Contact: Casey Olesko 201.647.5502 / Casey.Olesko@ppgnnj.org

TRENTON, NJ – After eight long years of an anti-women’s health administration in the Garden State, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey supporters celebrated today as Phil Murphy was sworn in to be New Jersey’s next Governor. After campaigning heavily on the promise to restore much-needed funding for family planning services in the state, supporters and activists call on Murphy to be a champion for reproductive health care and restore family planning funding within the first 100 days of his administration.

“We look forward to the state legislature and Governor Murphy taking swift action to restore this funding and protect and expand access to reproductive health care,” said Christine Sadovy, Legislative and Political Director with Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey. “After eight years of Governor Christie’s repeated vetoes of this lifesaving funding, we know that this administration will stand with New Jersey women and take action.”

Recent polling from the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling showed that 75 percent of New Jerseyans support the restoration of family planning funding – with strong bipartisan support, with 57 percent of Republicans also supporting the funding. The funding, which was a longstanding line item in the state budget until Governor Christie eliminated it in his first budget in 2010, went towards preventive services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. In the eight years since the funding was cut, bacterial STDs have risen 35 percent statewide; in 11 out of New Jersey’s 21 counties, the increase has been nearly 50 percent or more. Breast and cervical cancer is also on the rise, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color: a 0.3 percent increase among white women, a 6.6 increase among Black women, and an alarming 25.1 increase among Latinas.

From the very start of his campaign, Murphy made it crystal clear that he stands with Planned Parenthood. He took every opportunity to discuss his commitment to women’s health. Not only did he publicly state that restoring Planned Parenthood funding was at the top of his priority list the very next day after he won the primary election, he also pledged to work to fill the gap left by eight consecutive years of lost funding.

Planned Parenthood supporters celebrated Murphy’s inauguration with a “Pink Out” rally outside of the Trenton War Memorial, wearing hot pink hats and holding hot pink “Women for Murphy” signs. Supporters then headed to the Planned Parenthood health center in Trenton for a viewing party, livestreaming the official inauguration ceremony.

“Planned Parenthood provides lifesaving, essential care, and I am looking forward to Governor Murphy working to protect that care,” said volunteer Sarah Best of Bedminster. “After the last eight years, I can’t wait to have a governor who supports my access to care!”