What Valery Espejo and Mary Modica talk about Planned Parenthood, they aren’t speaking in hypotheticals. They’re talking about real clinics that helped them manage chronic conditions, avoid STIs, and afford care when they had minimal or no insurance coverage.
Their stories were shared at a May rally outside Republican Rep. Mike Lawler’s Pearl River office, where volunteers and members of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Action Fund (PPHPAF) hand-delivered a petition urging him to “stop the lies and do better for New Yorkers.”
Organized by PPHPAF, the event brought patients, supporters, and staff together at the intersection in front of Lawler’s building, along with a petition of more than 1,000 signatures from the state’s 17th Congressional District. Attendees accused Lawler of “showing his allegiances” to President Donald Trump “and his cronies” by backing H.R.1 and pushing to strip Medicaid reimbursements from Planned Parenthood clinics, rather than advocating for his constituents.
“Instead of fighting for his constituents, Rep. Lawler is taking away people’s healthcare and increasing costs for working families in New York and across the country,” said Lauren La Magna, Director of Advocacy & Government Relations at PPHPAF. “Actions really do speak louder than words, and Congressional District 17 constituents hear Lawler’s message loud and clear: He doesn’t fight for you.”
Nationally, Planned Parenthood clinics provide multiple birth control options, perform testing for STIs, and offer cancer screenings for millions. In New York, the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization’s mission is to “protect reproductive freedom for all people in their regions, by engaging in issue education, legislative advocacy, and voter education campaigns.
‘For the first time, I felt truly seen’
Espejo, who lives in the district, said her story started at the age of 16 when she was prescribed the Depo shot, also known as Depo-Provera—a form of birth control injected into the muscle of the buttock or upper arm. The shot was administered to Espejo through a school-affiliated program. But she said no one took the time to fully explain potential side effects such as bone density loss, dizziness, or absent periods, or alternatives.
For two years, she said, she dealt with symptoms she didn’t understand and didn’t know were possible.
“No one had taken time to explain my options or to explain how my own body worked,” she said. “And I couldn’t figure out how to either.”
At 18, still tied to her parents’ insurance and unsure where to find judgement-free help, she decided to try a Planned Parenthood clinic, taking a ferry across boroughs to get the answers she needed.
Inside the clinic, Espejo said providers walked her through every birth control option available, detailed the potential side effects, and helped her enroll in New York’s Family Planning Benefits Program so she could get confidential and free care at a time when she couldn’t afford it.
“For the first time, I felt truly seen,” she said. “That experience didn’t just help me find the right birth control, it helped me find my voice, a sense of self, and helped me understand my body. It gave me confidence in making decisions about my future.
That experience is why she signed the petition aimed at Lawler.
“When he claims to protect healthcare in one breath, and then votes to defund Planned Parenthood in the next, I can spot the lie,” Espejo said. “Because access to care isn’t just about services, it’s about freedom, confidence, and the ability to take control of your own life.”
The speech a Rockland teacher couldn’t give herself
A few minutes later, another district resident, Adam Hussein, stepped up holding a printed statement. He introduced himself as a longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood, and as the husband of someone who depended on it.
“My wife, Mary, has a chronic illness that greatly affects her life,” Hussein said. “She relied on the hormonal care Planned Parenthood provides. Her life is hugely dependent on access to this care. While she would not be, while she could not be here this evening, I’m going to share her story on her behalf.”
Mary Modica teaches English as a new language in a NY public school, following students from math to social studies to help them access class content in English. In her twenties, while she bounced between underemployment and graduate school, Planned Parenthood was the only stable point in her healthcare.
“I grew up knowing that my body needed consistent care,” Hussein read from his wife’s prepared remarks. Modica was first diagnosed with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formally referred to as PCOS, as a teenager and later with additional conditions that made managing her cycle and symptoms critical.
In an interview with Courier New York, Modica said those diagnoses shaped everything from her work schedule to how she planned for the month. She added that Planned Parenthood was the one place that felt accessible when she aged out of her parents’ traditional healthcare plan and couldn’t figure out how to navigate the system.
“It was the most adult thing I could do, or could think to do, staying with Planned Parenthood,” Modica said. “Because I trusted the kind of medical care I would receive there.”
It was at one of their clinics where she learned that she had human papillomavirus (HPV).
“I remember just being completely in shock and disgusted and upset with myself,” she said. “I felt unclean. The doctor leaned over and very casually patted my hand, and said ‘Everybody has HPV, it’s not that big of a deal,’ and we just managed it, and I’m very grateful for that.”
According to the CDC, HPV infections are very common, reaching more than 42 million Americans, including teenagers. The organization estimates that about 13 million new infections occur each year.
“Without that kind of support,” Modica said. “I think I would probably have a very different psyche today.”
What’s at stake in NY-17
H.R.1, signed last year, cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood clinics, and Lawler’s vote for H.R.1 aligned him with efforts to block health centers from participating in Medicaid. Advocates said that threatens access to care for more than 37,000 people in his district and millions nationwide.
“Defunding Planned Parenthood denies essential healthcare to millions of people across the country,” La Magna said at the event, noting that in New York, Planned Parenthood clinics serve more than 200,000 patients a year, including about 100,000 patients under Medicaid.
Without federal Medicaid reimbursements, Planned Parenthood affiliates have reported longer wait times, reduced hours, and staffing challenges. After the speeches, organizers and supporters walked their stack of petition signatures to Lawler’s office building and left them with staff. It was unclear if Lawler was in his office or not.
