Klein is a champion for women

To the editor:

Reading the recent letters to the editor published in The Press over the last few weeks, I have been shocked at their attempt to smear Sen. Jeff Klein’s record.

In all my years following politics, I have never witnessed an elected official be attacked by an organization and their supporters over something that he has consistently fought for.

The fact of the matter is Sen. Klein has done more in the past 20 years to uphold and protect women’s reproductive rights in New York State than nearly any other elected official. And he has done so both legislatively and by putting his money where his mouth is.

Sen. Klein has helped secure hundreds of thousands of dollars for Planned Parenthood throughout New York, and members of the Independent Democratic Conference have also fought for similar funding, culminating in 2015 with $250,000 for the first full-service Planned Parenthood center in Queens.

When Sen. Klein forced legislation to the senate floor in 2013 to codify Roe v. Wade, it was the mainline Democrats who sided with anti-choice forces to see the bill fail. While other Democratic leaders in the state senate cannot find consensus among their members to pass legislation protecting women’s health, Sen. Klein and the IDC are united in this fight.

Sen. Klein leads the only conference were all members back legislation to protect insurance coverage for contraception, a woman’s right to choose, and funding for Planned Parenthood, should Trump’s forces in Washington approve cuts.

We should be thanking Sen. Klein for his efforts to protect the vital women’s services that Planned Parenthood provides, not making false claims to try to distort his accomplishments.

SUSAN BRAUNSTEIN