Planned Parenthood Action Fund Launches National Campaign Revoking Licenses of Gynoticians on the Heels of House Passage National 20 Week Abortion Ban
For Immediate Release: June 19, 2013
Gynotician (noun): A Politician Who Thinks He or She is More Qualified than Women and Their Doctors to Make Women’s Health Care Decisions
WASHINGTON, DC — On the heels of House passage of a dangerous and unconstitutional bill that would ban abortion nationwide at 20 weeks, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund has launched a campaign revoking the licenses of “Gynoticians” across the country. A new word coined by the Action Fund in response to the unprecedented number of attacks on women’s health in Congress and in state legislatures across the country, a Gynotician is a politician who thinks he or she is more qualified than women and their doctors to make women’s health care decisions. The Action Fund is the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
As part of the campaign, the Action Fund and Planned Parenthood advocacy organizations across the country are urging supporters to sign a petition revoking the Gynotician’s license from politicians who want to restrict or eliminate access to women’s health care. The Action Fund has also created a new twitter handle, @DrPolitician, to highlight the beliefs of Gynoticians.
You can view the petition here.
You can see the full definition of a Gynotician here, and a glossary of terms employed by various Gynoticians here.
Statement from Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“A Gynotician is a politician who feels more qualified than women and their doctors to make women’s health care decisions. For too long, Gynoticians have been operating with impunity in Congress and in state legislatures across the country. It is time to say ‘enough is enough’ – we are revoking the Gynoticians’ licenses and telling them that personal medical decisions belong back in the hands of a woman and her doctor.
“Just yesterday, the House of Representatives passed unconstitutional and dangerous legislation that would take deeply personal and often complex decisions about pregnancy out of the hands of a woman and her doctor. The bill could have dire consequences for women in unique and heartbreaking situations later in pregnancy. But unfortunately, it is just the latest in a long line of state and federal bills attacking women’s access to health care. Many other bills impact millions of women – they restrict birth control, sex education, and access to Planned Parenthood’s preventive health care services.
“The bottom line is that a woman’s access to quality health care should not depend on her zip code or on a politician's personal opinion of her health care decisions. Politicians should not be involved in women’s personal medical decisions. Americans want doctors and medical experts to make medical decisions and set health regulations, not politicians.”
BACKGROUND
• Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed dangerous and unconstitutional legislation that would ban abortion at 20 weeks nationwide — interfering in a woman’s ability to make personal decisions about her pregnancy in consultation with her doctor. Late last Friday after the bill’s sponsor Rep. Trent Franks’ embarrassing comments about rape and the committee defeating an amendment to add exceptions for rape and incest, House leadership sneaked in an additional and important provision allowing rape or incest victims to access an abortion — but only after reporting the crime to the police. You can view PPAF’s statement on the vote here.
• In the first few months of 2013, more than 300 provisions to restrict abortion access were introduced in state legislatures across the country, signaling this year would be just as bad as the record-breaking worst years for women’s health in 2011 and 2012.
o In Ohio, the legislature is voting on a budget to cut women off from preventive health care, ban safe and legal abortion providers in parts of the state, and put a gag order on rape crisis centers trying to assist victims.
o In Texas, the Senate votes on a bill today that would force all but five of the state’s abortion providers to close. And Kansas has already passed legislation allowing doctors to lie to women about their pregnancy.
• Earlier this month, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a national organization representing thousands of women’s health experts, came out against these types of abortion restrictions, reinforcing that they are dangerous to patients’ health and safety.
• Several leading Republicans have come out against recent political attacks on women’s health, including Republican Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) who said “the stupidity is simply staggering,” and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who asked “Why are we having this discussion? As a pro-life Republican, this is not something that’s part of the national debate right now?”