Every Partner Counts: Planned Parenthood

While conducting the research for “No Woman, No Cry,” we met with every organization we were aware of with a focus on maternal health which of course led us to Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). When we met we were struggling to identify a country in Latin America where we could highlight some of the barriers vulnerable women face that contribute to maternal deaths in the region. In our meeting we learned about Dr. Linda Valencia, the obstetrician who was profiled in the film. We selected Guatemala in large part because of her, as well as the fact that it has such a large indigenous population. Not only is Linda a compassionate and a competent physician she is also a mother who was quite pregnant when we followed her for a week back in 2009 as she mentored, advocated, examined, consoled, and treated hundreds of women of all ages in the reproductive spectrum. Some women were getting their first pap smears at 70 years old while many others were hoping to confirm first time pregnancies. It was through Linda that I came to fully understand not only the value but necessity of comprehensive reproductive health care for all, especially those who have no access. She remains one of my all time heroes and I wish there were more of her to go around the world.

For further reading about the work Planned Parenthood is doing, please read their Every Mother Counts exclusive blog post, The Anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut.

Productions stills from "No Woman, No Cry" in Guatemala in 2009.