CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR:
to an international audience, and I
think that people around the world
would be very, very bemused and alarmed to know
how much of policy in the United States
revolves around abortion.
Can you state for the record, Planned Parenthood
does or doesn't provide abortions
based on money it gets from the federal government?
CECILE RICHARDS: Well as you said,
Christiane, the federal government in the US
does not provide funding for abortion services,
hasn't for years.
We think that's wrong but that's the law.
And so what we're talking about now, in fact, what
Paul Ryan, Speaker Ryan, said the other day is now they're
going to end access to Planned Parenthood preventive care.
That means birth control services, cancer screenings,
well woman visits.
We provide health care to 2 and 1/2
million people every single year,
and that health care is now at risk.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Cecile, this is so political,
and it's not really about thinking about people's health.
Give me an idea-- you've just said the issues that will be
at risk-- how many people-- give me
the stats of what you are able to achieve
with Planned Parenthood.
CECILE RICHARDS: Well, it's extraordinary.
I mean, we've been around 100 years.
We're the primary women's health care provider in the United
States of America.
And frankly, under Obamacare, one
of the most popular benefits we fought for
was birth control coverage for women.
Now, 55 million women get it at no co-pay.
That is at risk.
But as a result of the work we've done, we are at a 30 year
low for unintended pregnancy in America.
So the crazy thing is, Christiane,
about this new effort to end that access to family planning
at Planned Parenthood, it is the very thing
that is reducing unintended pregnancy and the need
for abortion in the United States.
It's really a problem when politicians
put their politics ahead of women's health care in America.
And I can tell you, this is not what voters voted for.
This is not even what Trump voters voted for.
They are shocked to find out that this administration
would consider ending access to Planned Parenthood.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: You say that--
and I was actually going to ask you, because you know,
52% of white American women did vote for Donald Trump,
versus 43% for Hillary Clinton.
And you know, politics, as you say, is being played with this.
What do you think the result will be?
What you think the effect will be on women around the country?
In other words, in terms of will they fight back?
What can they do?
Is this really going to go through, do you think?
CECILE RICHARDS: Well, absolutely
women are fighting back.
Not only women, but men as well.
And as you know, there's a big march on Washington coinciding
with the inauguration.
What we've seen at Planned Parenthood
has been extraordinary.
The largest outpouring of support,
particularly among young women and men.
We've had a 900% increase in women trying
to get into Planned Parenthood to get an IUD,
because they are desperately concerned that they might lose
their access to health care, and they
know that Planned Parenthood is the place that can provide it.
So women in this country are absolutely
not going without a fight, and the majority is with us.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Cecile, your mother was the world
famous governor of Texas.
And you apparently, according to your bio,
became an activist at the early age of 12 years old.
Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader in Congress,
has once said that you could have
been president if you had run.
Are you going to be at this march?
How important is this march?
CECILE RICHARDS: I am going to be at the march.
I'm proud to be there.
I think that hundreds of thousands of folks
will be and all around the country.
But I think, Christiane, what we're talking about
is more than a march.
I think what's important is that women and men who
are concerned about the future of women's rights
and women's health in the US, that they make their voices
heard in whatever way, whether they march
or whether they call their member of Congress,
call their senators.
These are votes that are going to be taken very, very soon,
and the access to not only to Planned Parenthood services
but to women's health care is very much at risk.
It's incredibly important that the grassroots of America that
did not vote for this rise up and make sure that people
in Washington hear them.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And do you think that voice will be heard?
I mean, let's face it, this kind of assault on Planned
Parenthood and the services provided
has been going on for years, all the way
back to the Reagan administration.
And it even effects funding to other countries.
The whole Mexico City rule and all the rest of it.
How much of an international impact
does this politicking with health care have?
CECILE RICHARDS: Well, of course we're
concerned that any rights that women lose in the US
will have a cascading effect around the globe.
And it's important, Christiane.
Abortion has been legal in the United States
for more than 40 years.
It is accepted law, it is accepted right.
And so it would be, obviously, enormous--
it would be devastating to the women of America
to overturn Roe versus Wade or for women to lose access
to basic family planning.
I don't think that's where we're going to go,
but it's going to take people in this country
speaking up and speaking out.
And as you said earlier, this is not a partisan issue.
The women who come to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer
screenings or for family planning services,
they're of all political parties,
they're of every walk of life.
And it's important that the one in five women in America who've
been to Planned Parenthood make sure they speak
up right now in Washington.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Cecile Richards,
president of Planned Parenthood, thanks for joining us.
And you have a real fight on your hands.
Thanks for--
CECILE RICHARDS: Good to see you.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: --being here.