The activist modernized Planned Parenthood and transformed the organization into a formidable political player.

Cecile Richards, a women’s rights crusader who served as president of Planned Parenthood as the nation approached a critical inflection point over reproductive freedom, has died, her family said Monday in a statement.

Cecile Richards, the organizer and activist who transformed Planned Parenthood into a political powerhouse, died on Monday at age 67. A year ago, Richards announced that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer.