“Zero sense of irony”: Planned Parenthood Action Fund President on Subcommittee Hearing on the “Erosion” of Doctor-Patient Relationships

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing called “Oh Doctor, Where Art Thou? Pandemic Erosion of the Doctor-Patient Relationship.” The anti-sexual and reproductive health majority on the committee incorrectly claimed that COVID-19 safety measures and vaccines harmed confidentiality and transparency between doctors and patients, while ignoring the wave of abortion bans, gender-affirming care bans, and other restrictions that dangerously interfere with patients and providers. Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, called out the hypocrisy:

“With zero sense of irony, suddenly, anti-abortion House members care about a provider’s ability to provide the best care available to their patients, and patients trusting their doctors with confidential and sensitive information. If only this concern applied to providing sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion. Everyone deserves access to affordable, confidential, high quality, and safe health care — no matter what type of health care they need. Hopefully these members learned that today.”

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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.