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"We made one giant step forward in that female federal employees will now have the benefit of contraceptive coverage in health plans. This lays a solid foundation for Congress to approve legislation in the next session to require contraceptive coverage by all private insurance plans," said Gloria Feldt, president, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

"The behind-the-scenes struggle, however, to keep this measure in the final bill was extraordinary -- even though there was broad, bi-partisan support. And the fight for reproductive rights is only going to get tougher unless Americans are fully aware of whom they are voting for this November and where those candidates stand on family planning and choice issues."

Since an anti-choice majority claimed the House in 1995, Congress has voted nearly 100 times to eliminate or restrict access to family planning and reproductive choice. Attempts by the 105th Congress to continue this strategy included the following:

- Amending the Agriculture Appropriations Bill to block the FDA from conducting scientific inquiry or approving any drug that induces abortion, such as mifepristone (RU-486).

- Stripping a provision from the Treasury-Postal bill after broad, bi-partisan approval that would require federal employee health plans that cover prescription drugs to also cover contraceptives; the provision was later included in the final bill.

- Attempting to pass the so-called "Child Custody Protection Act," which would have endangered teens by making it a federal crime for anyone but a parent to accompany a minor across state lines to obtain abortion services in violation of her home state's parental consent law.

- Imposing a "global gag rule" on international family planning agencies receiving federal funding by restricting free speech about abortion in their own countries and paid for with their own monies - activities which are constitutionally protected in the U.S.

- Placing millions of teens at risk by requiring parental consent for minors seeking family planning from federally funded clinics.

"Let us be very clear, " said Feldt, "none of these measures were designed to improve the health of women. Since Roe v. Wade established a woman's right to abortion 25 years ago, we have seen attacks on our reproductive freedom everywhere from local school boards to state legislatures to the Supreme Court - as well as at our clinics. And for 82 years, Planned Parenthood has stood up to those public attacks to support its original mission … that every child should be a wanted child. With women able to control their fertility, they can participate more fully as decision-makers in our society; this is clearly a threat to certain members of Congress and the fringe groups that support them."

While many of the potentially harmful amendments were not included in the final omnibus bill, there was only one advance: requiring contraceptive coverage for female federal employees. Otherwise, Congress continued its ban of almost all abortion services for low-income women, Native American women, military women overseas, women in federal prisons, and female federal employees.

"When will logic prevail over politics? When will those opposed to abortion embrace the elementary concept of making contraception more available and affordable? If the Congressional leadership continues its crusade to block all forms of abortion and still does nothing to promote family planning, then American voters must hold them accountable.

"It isn't the role of the government to turn personal, medical matters into political issues. But the 105th Congress has made the voting booth as vital as a family planning clinic if we want to ensure access to reproductive health care," said Feldt. "Millions of women come to Planned Parenthood clinics so that they can make responsible choices about their reproductive health. It is more important than ever that voters elect a Congress that we can trust to make responsible choices about legislation that helps, not hurts, women and their reproductive health."

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