Former Planned Parenthood President Passes Away After Struggling with Brain Cancer

January 20, 2025 TruthUSA

Cecile Richards served as the president of Planned Parenthood from 2006 until 2018, making her the longest-serving leader in the organization’s history.

Tragically, Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood and a key figure in the pro-abortion movement, has passed away at the age of 67.

Her family announced her death on Monday, sharing that she “died at home, surrounded by her family and her beloved dog, Ollie.”

“Our hearts are shattered today, yet no words can capture the joy she brought into our lives,” the family expressed in a statement to the media.

Richards, daughter of former Texas Governor Ann Richards, opened up nearly a year ago in an interview with New York Magazine about her fight against glioblastoma, an aggressive and untreatable brain cancer with a median survival prognosis of 15 months. Diagnosed in mid-2023, she remained committed to her advocacy work despite her illness.

During her tenure as president of Planned Parenthood from 2006 to 2018, the organization oversaw more than 4.2 million abortions, as documented in its annual reports.

Under Richards’s guidance, Planned Parenthood experienced significant growth, enlarging its supporter base to over 13 million donors and volunteers by the end of her term. She also fortified the organization’s connections with the Democratic Party, briefly serving as an adviser to Hillary Clinton during her campaign for the presidency.

One of the most challenging events during Richards’s presidency occurred in 2015 when a series of covertly recorded videos purportedly showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing, in disturbing detail, the preservation and sale of aborted fetal organs for research.

These videos sparked national outrage and attracted congressional investigation, with Republican lawmakers demanding that the organization be stripped of its federal funding, which at the time exceeded $500 million.

In reaction to the backlash, Richards expressed regret over the manner in which Planned Parenthood representatives and medical professionals spoke about the aborted fetuses. Nevertheless, she staunchly denied any misconduct, arguing that the footage had been manipulated to misrepresent the organization’s practices.

“We are grief-stricken to lose the formidable leader that is our former president, Cecile Richards,” dedicated Planned Parenthood stated on their official X account on Monday. “During her twelve passionate years of service, she elevated our healthcare, education, and advocacy efforts to new heights.”

Planned Parenthood encountered significant challenges following the landmark June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which repealed Roe v. Wade and lifted decades of federal protections for abortion access, returning the regulatory power to individual states.

President Donald Trump, who resumed his presidency on Monday for a second term, had also revamped the federally funded Title X family planning program during his first term, eliminating funds for organizations like Planned Parenthood that provided referrals for abortions.

In 2018, after a year into Trump’s presidency, Richards resigned from her position at Planned Parenthood to focus on leading Supermajority, a group she co-founded with Black Lives Matter activist Alicia Garza aimed at mobilizing women voters.

Just months prior to her passing, Richards was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-outgoing President Joe Biden in a private White House ceremony.

“Through her efforts to uphold the dignity of workers, advocate for women’s reproductive rights and equality, and inspire Americans to engage in the electoral process, she has created an extraordinary legacy,” Biden wrote on November 20, 2024, in a post on X.

Richards is survived by her husband, Kirk Adams, a healthcare union leader, and their three children.

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