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I am an advocate for victims and survivors of sexual assault, domestic/dating violence and stalking. Sen. Dean Heller isn’t listening to his constituents. Despite the countless calls made to his office, emails, letters and social media responses he’s received, the community has not felt his support. That is why hundreds of Nevadans protested outside his office, urging him to listen to their concerns about immigrant rights, health care, education and more.
As an advocate, a student and a friend of many folks who have used Planned Parenthood, I am strongly opposed to defunding it. Planned Parenthood serves nearly 18,000 Nevadans every year. Defunding Planned Parenthood would block Nevadans from accessing birth control, cancer screenings and other essential health care, specifically marginalized people who already face multiple barriers to care. Planned Parenthood can be a great resource for victims and survivors who do not want to make police reports but still seek affordable medical attention.
Polling shows an overwhelming majority of Nevadans don’t want to see Planned Parenthood defunded. Yet, Heller continues to go against his constituents and supports defunding.
It’s shameful that Heller isn’t listening to us, but it’s not stopping me from fighting back. I’ll keep calling, and showing up, and I’m going to organize my community to make sure they’re doing the same thing.
The writer is a senior gender and sexuality studies major at UNLV.
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