THOUGHTS FROM THE BUS

Wow. What a week.

We closed the tour this afternoon with an amazing rally in Manchester, led by Planned Parenthood Northern New England CEO Steve Trombley and his dedicated team.

While we counted around 110 people at the rally, the crowd's enthusiasm and energy made it seem as if 100's more were there. There were students and families and seniors decked out in pink. There were people who came alone and people who came in large groups. There were people who brought their pets, people playing music, and people who had never been to a rally before. It was the type of crowd that could brighten up any cold, drizzly day in New England – and that’s exactly what happened.

In that crowd was a woman who was a breast cancer survivor. She wasn’t lucky enough to have early detection and she had to fight much harder because of it. She joined us at the rally to make sure that everyone knows the importance of Planned Parenthood’s early detection services.

Various speakers throughout the rally included: Planned Parenthood staff, a doctor, a rabbi, a patient, an HIV/AIDS advocate and even members of the state assembly and senate.

Manchester was out in full force today.

When we first embarked on this tour, we had no idea what to expect, no idea we’d receive this kind of response. We asked supporters to meet us at our rallies - and they did. We asked supporters to follow us online - and they did. We asked supporters to sign an open letter to Congress and raise their hands - and they did. And then supporters responded to us by asking what else could they do?

These past four days have helped unite many women, men and teens across the country who want to get involved and help protect access to basic health care. Moments like this, it makes us confident that this offline and online movement in women’s health is just getting started. We couldn't be more excited. Stay tuned.

-Morgan, and the Truth Team