Romney Doubles Down Against Women’s Health With Selection of Ryan for VP
For Immediate Release: Jan. 27, 2013
‘We now have a full picture of this ticket, and it is deeply troubling for women’s ability to make their own medical decisions and have access to basic health care,’ Planned Parenthood Action Fund says
Washington, DC – Planned Parenthood Action Fund today expressed alarm at Mitt Romney’s selection of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, whose record shows him to be a longtime opponent of women’s health care, as his nominee to be vice president.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund pointed to specific positions Paul Ryan has taken, including
• his vote last year to end funding to Planned Parenthood, putting at risk the cancer screenings, birth control, STD testing and treatment, and other preventive care that nearly three million Americans rely on each year
• his statement that he would end all safe and legal abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the woman
• his budget plan to dismantle Medicaid, jeopardizing the basic health care millions of women rely on
• his sponsorship of so-called “personhood” legislation, which would give full constitutional rights to fertilized eggs and could ban some forms of birth control and fertility treatments.
“Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading women’s health provider and advocate, and sees firsthand the women who are being hurt by the policies that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan support,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “We now have a full picture of this ticket, and it’s deeply troubling for women’s ability to make their own medical decisions and have access to basic health care. Just like Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan wants to end safe and legal abortion, would work to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood’s cancer screenings, birth control, and other basic health care, and would repeal the Affordable Care Act, denying access to birth control, well-woman checkups, and other preventive care to millions of Americans.”
Mitt Romney has clearly stated his intention to:
• Overturn Roe v. Wade and end safe and legal abortion
• “Get rid” of Planned Parenthood, which would deny women access to birth control and cancer screenings
• End the nation’s family planning program, which provides preventive care to five million women, and cut off access to birth control for women who need it the most.
• Support so-called “personhood” efforts, which would give full constitutional rights to fertilized eggs and could ban some forms of birth control and fertility treatment. These measures are so extreme that they have been soundly rejected in Mississippi, Colorado, and Oklahoma.
“The more that women learn about Mitt Romney’s positions, the more troubled they are by his candidacy. Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee further shows why he is out of touch and wrong for women,” Richards said.
Like Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan has a long record of attacks on women’s health care
• He voted to end funding to Planned Parenthood, which would have denied nearly three million women and men annually the access to birth control and cancer screenings that Planned Parenthood health centers provide. [H. Con. Res. 36, 2/18/11]
• He wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and ban abortion in all cases, a decision that should be left up to a woman, her family, and her faith, with the counsel of her doctor. Ryan said he opposed all abortions and wants to end all safe and legal abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the woman. [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/8/98; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/26/98]
• He wrote a plan to dismantle Medicaid, jeopardizing the basic health care millions of women rely on. His proposal to overhaul Medicaid would undermine women’s health by completely dismantling the Medicaid program, a key public health program that provides basic health care and family planning to millions of women, including well-woman exams, lifesaving cancer screenings, and contraceptive services. [Real Clear Politics, 4/5/11]
• Congressman Ryan co-sponsored a so-called “personhood” bill last year, a dangerous measure that would give full constitutional rights to fertilized eggs and could ban some forms of birth control and fertility treatment. [HR 212, introduced 1/7/11]
• He scores 0 percent on Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Scorecard for his dismal record when it comes to voting in favor of women’s access to health care. [Planned Parenthood Action Fund Congressional Scorecard]
• He has tried repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would take away full coverage for birth control and well-woman exams, allow insurance companies to resume charging women more than men for coverage, allow insurance companies to again deny coverage for pre-existing conditions (like breast cancer, pregnancy, and domestic violence), and make it harder for low-income women to get lifesaving cancer screenings. [Real Clear Politics, 4/5/11]