Planned Parenthood Action Fund on Congressional Efforts to Eliminate Abortion Access
For Immediate Release: Jan. 22, 2015
“It is encouraging that some politicians are starting to recognize that it is a political vulnerability to attack women's access to abortion and other health care, but it would be better if they recognized the real impact that these attacks have on women's lives.”
WASHINGTON, DC — Planned Parenthood Action Fund released the following statement calling the U.S. House of Representatives vote on the H.R.7, titled the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act," a thinly veiled attempt to eliminate abortion access and undermine a woman’s ability to make personal decisions about her own health care. This legislation is out of touch with the priorities of Americans today. A strong majority of voters — Republicans (62 percent), Democrats (78 percent), and Independents (71 percent) — say these are the wrong issues for Congress and their state legislators to be spending time on.
Statement from Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“It is encouraging that some politicians are starting to recognize that it is a political vulnerability to attack women's access to abortion and other health care, but it would be better if they recognized the real impact that these attacks have on women's lives. As we mark the 42nd anniversary ofRoe v. Wade, this should be an important message to politicians that the majority of Americans want them to focus on policies that keep moving women forward rather than taking them back.
“They switched one extreme and unpopular anti-abortion bill for another in the middle of the night, when their real goal is to ban abortion altogether. The bill passed by the House today — just like the dangerous 20-week ban — is a thinly veiled attempt to eliminate abortion access and undermine a woman’s ability to make personal decisions about her own health care.
“There have been headlines recently saying House Republicans ‘aren't wasting any time’ introducing anti-women's health bills. We disagree: they're wasting all of our time. The public has been clear that further restrictions on abortion are not their priority, and that they don’t want Congress to take women backward.”
BACKGROUND:
Planned Parenthood strongly opposes the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act” (H.R. 7), which is a dangerous assault on women’s health and a harmful attempt to take away the comprehensive private health insurance coverage that millions of women have today.
- This law would make it illegal to use tax credits and other subsidies to purchase private insurance for abortion — raising taxes for families and small business, and taking coverage away from countless women.
- The law has virtually no exceptions for women whose health is at risk, forcing women to pay out of pocket for a critical medical procedure that can cost thousands of dollars. The bill does not allow any exception for abortions necessary to protect a woman's health, even to protect against serious medical conditions.