access to birth control? It's like we woke up in a bad episode of 'Mad Men.'
