Planned Parenthood president, like Bachmann, honored in TIME 100

As we reported yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann made TIME Magazine’s  list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The Minnesota Republican, who has been outspoken about her aim to defund Planned Parenthood, is joined on that list by one Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — for whom Richards once served as deputy chief of staff — reviewed Richards for the magazine’s annual 100 list, which according to TIME, includes “artists and activists, reformers and researchers, heads of state and captains of industry,” whose “ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution”:

To watch Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards at work is to see a portrait of grace, intellect and determination. Her family believes that public service is a noble calling; her mother, the remarkable Ann Richards, taught her that social justice is a cause worth fighting for. And Cecile has dedicated her abilities to progressive causes.

Cecile is a tenacious organizer, talented at both inside maneuvering and outside mobilization. She always wins. She leads with diplomacy and makes her case with facts, not hyperbole. That’s what I saw when she served as my deputy chief of staff; that’s what the nation sees as she leads Planned Parenthood.

Partly because of the respect legislators have for Cecile, being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition. She’s now leading the charge against a comprehensive and radical attack on women’s health and reproductive freedom.

Cecile, 53, is a proud mother of three, a devoted wife and gracious company. But make no mistake: her resolve is steadfast. And American women are the better for it.

Bachmann has been key in pushing for cutting funds to Planned Parenthood at the expense of a federal government shutdown. As we reported last month, Bachmann told participants on a ‘Defunding Planned Parenthood’ webcast sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony List that abortion is “the watershed issue of our time.” “We shouldn’t have one red cent go for Planned Parenthood,” she said. She recently received heat from eyewear company LensCrafters for claiming that “Planned Parenthood wants to be the LensCrafters of Big Abortion.” She attributed that quote to Planned Parenthood, but CNN reported that Bachmann “made up” the quote.

Richards has been president of Planned Parenthood since 2006.