Power

Moving Forward: A Joint Statement From Cecile Richards and Monica Simpson

Monica Simpson & Cecile Richards

"The people we serve need us to change our approach in order to secure reproductive health, rights, and most importantly justice," say Simpson and Richards. "We jointly commit to being in better service to those goals and standing in community together."

The people we serve need us to change our approach in order to secure reproductive health, rights, and most importantly justice. We jointly commit to being in better service to those goals and standing in community together. Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program via YouTube / David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons

Editor’s note: The following statement was submitted to Rewire by Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, and Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in response to the ongoing conversations about Planned Parenthood’s recognition of the work of reproductive justice leaders and organizations.

This summer, we found ourselves in a much needed, public conversation about the limitations of the pro-choice label, the important work of reproductive justice organizations, and the ways Planned Parenthood has fallen short in recognizing the contributions and framework of the reproductive justice movement. All of this led us to step back and think about how we could better work together.
 
A few weeks ago, we joined leaders from several reproductive justice organizations in Washington, D.C., and had a positive meeting about our desire to work more closely together to improve the lives of the communities we serve and advocate for daily.​ It was an honest conversation about some of the challenges in our working relationship, but more importantly, we agreed to an ongoing conversation and next steps to move our collective work forward.
 
We left our meeting hopeful and committed to building a stronger partnership, working together as we explore how an intentional and mutually beneficial relationship translates into action. The people we serve need us to change our approach in order to secure reproductive health, rights, and most importantly justice. We jointly commit to being in better service to those goals and standing in community together.
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Monica Raye Simpson is the executive director of SisterSong, the National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Cecile Richards is the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.