Dear Chancellor Foley,
My name is Jessica and you don't know me, but what you do in the next 12 days will make all the difference in my life. In 2014, I moved to Columbia from Carbondale, IL where I had finished my Masters degree.
I was thrilled to be accepted to Mizzou's law school because I hoped to work in civil rights. Equality is extremely important to me. I want to do everything I can to help others.
I was terrified that I had made the wrong decision to move to a new state to go to a new school.
The first thing I did was go to Planned Parenthood to get a birth control shot. You see, sir, as unpleasant as it is for some people to think about, I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, a disease that can cause many complications for the women who have it. For me, one of the complications is a menstrual cycle that can take months to complete. The birth control shot helps to prevent that issue.
I want you to know that, if I were to become pregnant, my syndrome leaves me with a greater risk of having an ectopic pregnancy which would then put my life in danger. That's why knowing that there's a Planned Parenthood in my community that could provide me with all the services I might need, including abortion, is critical to my health.
All of that being said, it is my little brother who remains my number one reason for my need of Planned Parenthood.
My little brother, Matthew was the light of my world. Matty died at age 24 in August of 2013. He had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a terminal genetic disease. Incurable. I watched Matty grow up from a lively little boy who ran and jumped, to a 9-year-old who could only crawl, to a 14-year-old in a wheelchair, to a mostly bedridden 21-year-old on a breathing machine. The pain Matty was in was unimaginable.
I carry this genetic disease, Mr. Foley.
Two weeks ago, while a group of students, faculty and a legislator were delivering the 2,500 petitions in support of Planned Parenthood to your predecessor, I was for the first time publicly and vividly describing the actual knowledge I have about my brother's disease, my own genetics, why I need Planned Parenthood, and the fact that any child I have could be locked into that same death sentence that my brother was.
I was outraged to hear that while I was sharing the real-life impact of MU's dangerous decision to cave to political pressure and cut ties with Planned Parenthood, your predecessor was dodging real knowledge of and responsibility for his actions referring the people in that meeting to other officials and to your lawyers.
You see, sir, you have the power to reverse the damage your predecessor's actions have caused for women like me who seek services from Planned Parenthood.
I think you represent new leadership, new hope and new resolve to stand with the students and community rather than doing the bidding of politicians trying to advance their careers at the expense of Mizzou's commitment to education and health care.
I know I am not alone, Mr. Foley.
Thousands of people need Planned Parenthood's services for thousands of reasons. More than 1,100 people have signed a new petition urging you to reverse your predecessor's irresponsibility.
There are thousands of us with an actual need for Planned Parenthood's services in mid-Missouri.
There are thousands of us who demanded former Chancellor Loftin put the needs of mid-Missouri women before the political pressures he faced before his resignation. His dismissive attitude when faced with these demands was downright insulting and I believe it's part of why he's gone. You can right that wrong.
After completing one year of law school, for health reasons, I had to leave Mizzou as a student, but remain as a member of the mid-Missouri community in need of Planned Parenthood services.
I urge you, Chancellor Foley, to be part of the solution and help replace the embarrassing reputation your predecessor started to build here at Mizzou with one of integrity and respect for women, education and health care.
Sincerely,
Jessi Miller
This post originally appeared on Mizzou for Planned Parenthood's Facebook page.