PLANNED PARENTHOOD COMMENDS CHAMPIONS FOR HOLDING THE LINE ON WOMEN’S HEALTH IN FY16 SPENDING BILL

Washington, DC -- For months, women’s health supporters have been pushing back on our opponents’ relentless stream of attacks on the women and men across this country who need reproductive health care. Last night, congressional leadership announced a budget deal that contains no new harmful policy riders on women’s health, and maintains current funding levels for important preventive health programs.

Statement from Dana Singiser, Vice President of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“With this budget agreement, millions of women and men across the country will still be able to access critical health services. We commend Leaders Reid and Pelosi, and pro-women’s health champions on the Appropriations Committees including Senators Mikulski and Murray and Reps. Lowey and DeLauro, for holding the line against these harmful policy riders and cuts to key women’s health programs. Extreme members of Congress spent an entire year targeting access to reproductive health care at every opportunity -- even threatening to shut down the government. Today’s budget bill maintains access to critical preventive health services and lacks these harmful attacks on women’s health care — at home and abroad.

“This fight isn’t over — we still need to work to make sure women’s access to health care is protected. The need for family planning and teen pregnancy investments is far greater than the investments in the FY16 spending bill — over 4 million women and men nationwide rely on Title X, the nation’s family planning program, for access to essential care like birth control and cancer screenings; and thanks in part to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, teen pregnancy is at historic lows in America. We should be building on this progress, and increasing investments in good programs that work — not letting progress flatline. Even this small cut to UNFPA will have a harmful impact on women’s health globally. So while we are pleased that the bill includes no new harmful policies, Congress should have taken this opportunity to re-invest in women’s health, and eliminate the existing harmful policies carried over from previous years that continue to prevent low-income women from having access to abortion and other critical health services.”