Cecile Richards
Cecile Richards, a lifelong advocate for women’s rights who led Planned Parenthood for 12 years, has died at the age of 67 after a battle with brain cancer, her family said in a statement Monday morning. Richards, the eldest daughter of Gov. Ann Richards, forged her own path as a tireless advocate for women across Texas and the United States.
Richards founded the Texas Freedom Network, a grassroots social justice organization, helped reshape Planned Parenthood into a political force as well as a health care provider, and remained active in Democratic politics and the fight for reproductive rights until her death.
Even after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer in mid-2023, Richards continued pushing, helping amplify the stories of women impacted by abortion bans and working on a abortion information chatbot. She first shared her diagnosis with The Cut in January 2024.
Richards died Monday at home, surrounded by family and her dog, Ollie, according to a statement from her husband and three children.
“We invite you to put on some New Orleans jazz, gather with friends and family over a good meal, and remember something she said a lot over the last year: ‘It’s not hard to imagine future generations one day asking, ‘When there was so much at stake for our country, what did you do? The only acceptable answer is: Everything we could,” the family wrote.
A little on the nose that this happened on Inauguration Day, but the universe does have a sense of humor, and I at least appreciated having something else to think about. I never had the chance to meet Cecile Richards myself, but I have a lot of friends who knew her. She worked tirelessly to make the world a better place. I salute her for that, and I send all my love and condolences to her family. Rest in peace, Cecile Richards. The 19th and Texas Public Radio have more.
It is an incredible loss.