Planned Parenthood Patient Advocates Descend on Capitol Hill: “Stop Using Budget Negotiations to Attack Reproductive Health Care”
For Immediate Release: Sept. 27, 2023
Washington, D.C. — Today, as Congress continues negotiations over government funding bills that impact funding for key health care priorities, Planned Parenthood patient advocates from across the country met with members and their staff to talk about the importance of access to sexual and reproductive health care. Many of the patients discussed services they received at Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers.
During the appropriations process for FY24, anti-abortion politicians packed must-pass government funding bills in the House with measures that attack access to sexual and reproductive health care, including an effort to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood. Now, the House majority appears willing to shut down the government if their extreme demands aren’t met. Their deeply unpopular and dangerous agenda will put vital health care programs out of reach to millions of Americans — but this is all part of their overall goal: to control our bodies and our futures.
Statement from Jacqueline Ayers, Senior Vice President of policy, organizing, and campaigns at Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“Elected officials need to hear the voices and stories of the millions of patients who receive essential health care services at Planned Parenthood affiliate health care centers. Right now, certain politicians are attacking access to sexual and reproductive health care–and are willing to shut down the government to further their extreme agenda. This is unacceptable and these politicians will hear from us. We’re thankful to have champions and allies in Congress who will continue to fight to protect access to sexual and reproductive health care in any government funding agreement.”
This is in response to House Republicans using the annual appropriations process to push an anti-health agenda. This includes efforts to:
- “Defund” Planned Parenthood by blocking people that rely on public health programs from accessing critical preventive services at Planned Parenthood health centers;
- Eliminate funding for the Title X family planning program;
- Eliminate funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, while funding abstinence-only programs;
- Restrict access to gender affirming care;
- Overturn a rule issued by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) that allows the VA to provide veterans and their eligible dependents abortion care in certain circumstances;
- Repeal Department of Defense (DOD) policies that ensure service members and their loved ones can travel off base or away from their station, and receive travel and transportation allowances for abortion care they can’t access in the military;
- Force back in place burdensome, medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone that FDA lifted earlier this year after extensive, evidence-based review;
- Block the Department of Justice from suing any State or local government over their abortion laws.
- Cap international family planning and reproductive health care funding at $461 million, a nearly 25% cut that would result in over 8 million women losing access to contraception;
- Ban funding for UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency;
- And permanently and legislatively impose the Trump administration’s expanded version of the global gag rule.
(Photo: Planned Parenthood patient advocates on Capitol Hill meeting with members and staff to share their stories)
Reporters interested in talking to a patient advocate can contact [email protected]
###
Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.