Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, died after a fight with brain cancer, her family announced Monday. She was 67.
Richards, the daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, was mourned by Democrats and abortion rights advocates as a tireless advocate for abortion access during her 12-year tenure as head of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Richards, who was diagnosed in 2023 with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, died at home just a few hours before President Trump was sworn into office.
“This morning our beloved Cecile passed away at home, surrounded by her family and her ever-loyal dog, Ollie. Our hearts are broken today but no words can do justice to the joy she brought to our lives,” said the statement from her family.
In November, then-President Biden awarded Richards the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a private ceremony with her husband, Kirk Adams.
Mr. Biden praised Richards in a Monday statement as a “leader of utmost character” who “fearlessly led us forward to be the America we say we are.”
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“Carrying her mom’s torch for justice, she championed some of our Nation’s most important civil rights causes,” said Mr. Biden. “She fought for the dignity of workers, defended and advanced women’s reproductive rights and equality, and mobilized our fellow Americans to exercise their power to vote.”
The White House said Richards is survived by her husband; her children Daniel, Hannah and Lily, and her grandson Teddy.
Richards emerged as the face of the pro-choice movement as Planned Parenthood president from 2006-18, leading the battle against the first Trump administration’s pro-life agenda in the final years of her tenure.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Richards “a formidable champion of women, girls and working families.”
“Politics and public service were in Cecile’s DNA as the daughter of the indomitable Ann Richards — and she will be remembered as a commanding leader in her own right, whose good works have improved countless lives all across the country,” Mrs. Pelosi said in a statement.
Before assuming the top post at Planned Parenthood, Richards worked as a labor organizer and activist before joining the House staff of Mrs. Pelosi.
“As my deputy chief of staff when I was Democratic Whip and Leader, she was a critical part of ensuring that Team Pelosi stayed connected to the needs and priorities of grassroots,” said Mrs. Pelosi. “As she ascended to other leadership roles, we never stopped working together to defend the rights of women and working families.”
Other Democrats commemorating Richards’ passing included former first lady Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and former Sen. Claire McCaskill.
“America has had few greater advocates for women and reproductive health than Cecile Richards,” said Mrs. Clinton in a statement on X. “Her legacy will be the countless lives she touched and the generations of women she inspired to follow in her footsteps.”
For the pro-life advocates who battled Richards for years, her legacy was far more fraught, and yet several offered prayers upon learning of her death.
“During her 12 years overseeing Planned Parenthood, she presided over the abortion of nearly 4 million babies,” said Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action. “May the Lord, in His perfect justice and infinite mercy, rest her soul. And may He have mercy on all of us and our nation.”
Abby Johnson, who became a pro-life activist after working as a clinic director for Planned Parenthood, said that “Cecile Richards was one of those people in my life who I had to leave behind.”
“I became her opponent, but she was never mine,” Ms. Johnson said in a Monday statement. “I simply saw her as a tool being used by the enemy, and I believed in her conversion until the very end. I pray that in her final moments, she had a powerful encounter with the Lord, as He wants all of His children to spend eternity with Him.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.