Planned Parenthood of Southeast Ohio Inc. hosted its 33rd annual meeting last night at the Dairy Barn, 8000 Dairy Lane.
The organization, dedicated to preserving every citizen's reproductive rights and to securing health care for all people through education and accessible service, hosted keynote speaker Christine Link.
Link, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Ohio chapter, has worked for many years on public affairs and development at Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland, with a focus on women's rights and reproductive freedom.
Before Link's speech, Sheila Buckley, Planned Parenthood of Southeast Ohio's chief executive officer, said the organization lost $1.7 million in state and federal funds in the past year. The funds were redirected to organizations that do not distribute birth control, Buckley said.
Thousands of women
not Planned Parenthood are the victims Buckley said.
Link praised Planned Parenthood's southeast chapter for staying alive after the budget cuts.
Every year that Planned Parenthood is still around is cause for celebration
Link said. This organization
in the worst of times
is thriving.
For example, she cited the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. last April. Planned Parenthood's efforts helped to draw 1.2 million people to the event.
Cara Finnegan and Rose Donohoo, students at Ohio University, attended the March for Women's Lives and now are involved in creating Vox, the college-level support group of Planned Parenthood.
We (will) work towards protecting reproductive rights
supporting pro-choice politicians and educating people about smart and safe health practices
Finnegan said.
Link's speech focused on citizens' civil duty to get out and vote. Young women simply do not vote, she said. The United States could have polls open for an entire weekend and offer instant registration. Many countries keep their polls open for 72 hours, Link said.
She criticized some incompetent Ohio poll workers from four years ago.
In the 2000 election
up to 15 percent of African American votes were thrown out in parts of Ohio. Incompetence tends to rage in board of elections
especially in urban areas
Link said. Incompetence is worse than corruption.
Also, many Ohio counties threw out ballots for under voting -choosing to not vote for a particular office -even though it is a legitimate practice, she said.
Past errors should not deter people from voting -it is a civic duty, Link said, and voting at any level has a great importance because those people often go on to run for higher-level offices.
