Biden Campaign Press Release - ICYMI: Women for Biden Host Discussion on What's At Stake for Women's Health Care

Last night, Women for Biden hosted a conversation with prominent women health care advocates and community leaders on what's at stake for women's health care this election. The discussion put a spotlight on the systemic health care inequities faced by women, especially women of color and rural women, which have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. The event was held on International Day of Rural Women and was followed by a virtual phone bank.

Cecile Richards, founder of Supermajority and former President of Planned Parenthood, moderated the discussion and spoke about how women's health is on the line this election. Elena Hung, co-founder of Little Lobbyists, gave opening remarks and stressed the importance of protecting the Affordable Care Act and its positive impact on the lives of children with complex medical needs and disabilities. Sarah Hill Klabunde, a nurse and mental health advocate in rural Minnesota, and Tammy Boyd, an advocate for Black women's health, joined the discussion and spoke about the health care challenges facing women in their communities and how a Biden-Harris Administration would build on the progress made thanks to the Affordable Care Act and help alleviate those challenges.

Watch the full conversation HERE.

"I co-founded my organization, Little Lobbyists, a family-led group advocating for children with complex medical needs and disabilities, in response to the relentless Republican attacks on our health care, to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and to cut Medicaid and Medicare," said Elena Hung. "...We deserve better leaders. Little Lobbyists has proudly endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris because our families trust them to fight for our kids, to build a more inclusive and accessible future for our disabled children, and to lead with the belief that health care is a human right."

"We all know that America is in a crisis: a public health care crisis, an economic crisis, a climate crisis, a moral crisis, all at once," said Cecile Richards. "...As we know, women, and women of color in particular, are bearing the brunt of this pandemic. We need leaders who will recognize the reality of what we're facing and will respond…[Donald Trump] has no plan for safety in our workplaces, to get our schools functioning again, and to make sure that we're taking care of each other."

"In every way, Joe Biden is the opposite of Donald Trump," Richards went on to say about the importance of a Biden-Harris victory. "[Joe Biden] and Kamala Harris have a plan to end this pandemic and to do it from day one. And until there is a safe and effective vaccine, they will make sure everyone, everywhere, no matter their income, no matter their insurance status, is taken care of."

"Right now, I feel like 2020 has made things even more difficult for our rural communities and for women especially," said Sarah Hill Klabunde on the impact of COVID-19 and this Administration's failures to contain the virus. "...To not have a plan from the current Administration to put something in place for women -- it's life and death and it can be devastating. It has been both a struggle and a lot of absent care in our rural communities."

"I think my biggest hope for this election is Vice President Biden's plan for health care and rural America," Hill Klabunde continued. "...I've read it a few times and it's encouraging to know that we will have a leader in the White House that cares about everybody in America, but sees the importance of women in America -- and rural America -- where we often get overlooked and passed over...What I'm looking forward to the most is that there's actually a plan in place so that things can get started and things can get moving in a more positive direction."

"COVID-19 has really just highlighted many of the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities in the health care system," said Tammy Boyd on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black women and the challenges facing the community in 2020. "...COVID-19 mortality rates among Black Americans are six times higher than white Americans, [but] health disparities for Black women persist across the spectrum. As we've heard, Black women in the United States are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes." Boyd also highlighted the overrepresentation of Black women in frontline and essential jobs, which put their health in jeopardy, and discussed how the "constant vivid images of police brutality" and the ongoing fight for social justice is "causing stress and anxiety in both Black women and children. So Black women are really dealing with a double pandemic."

When asked about her biggest hope for this election and what she would want to see from a new administration, Boyd said, "Being able to really address health disparities...Having someone who is a proponent of making sure we keep the Affordable Care Act intact… [I'm] really excited to have the Biden-Harris Administration that we know will protect - for Black women, especially - the ACA, where a lot of our preventative services come in like pap smears, annuals, mammograms, etc."