Gloria Feldt
The debate over reproductive rights has raged in America almost since the nation’s founding. Things got particularly ugly in the early 1900’s when Margaret Sanger came on the scene. She was arrested several times for trying to educate women about birth control. But she didn’t allow her stints in jail to stop her; Sanger founded Planned Parenthood of America. The controversial organization that’s devoted to educating women about reproductive health and choices.
The Alabama chapter of Planned Parenthood began in Birmingham in 1930. It now provides services to women in other parts of the state as well as Mississippi. This is its 75th year in operation and a big name came to town to help celebrate the anniversary.
Gloria Feldt spent almost nine years as president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. During her tenure she helped increase the organization’s revenue and led the fight to make sure insurance companies covered the cost of contraception.
But her time there wasn’t without controversy — most recently Feldt came under fire for backing John Kerry in the November election, the first time Planned Parenthood backed a political candidate in its history. She stepped down from her position in January of this year. But she says that hasn’t stopped her from speaking out on reproductive rights. If anything, she says, it’s actually made her more vocal.
Feldt is also the author of the book The War on Choice: The Right-Wing Attack on Women’s Rights and How to Fight Back.
An appeals court backs Trump’s control of the California National Guard for now
The ruling maintains a block on a lower court's order that found President Trump was using the Guard in LA illegally in his immigration crackdown.
Federal judge says Trump administration can’t block state funding over immigration
The ruling comes ahead of a grant application deadline on June 20, which would have required states to agree to enforce the Trump administration's immigration agenda or lose transportation funding.
A former plantation becomes a space for healing, art and reparative history
Through a powerful blend of creative interpretation and ancestral memory, an Alabma town reckons with its past and begins to write a new chapter of shared truth.
Deadly listeria outbreak leads to recall of ready-to-eat fettuccine Alfredo meals
A nationwide listeria outbreak has been linked to 17 illnesses, and three deaths, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection.
As courts review military in L.A., immigration enforcement accelerates
Immigration enforcement speeds up in L.A. regardless of military presence
On Juneteenth, she celebrates the role quilts may have played in Underground Railroad
Edith Edmunds, who is 99 years old, the art of quilt making is inextricably linked to the Black struggle for freedom. That's why she plans to be sewing Thursday on Juneteenth.
