Paul Ryan Ignores Criminal Activity, Continues to Focus on Defunding Planned Parenthood
For Immediate Release: Feb. 12, 2016
Washington, DC --Despite his insistence that we should get back to the “business of the country,” Paul Ryan plans to allow his party to take the ninth vote this Congress to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood --- despite officials 12 states and a grand jury having cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing -- for no other reason than a thoroughly debunked attack on the nonprofit health care provider, an attack that has now earned the anti-abortion activists behind it felony indictments. Ryan has yet to address calls to disband the “select” committee aimed at investigating Planned Parenthood.
Joined by a Planned Parenthood patient, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) will join up in a bicameral effort to echo calls to end all Congressional investigations into Planned Parenthood at 3:45 p.m. ET today.
Ryan continues to push multiple attacks on low-income women’s access to basic preventive health services that would leave more than a million without access to essential, lifesaving care, such as cancer screenings, well-woman exams, STI testing and treatment, and birth control.
Quote from Dawn Laguens, Vice President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“Paul Ryan should take a hard look at the criminals he’s letting dictate his party’s political agenda. This continued crusade against women’s health has very serious consequences --- and will endanger the care that millions across the country rely on.”
"A grand jury and 12 state investigations have confirmed that Planned Parenthood has done nothing wrong, and never ‘sold’ fetal tissue. The American people don't want a wasteful witch-hunt -- especially when essential health care for millions is at stake."
To date, Republicans in Congress have voted eight times already to block care at Planned Parenthood and have taken 21 anti-women’s health votes this Congress. Today’s anticipated vote will be the ninth.
Members of the House of Representatives have also formally called on the Speaker to end the committee and have even raised serious privacy concerns about the committee’s actions.
Last summer, it became clear that certain members of the Republican caucus knew ahead of time about the videos and tried to cover it up. It remains unclear whether these members also knew that the maker of the videos, David Daleiden, and his criminal conspirators broke the law in order to spread lies and false information about the nonprofit health care provider.
Despite Republican leadership’s recent claims that the select committee has nothing to do, with Planned Parenthood, Speaker Ryan’s office has couched the committee under “House Investigation into Planned Parenthood” on the GOP main page and its committee members have also labeled it as such.