President Barack Obama vowed Friday to join Planned Parenthood in fighting against what he said were efforts across the country to turn women's health back to the 1950s. 
 
 President Barack Obama is introduced by Cecilia Boone, chair of the board of Planned Parenthood, before speaking at the 2013 Planned Parenthood National Conference in Washington, Friday, April 26, 2013.... (Associated Press) 
 
 President Barack Obama walks back to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 26, 2103, upon his returned from speaking at the 2013 Planned Parenthood National Conference in Washington,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Obama's comments were the first by a sitting president before the abortion-rights group. He lauded its nearly 100 years of service to women, providing cancer screenings, contraceptives and other health services. 
 
 "When politicians try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag, they're not just talking about you," he said. "They're talking about the millions of women who you serve." 
 
 Obama asserted that "an assault on women's rights" is underway across the country, with bills being introduced in nearly every state legislature to limit or ban abortion or restrict access to birth control. 
 
 "The fact is, after decades of progress, there's still those who want to turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st Century," Obama said. "And they've been involved in an orchestrated and historic effort to roll back basic rights when it comes to women's health." 
 
 Obama says he fought for his health care law to ensure individuals have the right to make their own medical choices. He's asking medical providers and abortion rights supporters to "get the word out" about the law's benefits. 
 
 He encouraged those gathered to continue fighting for abortion rights. "You've also got a president who is going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way," Obama said. 

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 (CNN) - President Barack Obama on Friday chided recent state efforts to enact tougher abortion laws and became the first sitting president to address Planned Parenthood when he spoke at a gala for the group. 
 
 "When you read about some of these laws, you want to check the calendar. You want to make sure you're still living in 2013," he said at the event held in Washington. 
 
 
 
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 He cited North Dakota's anti-abortion measure signed into law last month, which bans most abortions after six weeks, when a fetal heartbeat can be first detected. Arkansas lawmakers also passed a bill this year that prohibits abortions after 12 weeks. 
 
 Alabama, Indiana, and Virginia have recently worked to push laws that raise requirements for abortion clinics, making abortions more difficult. 
 
 The president pointed to an initiative rejected by voters in Mississippi in November 2011 that would have defined life as starting at conception, and outlawed abortion and many forms of birth control if passed. Obama characterized the ballot proposal as "absurd" and "an assault on women's rights." 
 
 "And that's why when the people of Mississippi were given a chance to vote on that initiative, they turned it down," he said. "And Mississippi is a conservative state." 
 
 Abortion was legalized in all 50 states in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Statutory time limits on when abortions can take place, however, vary from state to state. 
 
 Planned Parenthood advocacy groups played a key role in the president's re-election campaign last year, spending about $15 million in an election year that saw an unexpected focus on social issues, including contraception and abortion. 
 
 His campaign released multiple ads attacking Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for proposing to cut government funding to the group. 
 
 "When politicians try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag…When they talk about cutting off funding, let's be clear, they're talking about telling many of those women, you're on your own. They're talking about shutting those women out at a time when they may need it most." 
 
 "The fact is, after decades of progress, there's still those who want to turn back the clock," he added. 
 
 He used the address to promote the Affordable Care Act, urging the audience to educate women on some of the benefits included in the reform. 
 
 Notably absent from his remarks was mention of the high-profile murder trial underway of Kermit Barron Gosnell, a Philadelphia doctor accused of performing illegal late-term abortions. Gosnell faces four first-degree murder counts. 
 
 Authorities allege that some of the infants were born viable and alive during the sixth, seventh and eighth months of pregnancy, but were killed with scissors that were used to cut their spinal cords. 
 
 The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List responded to the president's remarks. 
 
 "President Obama blatantly ignored this inconvenient truth about the abortion industry's horrific lack of oversight, and disparaged the pro-life advocates who wake up each morning with the goal of saving the lives of unborn children and women from the pain of abortion," Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group's president, said in a statement. 
 
 White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said earlier this month that while Obama was "aware" of the case, "the president does not and cannot take a position on an ongoing trial." 
 
 The gala was originally planned for Thursday evening but was rescheduled for Friday to allow the president and first lady more time in West, Texas, where they attended the memorial service for 12 slain fire fighters in last week's fertilizer plant explosion. 
 
 Friday's event was held to honor Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, HBO 'Girls' creator Lena Dunham and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Dunham starred in a controversial web video for Obama's campaign last year, in which she compared a person's first time voting to losing one's virginity. 
 
 Obama concluded his remarks vowing to keep fighting for the organization. 
 
 "No matter how great the challenge, no matter how fierce the opposition, if there's one thing the past few years have shown, it's that Planned Parenthood is not going anywhere," he said. 

 President Barack Obama on Friday defended Planned Parenthood—the largest source of reproductive health care for women, as well as an abortion provider—against its opponents, and warned critics that the organization remains steadfast. 
 
 "Planned Parenthood is not going anywhere," Obama told the 1,000 people at the group's annual national conference in Washington. "It’s not going anywhere today. It’s not going anywhere tomorrow." He is the first president to address Planned Parenthood. 
 
 The organization has long been a target of abortion opponents, who in recent years have fought to cut off its federal funding—despite the fact that that money, by law, is not applicable toward abortions. (Abortions make up an estimated 3 percent of the organization's budget.) 
 
 The president on Friday lauded Planned Parenthood's work “providing quality health care to women all across America." 
 
 Obama added, "We are truly grateful to you.” 
 
 He noted that 1 in 5 women in America have sought services from Planned Parenthood, which is the primary source for health care for many women. When politicians attempt to turn it into "a punching bag," Obama said, they are shutting out women who need health care and communities that may need health care services the most. 
 
 "When it comes to a women's health, no politician should get to decide what's best for you," Obama said. "The only person who should get to make decisions about your health is you." 
 
 Obama used his appearance to champion his health care law, which he said promotes many of the same principles as Planned Parenthood. Obama said his law supports health care for women by allowing young women, for example, to be covered by their parents' health care insurance plans, and by preventing women with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage. 
 
 The president did not say the word "abortion" during his remarks, but did reference a woman's "right to choose." 
 
 He took aim at states that have introduced laws that would limit abortion rights, affect contraceptive care, and end access to certain cancer screenings and education programs related to teen pregnancy, specifically calling out North Dakota and Mississippi for abortion restriction laws. 
 
 Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus recently targeted the organization with a scathing op-ed for conservative news site Red State accusing Planned Parenthood and Democrats of supporting infanticide. Priebus wrote that testimony from a Planned Parenthood lobbyist in Florida indicated the organization supports the killing of infants. 
 
 Planned Parenthood later released a statement on the lobbyist's testimony, saying, "As a trusted health care provider, Planned Parenthood strongly condemns any physician who does not follow the law or endangers a woman's or child's health. And while HB 1129 addresses a situation that is extremely unlikely and highly unusual, if the scenario presented by the legislation should happen, of course a Planned Parenthood doctor would provide appropriate care to both the woman and the infant." 
 
 The president's appearance at the conference comes at a time when infanticide has been in the national news due to the murder trial of former abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. Gosnell, of Philadelphia, is charged with murder in the death of a woman in 2009 during an abortion procedure and in the deaths of four babies.
– President Obama became the first sitting president to address Planned Parenthood today, and he offered a robust defense of the group, report AP and CNN. Among the lines getting attention: What year is this? Citing strict anti-abortion laws in states such as North Dakota and Arkansas, Obama said, "When you read about some of these laws, you want to check the calendar. You want to make sure you're still living in 2013." What year is this, take two: "The fact is, after decades of progress, there's still those who want to turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century. And they've been involved in an orchestrated and historic effort to roll back basic rights when it comes to women's health." 'Punching bag': "When politicians try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag … when they talk about cutting off funding, let's be clear, they're talking about telling many of those women, you're on your own. They're talking about shutting those women out at a time when they may need it most." No mention of 'abortion': Obama never used the word "abortion" in his speech, opting instead for a reference to a woman's "right to choose," notes Yahoo News. Why the speech? Politics, explains the Washington Post. The president is looking to cement his and Democrats' already big advantage with voters on abortion in particular and women's issues in general.