About 50 protesters raised their signs and voices, marching in support of Planned Parenthood from the Santa Clarita Skate Park to Rep. Steve Knight’s office on Carl Boyer Drive on Saturday.
“We’re going to march to Steve Knight’s office,” said Dinah Stephens, senior director of public affairs at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. “We want him to know that we’re here and that people in his district support Planned Parenthood.”
The march not only had a goal to raise awareness of Planned Parenthood, but to celebrate yesterday’s pull of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act from consideration.
“Now that the bill was pulled, it’s a bit more of a celebration now,” said Jessie Brown Clark, a volunteer with an organization that supports Planned Parenthood.
“But we still want to tell people why Planned Parenthood is important.”
Clark moved to the Los Angeles area for college, and found that her school didn’t offer as many reproductive services as she had hoped.
That is when she turned to the nonprofit for help.
“When I finally got a job and healthcare, I wanted to give back,” Clark said. “They were there for me when I needed them. That’s why I became a volunteer.”
Kevin Hannant, a resident in Stevenson Ranch, came out on Saturday to spread awareness on the services provided by the non-profit.
“There are low income families, especially, that need it,” Hannant said. “It serves thousands of people in our district alone. It’s not just women, men are also benefiting from their services.”
Karina Elias, another volunteer, felt that Planned Parenthood supported basic needs that everyone should have access to.
“Reproductive rights are basic human rights and reproductive health is something that we should all care about,” said Elias.
