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    The 2020 election may be several months away, but many organizations have already thrown their weight behind new and incumbent candidates for the upcoming electoral cycle, including the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which on Tuesday endorsed Congress Members representing parts of Queens who are seeking re-election.

    U.S. Reps. Greg Meeks (D-Jamaica), Grace Meng (D-Flushing), Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, South Ozone Park), Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Astoria) and Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan, Maspeth) were among the 101 candidates that the Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed on Dec. 3.

    Planned Parenthood Action Fund is the independent, nonpartisan and not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, according to the organization. The Action Fund engages in grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy and voter education.

    Planned Parenthood is a non-profit that provides reproductive health care globally.

    “So much is at stake in this election. Emboldened by the Trump administration’s divisive rhetoric, Republican leadership in Congress has been hell-bent on stripping away our rights and pushing access to health care out of reach for millions of Americans – leaving many with nowhere to turn for care,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, the acting president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

    Velázquez, a member of the Women’s Issues Caucus, wants to push reproductive health care forward.

    “I stand 100% with Planned Parenthood and proudly accept the endorsement of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund as we stand against Trump and the GOP’s war on women’s health,” said Velázquez. “Our Misogynist-in-Chief is trying to set the clock back on the rights of women and gender-nonconforming people, and I have a message for him:  Never again will we be treated as second class citizens, and if you want to fight, we are ready to fight back and we will win.”

    As states like Kentucky and Virginia strip reproductive rights, the Action Fund is doing what it can to restore and expand upon those rights, according to the organization.

    “We’re proud to stand with our incumbent champions and fierce challengers. Together we can and will expand our pro-reproductive rights majority in the House and flip the Senate,” said Johnson.

    Meng is also more dedicated than ever in her fight to stand up for reproductive rights.

    “I’m proud to receive Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s endorsement. At a time when reproductive health is under attack across this country, organizations like Planned Parenthood are essential in our fight to providing healthcare to all those who need it,” said Meng. “I thank them for the support and care they give to so many Americans. I am as committed as ever to protecting the right to choose and ensuring accessible, affordable healthcare for all. I look forward to continuing to work with them.”
    Meeks, the Queens County Democratic Chairman, was also proud to receive an endorsement from the organization.
    “I’m extremely honored to have received Planned Parenthood’s endorsement,” said Meeks. “From radical judicial appointments changing the ideological makeup of our courts to the Trump gag rule, women’s healthcare and their right to choose are under threat. I look forward to my continued partnership with Planned Parenthood to defend against these renewed attacks, and ensure that women across the nation have access to health services.”
    This article was updated to include U.S. Rep. Meeks’ comments on the endorsement. 

    Naeisha Rose
    Naeisha Rose

    Naeisha Rose is a multimedia journalist and graduate of the Arts & Culture and Broadcast programs at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. She has worked as a General Assignment Reporter/Photojournalist for TimesLedger Newspapers, a Book Reviewer for Publishers Weekly and a Freelance Writer for LatinTrends Magazine.

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