Planned Parenthood Action Fund: New House Bill Would Limit Women’s Health Care Access
For Immediate Release: Jan. 28, 2013
WASHINGTON – Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, released the following statement in response to legislation introduced today by a group of House Republican lawmakers that would keep Planned Parenthood from receiving funds under Title X, a federal family planning program.
“Some members of Congress just don’t get it. Two years ago, the first order of business for Tea Party Republicans was blocking women’s access to health care and defunding Planned Parenthood, and now they’re at it again. They apparently learned nothing from the results of the last election, when Americans said overwhelmingly that they do not want politicians dictating women’s access to health care.
“This legislation would limit women’s access to the wide range of preventive health care services that Planned Parenthood health centers provide, including cancer screenings, breast exams and birth control. One in five women in the U.S. has turned to Planned Parenthood for health care at some point in her life, and Americans recognize the crucial role that our preventive health care services play in keeping women healthy. Planned Parenthood is good for women’s health and good for the economy.”
BACKGROUND
- Nearly three million patients come to Planned Parenthood health centers every year — not to make a political statement but to get high-quality, affordable health care.
- Planned Parenthood health centers see more than two million patients for birth control, conduct nearly 750,000 breast exams, and provide more than four million STI tests/treatments annually.
- One in five women in the U.S. has visited a Planned Parenthood health center at least once in her life.
- More than 90 percent of the services Planned Parenthood health centers provide are preventive (cancer screenings, STD tests, birth control etc.).
- Federal funds cannot fund abortion services at Planned Parenthood health centers. In 1976, Congress passed the Hyde amendment, which forbids federal funding for abortion under the Medicaid program. The only exceptions are in cases of rape, incest and danger to the life of the woman.