Friend -- Did you see this email we sent last week? Planned Parenthood has been defunded, and we're stepping up. Will you donate $5? We'll use a portion of your donation to help fill the funding shortfall at Planned Parenthood and use the rest to hold Republicans accountable for standing with Trump.

Dear Friend,

A federal court in San Francisco just ruled that Donald Trump's family planning gag rule can go into effect -- immediately defunding Planned Parenthood.(1)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had previously reinstated a nationwide injunction on the gag rule. But after yesterday's ruling, clinics that provide contraception, STI tests, cancer screenings, and other basic reproductive health services to more than 4 million low-income patients a year are at risk of losing vital funds.(2)

We're demanding that Congress act NOW to override Trump's gag rule -- and calling out Republican members of Congress who stand with Trump against Planned Parenthood.

Will you donate $5 to help stop Trump's gag rule? We’ll use a portion of your donation to help fill the funding shortfall at Planned Parenthood and use the rest to hold Republicans accountable for standing with Trump.

Under Trump's gag rule, providers are not allowed to offer abortion care -- even with their own funding -- or even refer patients to other clinics where they can obtain abortions.(3)

Basically, Trump is requiring doctors to lie to their patients by denying them complete information about their reproductive health options. That's why the American Medical Association has come out against the gag rule.(4) For organizations like Planned Parenthood that refuse to agree to those restrictions, it means losing funding altogether.

But the courts are stacked with Trump-appointed judges all the way up the line to Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court, which is why we can't depend on the courts to stop the gag rule.

Congress can overrule the gag rule, but they need to feel pressure to ACT NOW. Courage Campaign is pushing every California Republican to stand with Planned Parenthood and stop Trump’s family planning gag rule.

Will you donate $5 to help stop Trump's gag rule? We'll split your donation between Courage Campaign's efforts to hold Republicans accountable and send the rest directly to Planned Parenthood to help fill the funding shortfall.

Yours in the fight for our reproductive rights,

Caitlin, along with Analeeza, Annie, Brenna, Diego, Eddie, Gabby, Lindsay, Mai, Mary, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)

Footnotes:
1. https://theslot.jezebel.com/trumps-domestic-gag-rule-can-go-into-effect-1836284479
2. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/03/trump-abortion-gag-rule-1553467
3. https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article231798673.html
4. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/judge-says-ama-right-title-x-gag-rule-violates-medical

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