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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

NBC: YOUR CHILDREN WILL BE MICRO CHIPPED “SOONER RATHER THAN LATER”~"NGIS": FBI'S NEXT GENERATION IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM, LINKED WITH "REAL TIME CRIME CENTERS" IN CITIES

NBC: YOUR CHILDREN WILL BE MICROCHIPPED “SOONER RATHER THAN LATER”

Americans will accept it just as they accepted the barcode

BY PAUL JOSEPH WATSON
SEE: http://www.infowars.com/293622-2/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

An NBC News report that promotes the microchipping of children asserts that it will happen “sooner rather than later” and that Americans will eventually accept the process as something just as normal as the barcode.
It goes on to highlight mother of three Steffany Rodroguez-Neely, who talks about how she briefly lost her daughter after she hid behind a rack of clothes, bringing to the fore, “every parent’s nightmare when you can’t find your child.”
“If it’ll save my kid, there’s no stuff that’s too extreme,” says Rodroguez-Neely. “Micro-chipping would be an extra layer of protection, if something bad does happen.”
Rodroguez-Neely goes on to explain how she has braved skepticism from members of the local Tampa Bay Moms Group, people like Kerri Levey, who are wary about implanting their own children.
“You’re putting a battery in your kid, you’re putting a chip in your kid. And, where does it stop,” asks Levey. “Where? It’s going too far. This is a child we’re talking about.”
“If a small chip the size of a grain of rice could have prevented a tragedy, I think most parents would have said, I think I would have done it,” responds Rodroguez-Neely.
The piece flips back to pushing the idea when it quotes electronics expert Stuart Lipoff, who asserts that microchipping children is safe and inevitable.
“People should be aware that testing is being done right now. The military is not only testing this out, but already utilizes its properties. It’s not a matter of if it will happen, but when,” states Lipoff.
Lipoff also told NBC that people shouldn’t be concerned about “big brother” tracking their children and that the technology was merely an upgrade on the traditional barcode.
“When barcodes first came out in the late 1960s, people were appalled. They were wary of them and did not understand the concept. Today, it is so commonplace, we don’t even notice it. A microchip would work much in the same way,” he states, adding that it will “definitely happen”.
NBC reporter Melanie Michael appears to agree, remarking that the size of the chip is “very very small” and that “the expert tells us this will happen sooner rather than later.”
“You can bet somewhere someone someday is going to pull this off and we could see those microchips in everyone,” she adds.
The sheer creepiness of children being treated like barcoded products seems to be lost on Michael.
The entire premise of the piece is extremely odd to say the least. Did Rodroguez-Neely approach NBC with the idea to promote implantable microchips as a way of finding lost children, or is the segment a pure propaganda blitz to normalize the idea in the minds of the viewers?
Either way, it doesn’t come across as very balanced, aggressively promoting the safety aspect of the microchip over concerns about its clear Orwellian scope.
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Futuristic Children - Public Domain

A Shocking NBC News Report Says That Someday We Will Be Microchipping All Of Our Children

BY MICHAEL SNYDER
SEE: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/a-shocking-nbc-news-report-says-that-someday-we-will-be-microchipping-all-of-our-childrenrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Would you allow microchips to be surgically implanted in your children if that would keep them safer?  This is already being done to pets on a widespread basis, and a shocking local NBC News report is promoting the idea that if it is good for our pets, then we should be doing it to our children as well.  As you will see below, the report even puts a guilt trip on parents by asking them this question: “How far would you go to keep your children secure?”  Of course most parents very much want to keep their children safe, and a microchip would enable authorities to track them down if they were lost or stolen.  But is this really a good idea?  And where is all of this technology eventually leading?  If you have not seen this very disturbing local NBC News report yet, you can view it right here
In the video, the reporter says that our children could be implanted with microchips “the size of a grain of rice” and that there would be “little to no health risks” involved.
And near the end of the report, she insists that “we could see those microchips in everyone” eventually.
Wow.
I am speechless.
The report also quoted an electronics expert who claimed that testing of these microchips “is being done right now”
The piece flips back to pushing the idea when it quotes electronics expert Stuart Lipoff, who asserts that microchipping children is safe and inevitable.
“People should be aware that testing is being done right now. The military is not only testing this out, but already utilizes its properties. It’s not a matter of if it will happen, but when,” states Lipoff.
Of course if widespread microchipping of the population does start happening, at first it will likely be purely voluntary.  But once enough of the population starts adopting the idea, it will be really easy for the government to make it mandatory.
Just imagine a world where physical cash was a thing of the past and you could not buy, sell, get a job or open a bank account without your government-issued microchip identification.
Will you allow yourself and your family to be chipped when that day arrives?
If not, how will you eat?
How will you survive?
What will you do when your children come crying to you for food?
I am certainly not saying that you should allow yourself to be chipped.  I know that nobody is ever chipping me.  But what I am saying is that people are going to be faced with some absolutely heart-breaking choices.
Just recently, I wrote about a new form of digital currency that is intended to replace the physical dollars that we use now and also replace alternative currencies such as Bitcoin.  It was unveiled in front of about 100 top Wall Street executives recently during a secret meeting in New York City.  To give you an idea of just how rapidly the concept of a cashless society is advancing, I want to share with you a brief excerpt from an article that I recently wrote about this new technology…
—–
Last month, a “secret meeting” that involved more than 100 executives from some of the biggest financial institutions in the United States was held in New York City.  During this “secret meeting“, a company known as “Chain” unveiled a technology that transforms U.S. dollars into “pure digital assets”.  Reportedly, there were representatives from Nasdaq, Citigroup, Visa, Fidelity, Fiserv and Pfizer in the room, and Chain also claims to be partnering with Capital One, State Street, and First Data.  This “revolutionary” technology is intended to completely change the way that we use money, and it would represent a major step toward a cashless society.  But if this new digital cash system is going to be so good for society, why was it unveiled during a secret meeting for Wall Street bankers?  Is there something more going on here than we are being told?
None of us probably would have ever heard about this secret meeting if it was not for a report in Bloomberg.  The following comes from their article entitled “Inside the Secret Meeting Where Wall Street Tested Digital Cash“…
On a recent Monday in April, more than 100 executives from some of the world’s largest financial institutions gathered for a private meeting at the Times Square office of Nasdaq Inc. They weren’t there to just talk about blockchain, the new technology some predict will transform finance, but to build and experiment with the software.
By the end of the day, they had seen something revolutionary: U.S. dollars transformed into pure digital assets, able to be used to execute and settle a trade instantly. That’s the promise of a blockchain, where the cumbersome and error-prone system that takes days to move money across town or around the world is replaced with almost instant certainty.
So it is not just Michael Snyder from The Economic Collapse Blog that is referring to this gathering as a “secret meeting”.  This is actually how it was described by Bloomberg.  And I think that there is a very good reason why this meeting was held in secret, because many in the general public would definitely be alarmed by this giant step toward a cashless society.
—–
Right now, more than 400 billion cashless transactions are conducted around the world each year, and that number is growing very quickly.
And when our system becomes entirely cashless, there will be no more stuffing your mattress with cash and we will all be forced to deal with the banks.
What that day arrives, all of a sudden the government will be able to serve as the gatekeeper for who is allowed to access the system and who is not.
It would be very easy to impose a tax, require some sort of loyalty oath, or mandate some form of microchip identification as a condition for participating in the cashless system.
When we get to that point, what will you do?
In the end, that is something that we all need to be considering very carefully…
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HUGE SURVEILLANCE PANOPTICON WILL TRACK "PRE-CRIME" PERSONS

We Will Microchip Your Children;
Gun Registrations; FBI Biometric Database Called
"Next Generation Identification System" (NGIS); "Real Time Crime Centers" Opening in Cities
Published on May 25, 2016
An NBC News report that promotes the microchipping of children asserts that it will happen “sooner rather than later” and that Americans will eventually accept the process as something just as normal as the barcode.

Plus, terrorist or pedophile? This start-up says it can out secrets by analyzing faces.

HAWAII CONSIDERS GUN OWNER REGISTRY FOR FIREARM CONFISCATIONS

SEE: 

SEE: 

Spot Light on Wilmington, Delaware Police Department's New Real Time Crime Center


FBI's 'Facial Recognition Program' Hits Full Operational Capability!


Where to draw the line between safer streets and spying?
Published on Apr 25, 2014
The FBI's Next Generation Identification program will give police access to more data than ever before by way of biometrics—biological marks from facial scans and palm prints—to identify suspects. Some opponents worry this growing web of security will give police too much personal information without a warrant. The Center for Investigative Reporting's Amanda Pike reports.


FBI Next Generation Identification Overview Presentation


SMILE! YOU'RE ON CAMERA
Next Generation Identification System



“DID WE GO TO WAR?” INDIANA RESIDENTS STUNNED BY U.S. ARMY MILITARY DRILL

“DID WE GO TO WAR?” INDIANA RESIDENTS STUNNED BY MILITARY DRILL

"We thought the world was ending"

BY PAUL JOSEPH WATSON
SEE: http://www.infowars.com/did-we-go-to-war-indianapolis-residents-stunned-by-military-drill/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Residents of Beech Grove, Indiana, thought that war had broken out last night after the Marion County police dispatch was flooded with 911 calls from panicked residents confused about a military drill.
Callers reported explosions, gunshots and the sound of low-flying helicopters as a simulated raid on the old St. Francis hospital got underway.
Residents were “upset about the drills,” according to Fox 59, many of whom say they didn’t receive a knock on the door warning them about the exercises.
Startled locals took to Twitter to express their shock.
“Did we go to war and no one mention it?” asked Mary Graham.
“We’re about a block away on 14th & no one told our street. Whole neighborhood was out bc we thought the world was ending,” she added.
“Beech Grove was just #underfreakingattack,” tweeted Rick Frank.
Another resident claimed his sister, “saw a helicopter shoot down another helicopter”.
“We’re sorry people were startled,” Beech Grove Police Capt. Robert Mercuri told the Indianapolis Star. “We hope they understand that the city of Beech Grove was trying to help the people who protect us everyday.”
Controversy over military drills taking place near populated areas has beenraging for years, with many concerned about a blurring of the lines between the military and domestic law enforcement.
During a 2012 U.S. Army exercise, St Louis City residents were told not be alarmed at the sight of U.S. Army tanks rolling down residential neighborhoods after sightings of the vehicles provoked fears of martial law. Local news media channels featured interviews with residents whopraised the sight of troops on the streets as a valuable crime-fighting tool similar to that used in foreign countries.
In March 2014, the Department of Defense conducted military training in Broward County, with exercises involving low flying helicopters designed to ‘scare the crap out of people’, according to one local reporter. Residents were shocked to see Navy SEALS practicing storming a university building from a Black Hawk chopper.
Alarmed residents who reported low-flying black helicopters with their lights turned off buzzing downtown Dallas in December 2014 were witnessing U.S. Special Forces drills intended to allow troops to get a feel for “realistic urban sites”. The maneuvers were part of preparedness training for U.S. Special Operations Forces.
Blacked out helicopters also buzzed Kentucky and Cincinnati residents in May 2014 as part of an unannounced military drill, with one eyewitness telling Infowars the maneuvers resembled something out of a “war zone”.
During a March 2015 drill in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, military and law enforcement practiced the internment of citizens.
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BREAKING: SECRET MIDNIGHT MILITARY DRILL NEAR BEECH GROVE 'FEMA CAMP'
Published on May 24, 2016
Sub for more: http://nnn.is/the_new_media | Jordan Fischer for ABC 6 Indiana reports, It may have been a surprise to people who live in Beech Grove, but city officials have known about a military training exercise in the community since March.

Residents were woken up early Tuesday morning by the sound of gunshots at the former St. Francis Hospital.

Beech Grove Police say the U.S. Army Special Operations Command was conducting military training in urban terrain.

At least 100 military personnel were involved in the exercise which started around midnight.

Nearby residents reported loud bangs and explosions and seeing people rappelling from helicopters.

"I went into the bathroom and heard all kinds of commotion and lots of helicopters," Blaine Bonney, a Beech Grove resident, said. "I stuck my head out the window and see one go flying by and another go flying by. They're all circling, making all kinds of patterns."

Bonney said he feels safe, now that he knows what was going on.

"If you hear it's training, and they're out there protecting us and keeping an eye on us, it makes me feel a little safer," he said.

A letter dated March 18, 2016, from the mayor of Beech Grove to the U.S. Army, shows that officials knew well in advance about the training.

The Marion County 911 dispatch center was reportedly "flooded" with calls from concerned Beech Grove citizens -- but sources told Call 6 Investigates the 911 call takers were also not alerted to the event, and were caught off-guard.

Beech Grove Police say Marion County dispatch was informed of the training well in advance.

See the report here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42VBK...

Credit/Source/Read more:
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/ca...


Urban Military Exercise Wakes Beech Grove Residents, Helicopters Shaking Homes
Published on May 24, 2016
http://undergroundworldnews.com
Many residents of Beech Grove awoke early Tuesday morning to what they say sounded like gunshots and explosions.

According to police officials, this activity was part of a scheduled military training exercise near the old St. Francis Hospital.

Beech Grove residents say they saw helicopters flying low over the area and heard what sounded like several loud explosions.

Police say this was training exercise was scheduled and there is no threat to anyone in the area.

Many viewers were upset about the drills, saying they didn't have any advance warning and were alarmed by the loud noises. Some people said they received a knock on the door letting them know what was going on.

Learn More:

http://fox59.com/2016/05/24/military-...


DEMOCRATS LEVERAGE ILLEGALS AND VOTER FRAUD TO PUT HILLARY IN THE WHITE HOUSE

DEMOCRATS LEVERAGE ILLEGALS AND VOTER FRAUD TO PUT HILLARY IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Illegals told to vote Democrat 

or be arrested and deported

BY KURT NIMMO
SEE: http://www.infowars.com/democrats-leverage-illegals-and-voter-fraud-to-put-hillary-in-the-white-house/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

Many have argued Democrats and the Obama administration are not primarily concerned with the welfare of illegal immigrants, but rather are cynically adding to their voter base in order to retain power and drive government policy.
On May 20, The Extract ran an article covering the work of documentarian Jo Anne Livingston and her husband Luke. The couple have taken a comprehensive look at the border crisis with an emphasis on the personal experiences of illegal aliens. Following these interviews, Jo Anne concluded the immigrants are being cynically exploited by Democrats.
For instance, “witness after witness after witness” explained they were given voter registrations prior to the 2012 election and sent to states without voter identification laws and were told that unless they “show up and vote the democratic [sic] ticket, they would be arrested and deported.”
Democrats exploiting illegal immigrants for political gain was more or less admitted when Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, a Democrat from Illinois, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe the Obama administration’s proposed amnesty would be a good thing for the Democrat party.
“Let me just say in about an hour, I’m going over to the White House. I’ll be meeting with Jeh Johnson and the Chief Legal Counsel to the President of the United States. We’re going to sit down and we’re going to negotiate additional terms and avenues the President can use and prosecutorial discretion, and I think we can get three or four or maybe even five million people,” Gutiérrez said in July, 2014.
Further evidence of this scam surfaced in February when the League of Women Voters and the NAACP filed a lawsuit to prevent efforts to put an end to non-citizens participating in elections. The groups filed filed a lawsuit in D.C. federal court seeking to reverse a decision by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC ruling allows Kansas and other states, including Arizona and Georgia, to enforce state laws ensuring that only citizens register to vote when they use a federally designed registration form.
Democrats routinely play the poverty and race card when challenged on the scam. “Democratic party spokesmen justify their opposition to laws requiring proof of citizenship in order to register to vote by the absurd claim that poor people do not have birth certificates or passports. But we require everyone, including the poor, to produce such documents when becoming employed for their I-9 Forms. And if that is tolerable, then it must also be tolerable for the same documents to be produced to register to vote and some sort of photo ID in order to vote,” writes lawyer Howard Foster on the liberal website The Huffington Post.
Massive voter fraud is a particularly important tool for a corrupt Democrat party now that Donald Trump is poised to beat Hillary Clinton in November. In October, realizing the damage the party could face with a Republican presidential victory, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1461, the New Motor Voter Act, which will automatically register people to vote through the DMV, and will result in illegal aliens voting.
Capitol Weekly, a website reporting on California government and politics, reports voter “registration has skyrocketed in the first months of 2016. There have been over 850,000 registrations in the months between January 1 and March 31. This is twice as much as was registered during the same period in 2012.” The vast majority are registering with the Democrat party, an increase of 185%.
98% of the new registrants were Latino.
Clinton understands the importance of California and the Latino vote. Last week The Los Angeles Times reported there are rumblings she may announce a Latino as her running mate—Congressman Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles.
“Most notable is Becerra’s all-star status as the fourth highest ranking Democrat in Congress. Becerra’s position as chairman of the House’s Democratic Caucus gives him fundraising prowess and political muscle. Naturally, as the official caretaker of the House’s Democratic members, he’s got strong relationships with House members and party stalwarts throughout the nation,” the newspaper reports.


VIDEO: ROBERT SPENCER ON HAMAS LINKED "CAIR'S" PROMOTION OF HATE CRIME HOAXES

VIDEO: ROBERT SPENCER ON HAMAS LINKED "CAIR'S" PROMOTION OF HATE CRIME HOAXES 
SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/05/video-robert-spencer-on-hamas-linked-cairs-promotion-of-hate-crime-hoaxesrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

In this third video in my series on the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations, I explain how Hamas-linked CAIR has promoted false claims of hate crimes against Muslims in order to deflect attention from jihad terror activity — and other matters about Hamas-linked CAIR as well.

CECILE RICHARDS OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD ASSERTS THAT ABORTION IS A MATTER OF "ECONOMIC SECURITY & OPPORTUNITY"

LEGAL BUT IMMORAL


Planned Parenthood’s Richards Asserts 

That Abortion Is Matter of 

“Economic Security and Opportunity”

BY WARREN MASS

In a recent op-ed piece for the women’s fashion magazine Elle, Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, asserted that “reproductive health” — a euphemism for both contraception and abortion — “isn’t a theoretical issue, a social issue, or a distraction — it’s a fundamental issue of economic security and opportunity.”
Lamenting that not a single question about “reproductive rights” was asked during eight Democratic presidential debates, Richards wrote:
It’s time to move this issue from the sidelines to the center of the conversation — because women’s reproductive rights are essential to our country’s economic success. And they are absolutely on the line in this election.
Richards’ article was filled with claims that defy basic rules of logic, such as use of the common fallacy post hoc, ergo proper hoc (“after this, therefore because of this”). For example:
Today, the number of women who finish four or more years of college is five times what it was before birth control became legal. One study even found that the Pill is responsible for a third of women’s wage gains since the 1960s.
With the many changes in our society that occurred since the 1960s (when oral contraception became available — before then it was not “illegal”; it simply did not exist), it is impossible to determine which factors were responsible for more women finishing college. The same is true for women’s wage gains, which are likely just a natural consequence of these college-educated women becoming more interested in careers. Yet, Richards would have us believe that women owe all of their economic advancement to Planned Parenthood’s campaign to promote birth control.
Richards harkened back to when the first Planned Parenthood “health center” opened nearly a century ago, claiming that “it was then illegal to give out or seek out information on how to prevent pregnancy.”
That claim is a gross exaggeration. While it is true that the 1873 Comstock Act prohibited the mailing of “any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion,” as well as contraceptive information, through the mails, it impacted person-to-person activities only in the District of Columbia and in federal territories. And while half of the states adopted similar laws that also prohibited possession and sale of obscene materials, including contraceptives, the claim that even information on how to prevent pregnancy was universally banned cannot be substantiated.
Planned Parenthood (which until 1942 was called the American Birth Control League) was founded by Margaret Sanger. An article posted by Life News last year documented how Sanger’s promotion of birth control was based on eugenics, “the belief and practice that aims to eliminate certain groups of people.” The article provided seven revealing quotes from Sanger showing that Planned Parenthood’s founder was a racist who had a definite agenda geared toward reducing America’s black population. Among the statements Sanger made:
• “We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.”
• “We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal.”
• “I accepted an invitation to talk to the women’s branch of the Ku Klux Klan.”
• “Birth control is nothing more or less than … weeding out the unfit.”
• “I think the greatest sin in the world is bringing children into the world.”
The article also quoted Dr. Alveda King (the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), who summarized Planned Parenthood’s abortion-on-demand philosophy:
The most obvious practitioner of racism in the United States today is Planned Parenthood, an organization founded by the eugenicist Margaret Sanger and recently documented as ready to accept money to eliminate black babies.
In spite of Planned Parenthood’s origins as an organization that advocated for the elimination of the black race, Richards had the audacity in her op-ed to pretend to champion African American “women of color.” She wrote:
But when access to reproductive health care is restricted, it’s women of color and low-income women who pay the highest price. In the first three months of 2016, politicians across the country introduced more than 400 new abortion restrictions that put reproductive health care even further out of reach for women who already face the greatest obstacles to care. Combined with laws like the Hyde Amendment, these restrictions make it nearly impossible for low-income women and disproportionately women of color to exercise their full reproductive rights.
Throughout her article, Richards cited Hillary Clinton, which is not surprising for someone with a long history of ties to the Democratic Party. Before taking her post at Planned Parenthood, Richards served as president of America Votes, a coalition of national Democratic Party-affiliated organizations. Prior to that, she was deputy chief of staff to former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Richards’ mother, Ann Richards, was a Democratic governor of Texas.
Asserting that “reproductive health” (which includes not only contraception, but abortion) is not a social issue but “a fundamental issue of economic security and opportunity,” Richards cited Clinton’s statement on the matter: “It goes to the heart of who we are as women: our rights, our autonomy, our ability to make our own decisions.”
Richards also applauded Clinton for “traveling the country talking about what we need to do to support women and families — because our country can only live up to its potential when women live up to theirs."
She went on to say that Clinton is “the only candidate with a plan to break down all the barriers that keep women on the sidelines of our economy — including barriers to quality, affordable reproductive health care and safe, legal abortion.”
It is interesting how advocates of “safe, legal abortion” never mention how unsafe the procedure is for the unborn babies whose lives are terminated by the procedure.
Richards and Planned Parenthood have managed to get away with overt political endorsements of pro-abortion candidates because its advocacy activities are executed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which is registered as a 501(c)(4) charity. Unlike 501(c)(3) organizations, which are prohibited from supporting political candidates, and are subject to limits on lobbying, 501(c)(4) organizations can engage in unlimited lobbying so long as it pertains to the organization's mission. Planned Parenthood endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and in the 2014 election cycle, it spent $6,587,100 on contributions to candidates and political parties (overwhelmingly to Democrats) and on independent expenditures.
 Related articles:
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BLOOD ON HER HANDS

Cecile Richards Op-Ed: Reproductive Health Is More Than a "Woman's Issue"

"[E]mpowering women empowers families, communities, and our entire country.​"
SEE: http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a36354/cecile-richards-access-to-reproductive-health/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

This is an op-ed from Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Not long ago, on a campus in Iowa, I met a young woman who proudly told me she was about to become the first person in her family to graduate from college. It was thanks to two things, she said: scholarships and birth control.
For her, and for millions of women in America, reproductive health isn't a theoretical issue, a social issue, or a distraction—it's a fundamental issue of economic security and opportunity. As Hillary Clinton declared after eight Democratic debates without a single question on the topic: "It goes to the heart of who we are as women: our rights, our autonomy, our ability to make our own decisions."
It's time to move this issue from the sidelines to the center of the conversation—because women's reproductive rights are essential to our country's economic success. And they are absolutely on the line in this election.
When the first Planned Parenthood health center opened nearly a century ago, it was illegal to give out or seek out information on how to prevent pregnancy. But in the decades since, effective birth control and access to safe, legal abortions have improved health outcomes and opened new doors for women. Today, the number of women who finish four or more years of college is five times what it was before birth control became legal. One study even found that the Pill is responsible for a third of women's wage gains since the 1960s.
Helping women reach their full potential isn't just the right thing to do—it's the smart thing to do. Women are breadwinners in two-thirds of American households with children. Women save more than men, and when they spend, they're more likely to invest in their families and communities. Women-owned firms are the fastest growing segment of new business in the U.S., and there's a correlation between more women on corporate boards and higher profits. As Hillary points out, a huge percentage of America's growth over the last few decades is due to women entering the workforce. In other words, empowering women empowers families, communities, and our entire country.
But when access to reproductive health care is restricted, it's women of color and low-income women who pay the highest price. In the first three months of 2016, politicians across the country introduced more than 400 new abortion restrictions that put reproductive health care even further out of reach for women who already face the greatest obstacles to care. Combined with laws like the Hyde Amendment, these restrictions make it nearly impossible for low-income women and disproportionately women of color to exercise their full reproductive rights. As a result, unintended birth rates for low-income women are five times higher than they are for those with higher incomes.
Despite these facts, Donald Trump recently said that "women get it better" than men. I'm not sure who he spends his time talking to, but it can't be the millions of American women who still don't have equal pay, or the Planned Parenthood health center patients in places like my home state of Texas who have to fight tooth and nail just to get basic health care. His attitude is more evidence—if it was needed—that he won't lift a finger to level the playing field for women in this country.
So here's a nickel's worth of free advice for Donald Trump: You can't grow the economy and shrink women's reproductive health options at the same time. When you work to limit access to contraception and sex education, wipe out access to abortion, and refuse to support paid leave or affordable childcare, you're not just holding back women. You're holding back America.
If our country is going to compete and win in the global economy, it's going to take 21st-century ideas—not Stone-Age attitudes. We need a president who will stand up to the attacks on reproductive rights across the country, continue the progress we've made under President Obama—from bringing teen birth rates to a record low to passing the Affordable Care Act, the biggest advance for women's health in a generation—and keep going. The way I see it, there's only one person up to the job.
This week is Women's Health Week, and Hillary is traveling the country talking about what we need to do to support women and families—because our country can only live up to its potential when women live up to theirs. She's the only candidate with a plan to break down all the barriers that keep women on the sidelines of our economy – including barriers to quality, affordable reproductive health care and safe, legal abortion. As president, she'll fight tirelessly to ensure that women have a level playing field and opportunities to go as far as our talent and hard work can take us. And she'll work—like she has her entire life—to make sure every woman can make her own decisions about her health and future.
That's my kind of revolution.
Cecile Richards joined Planned Parenthood in 2006 and is the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She served previously as deputy chief of staff for House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. She is a frequent speaker and commentator on issues related to women's rights, reproductive health, and sex education, and serves on the board of the Ford Foundation. She has contributed opinion pieces to the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, and Cosmopolitan.com.