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According to Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood for over a decade, protesters who wave anti-abortion signs outside one of the organization’s clinics will sometimes return — a week, a month or a year later — for an annual medical exam. The men in Washington, D.C., who have done battle with Ms. Richards (“and they’re almost always men”) don’t see that side of the organization, she said. “For women, access to reproductive health care isn’t a political issue,” Ms. Richards said. “The women who walk into Planned Parenthood clinics come from every background, every political persuasion. "Yes, she said, even women who support President Trump. (Chozick, 1/26)

The president of Planned Parenthood, longtime activist Cecile Richards, will step down this year after leading the women's health organization for more than a decade, the group said on Friday. Richards, 60, has worked defending reproductive rights and other services including providing contraception, healthcare screenings and about one-third of the abortions in the United States. (Mincer, 1/26)

“Leading Planned Parenthood over the last 12 years has been the honor of my lifetime," she said in a statement. "I will be leaving the organization well-positioned to serve and fight for our patients for a century more. Every day we see the incredible power that grassroots voices can have — there has never been a better moment to be an activist." (Manchester and Hellmann, 1/26)

Under Richards’ leadership, Planned Parenthood has grown its supporters to 11 million. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 75 percent of the public supports Medicaid money going to Planned Parenthood for services that do not include abortion. Richards plans to discuss the next steps for the organization and 2018 at Planned Parenthood’s upcoming board meeting, according to a spokesperson. (Raman, 1/26)

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this month in a case that challenges two of the state's abortion restrictions, the three-day waiting period and the requirement that abortion providers give patients a booklet that defines life as beginning at conception. Many such restrictions have gone in front of the court for years. What is unusual about this case is the name of the group that the plaintiff is a part of: The Satanic Temple. The southeast Missouri woman and the group argue that the rules prevent her from practicing her faith.  (Palmer, 1/29)

Thousands of anti-abortion Texans are expected to rally on the steps of the state Capitol on Saturday for the Texas Rally for Life, an event recognizing the 45th anniversary of what they consider the "tragic" Roe v. Wade decision. But as attendees mourn the U.S. Supreme Court case that ensured a right to a legal abortion, they'll also celebrate. This past year, they say, has brought "sensational" gains for their movement. (Greene, 1/26)