Hundreds of men and women lined up along East 7th Avenue at the old Federal Building on Wednesday evening, shouting, “Women’s rights: under attack! What do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and holding signs as they rallied for Planned Parenthood’s federal funding.
Demonstrators at the rally included Planned Parenthood staff members and community members, as well as U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to cut all $317 million in funding to Title X, a federal government family planning program that helps support Planned Parenthood.
If the U.S. Senate passes the House’s budget, including the cuts to family planning programs, Planned Parenthood would lose up to 75 percent of its funding, said Cynthia Pappas, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon.
“They’re doing it under the guise of deficit reduction,” Pappas said. “We hope this (rally) sends a strong message to Washington that mainstream Americans support federal funding for women’s health care.”
Planned Parenthood does not use federal funding to support abortion-related services, but it does help provide contraception services, family planning services, cancer screenings and STI tests and treatment.
DeFazio said the Republican-driven cuts are part of a larger problem in the U.S., where the rich are placing the burden of solving the deficit on the poor by taking away programs they benefit from.
“This is an attack on the health care of all Americans,” DeFazio said. “I do not believe a majority of people in America support this mean-spirited attack on Planned Parenthood.”
Aryn Zanca, a University freshman, showed up with the University’s chapter of Students for Choice.
“Women’s rights are under attack, and if we can’t show that we’re not okay with this, then it will just keep on going,” Zanca said. “It affects literally everyone.”
On the opposite corner of the old Federal Courthouse, anti-abortion demonstrators held their own rally in favor of Planned Parenthood being cut from the federal budget.
“Planned Parenthood portrays themselves as a protector of women’s rights, when in fact they profit from distressed mothers and victimize them and their children with every abortion they provide,” said Tom Teutsch, an anti-abortion demonstrator. “Some of Planned Parenthood’s services provide a legitimate role, like education. However, many would argue that it is merely pre-selling abortion services.”
Sarah Robey, a Northwest Christian University graduate, also demonstrated with the anti-abortion group.
“We’re here to show that there are two sides to every story, and for every life they save by their cancer screening, they also kill 300,000 babies a year,” Robey said.
Abortion rights demonstrators also expressed their concern about women’s rights in general.
“It’s scary to me to feel that the government has the ability to take away something I see as a right,” University sophomore Kim Kurin said.
University junior Kelsey Beeber said she supported Planned Parenthood because of reproductive rights.
“I hope it raises awareness for our individual rights to not be taken away,” Beeber said. “It’s going to impact our youth; it will create greater barriers against reproductive justice.”

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