Women and Families Will Be Hurt Under Tax Bill Passed By House

Final House Tax Bill Includes Buried Attempt to Restrict Abortion

WASHINGTON D.C. — Planned Parenthood Action Fund condemns the tax reform legislative package passed by the House of Representatives today, includes hidden language aimed at restricting access to abortion and paves the way for consideration of a Senate tax bill that could result in 13 million people losing access to health care coverage. At the urging of President Trump, Senate Republican leaders amended their tax bill to repeal the ACA’s requirement that most people sign up for insurance coverage, the individual mandate.  

With this move, House Republican leaders have once again made clear that they will stop at nothing in their relentless attempt to block women from accessing basic reproductive health care and undermining Americans health.

Statement from Dana Singiser, Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs for Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

House Republican leaders are using this tax bill as yet another vehicle to undermine access to safe, legal abortion. Denying women access to safe, legal abortion is wildly out of touch with what the majority of Americans want. Politicians in Washington, D.C., have no place inserting themselves in decisions about women's health and lives, not on this bill and not on any bill.

“Additionally, their tax legislation would disportionately benefit corporations and wealthy families — with working families not only gaining little, but in some cases even paying higher taxes.

The bill passed by the House today includes language that explicitly allows an “unborn child” to be an account beneficiary of a 529 college savings plan, defining “unborn child” in statute. The fact is that the law already allows people to create 529 accounts for their future children, making the new language unnecessary. The GOP leadership’s agenda is clear: to insert language into this bill that is solely designed to support relentless efforts to restrict access to safe, legal abortion.  

This proposal is wildly out of touch with what the majority of Americans want. Support for Roe v. Wade is at the highest it’s ever been, with seven out of 10 Americans saying they believe a woman should have the right to safe, legal abortion — that’s more popular than Congress, the Republican party, or the Democratic party.

####

Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy.