This week, Dr. Leana Wen will become Planned Parenthood’s new president during an especially contentious time of debate over reproductive healthcare. In recent weeks, there have been several attempts to limit women’s access to reproductive healthcare, including a law granting ‘fetal personhood’ that passed in Alabama and the Trump administration finalizing rules giving employers the ability to opt out of providing birth control coverage to employees. Planned Parenthood is our nation’s largest women’s reproductive healthcare organization, and over the course of Trump’s presidency, the morality and work of Planned Parenthood has been largely scrutinized. Although abortion only constitutes 3 percent of its services, social conservatives have targeted the organization and have repeatedly pushed for its deregulation. Despite attacks on the organization, Dr. Wen has pledged to fight for women’s reproductive care and plans to expand their services, “There is huge unmet need across our country, and it is our moral imperative to provide care for all those who need us. I plan to expand our services, and expand our reach.”
