Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

POLITICS ... Cecile Richards Said A Word Many Avoid On The DNC Stage

President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund Cecile Richards waves after speaking during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Tuesday, July 26, 2016. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA — During her speech to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards repeatedly said a word that even many Democrats avoid saying publicly: abortion.

Richards said the word three times. First, she said it when discussing Hillary Clinton’s commitment to the issue, then again when she talked about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that stuck down Texas laws designed to close abortion providers, and finally when she mentioned Donald Trump’s claim that he wants to punish women for having an abortion.

“[Clinton] will always stand up for the rights of women and girls to access a full range of reproductive health care, including abortion, no matter her economic status,” Richards said.

Democrats and advocates who champion women’s reproductive freedom often shy away from saying the word “abortion,” choosing instead to talk around the term and to use euphemisms like “a woman’s right to choose.” But Mary Alice Carter, Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s vice president of communication, told ThinkProgress that it’s important for advocates to not shy away from the word.

“It’s part of our commitment,” she said. “When we talk about reproductive health, we talk about the full range of reproductive health, and that includes access to abortion. So we’re very deliberate in saying we stand up for a woman’s right to access an abortion.”

With that in mind, Richards intentionally repeated the word “abortion” in her convention remarks, Carter said.

We’re very deliberate in saying we stand up for a woman’s right to access an abortion.

“There is so much stigma around abortion and so many people that sit in shame and don’t talk about their abortion, and so it’s very important to have the head of Planned Parenthood say ‘abortion,’ it’s very important for any woman who’s had an abortion to say ‘abortion,’ and it’s important for us to start sharing those stories and start bringing it out of the shadows and recognizing that it’s a normal experience,” she said.

Carter spoke from inside Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s DNC party, where Richards also spoke to hundreds of the organization’s supporters about how Clinton is also willing to say “abortion” without hesitation.

“It’s exciting to have a candidate who’s willing to talk about these issues straight out, up front, and I cannot wait until this woman is in the White House,” Richards said.

NARAL, Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice organizations raised flags earlier this year when abortion was left out of numerous Democratic debates. Fox News was the first to bring up the topic during a candidate town hall, after seven debates avoided the topic. After nine official debates left out abortion, Richards told ThinkProgress she could not believe that Democrats were shying away from it when Republicans seem to be talking about the topic “every chance they get.”

Clinton supporters also told ThinkProgress that they appreciate Clinton’s willingness to bring up abortion access. Women in line at the event wore pink pins and grabbed Planned Parenthood-branded Trump condoms, with packages warning women: “You will have to pay hundreds of dollars a year just to access birth control.”

Outside the event, anti-choice protesters held posters with graphic photos of fetuses, declaring that “Planned Parenthood sells baby parts.” Because of strict security inside the event, attendees were forced to wait in line outside, next to the protesters on the sidewalk — until a group of men decided to form a human wall between them and the women in line.

IMAGE Men form a human wall between Planned Parenthood supporters and anti-choice protesters.Men form a human wall between Planned Parenthood supporters and anti-choice protesters.CREDIT: KIRA LERNER