SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Gutting #TitleX is a blatant attempt to muzzle doctors & deny women their constitutional rights. My colleagues & I won't stand for it," tweeted Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) (Photo: Charlotte Cooper/flickr/cc)
Rep. Barbara Lee Denounces "Most Extreme Effort to Roll Back Women's Healthcare in Decades"
Lee joins pro-choice lawmakers in rejecting administration's new proposal to strip federal funds from facilities that provide abortions
May 18, 2018
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and fellow pro-choice members of Congress shot back at the Trump administration's new proposal to strip federal funds from facilities that provide abortions or make abortion referrals, saying the plan shows "a callous disregard for the well-being of American women and families."
The proposal, sent by the Health and Human Services Department to the White House budget office, would affect not only favorite target of conservatives Planned Parenthood, but "would defund hundreds of independent clinics, as well--and those clinics have very few resources to stay open," as the Abortion Care Network noted.
In the statement released Friday by Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus chair Lee, as well as her co-chair Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), along with Democratic Reps. Joe Crowley (N.Y.), Nita Lowey (N.Y.), Julia Brownley (Calif.), Judy Chu (Calif.), Katherine Clark (Mass.), Suzan DelBene (Wash.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), and Jackie Speier (Calif.), the lawmkers said it showed the administration "will stop at nothing to undermine women's health."
"Make no mistake," they charged, "this proposed rule has one purpose: to limit women's access to care."
"From pushing an ideological abstinence-only agenda and denying low-income families access to contraceptives, to completely ignoring the rule of law and precedents established under Roe v. Wade--it's clear that this administration does not value Americans' rights to accurate health information, comprehensive healthcare, or if and when one chooses to have a family," they said.
Sharing the statement on social media, Rep. Lee said the development marked a "a code red" moment.
\u201cThis is a code red: the Trump-Pence admin is pursuing the most extreme effort to roll back women\u2019s healthcare in decades. Gutting #TitleX is a blatant attempt to muzzle doctors & deny women their constitutional rights. My colleagues & I won\u2019t stand for it. Read our statement \u2b07\ufe0f\u201d— Rep. Barbara Lee (@Rep. Barbara Lee) 1526663870
As NBC News explained, federal law already
prohibits the use of competitive federal family-planning grant funds for abortion, but organizations like Planned Parenthood have traditionally used the federal money for other health services while using private money for abortions and related services--sometimes at the same facilities and with the same staff.
Based on a Reagan-era regulation and championed by abortion-rights opponents, the new rule would force entities that receive so-called Title X family-planning funding to maintain physical and financial separation between taxpayer-backed operations and any related facilities that perform abortions, support the procedures, or receive referrals about them, [an administration] official said.
The ability to have such physical separations between operations would obviously not be feasible to many providers.
The Abortion Care Network said, "Withholding #TitleX healthcare from entire communities in order to restrict abortion care is a ransom no patient, provider, or community should ever have to pay."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and fellow pro-choice members of Congress shot back at the Trump administration's new proposal to strip federal funds from facilities that provide abortions or make abortion referrals, saying the plan shows "a callous disregard for the well-being of American women and families."
The proposal, sent by the Health and Human Services Department to the White House budget office, would affect not only favorite target of conservatives Planned Parenthood, but "would defund hundreds of independent clinics, as well--and those clinics have very few resources to stay open," as the Abortion Care Network noted.
In the statement released Friday by Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus chair Lee, as well as her co-chair Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), along with Democratic Reps. Joe Crowley (N.Y.), Nita Lowey (N.Y.), Julia Brownley (Calif.), Judy Chu (Calif.), Katherine Clark (Mass.), Suzan DelBene (Wash.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), and Jackie Speier (Calif.), the lawmkers said it showed the administration "will stop at nothing to undermine women's health."
"Make no mistake," they charged, "this proposed rule has one purpose: to limit women's access to care."
"From pushing an ideological abstinence-only agenda and denying low-income families access to contraceptives, to completely ignoring the rule of law and precedents established under Roe v. Wade--it's clear that this administration does not value Americans' rights to accurate health information, comprehensive healthcare, or if and when one chooses to have a family," they said.
Sharing the statement on social media, Rep. Lee said the development marked a "a code red" moment.
\u201cThis is a code red: the Trump-Pence admin is pursuing the most extreme effort to roll back women\u2019s healthcare in decades. Gutting #TitleX is a blatant attempt to muzzle doctors & deny women their constitutional rights. My colleagues & I won\u2019t stand for it. Read our statement \u2b07\ufe0f\u201d— Rep. Barbara Lee (@Rep. Barbara Lee) 1526663870
As NBC News explained, federal law already
prohibits the use of competitive federal family-planning grant funds for abortion, but organizations like Planned Parenthood have traditionally used the federal money for other health services while using private money for abortions and related services--sometimes at the same facilities and with the same staff.
Based on a Reagan-era regulation and championed by abortion-rights opponents, the new rule would force entities that receive so-called Title X family-planning funding to maintain physical and financial separation between taxpayer-backed operations and any related facilities that perform abortions, support the procedures, or receive referrals about them, [an administration] official said.
The ability to have such physical separations between operations would obviously not be feasible to many providers.
The Abortion Care Network said, "Withholding #TitleX healthcare from entire communities in order to restrict abortion care is a ransom no patient, provider, or community should ever have to pay."
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and fellow pro-choice members of Congress shot back at the Trump administration's new proposal to strip federal funds from facilities that provide abortions or make abortion referrals, saying the plan shows "a callous disregard for the well-being of American women and families."
The proposal, sent by the Health and Human Services Department to the White House budget office, would affect not only favorite target of conservatives Planned Parenthood, but "would defund hundreds of independent clinics, as well--and those clinics have very few resources to stay open," as the Abortion Care Network noted.
In the statement released Friday by Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus chair Lee, as well as her co-chair Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), along with Democratic Reps. Joe Crowley (N.Y.), Nita Lowey (N.Y.), Julia Brownley (Calif.), Judy Chu (Calif.), Katherine Clark (Mass.), Suzan DelBene (Wash.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), and Jackie Speier (Calif.), the lawmkers said it showed the administration "will stop at nothing to undermine women's health."
"Make no mistake," they charged, "this proposed rule has one purpose: to limit women's access to care."
"From pushing an ideological abstinence-only agenda and denying low-income families access to contraceptives, to completely ignoring the rule of law and precedents established under Roe v. Wade--it's clear that this administration does not value Americans' rights to accurate health information, comprehensive healthcare, or if and when one chooses to have a family," they said.
Sharing the statement on social media, Rep. Lee said the development marked a "a code red" moment.
\u201cThis is a code red: the Trump-Pence admin is pursuing the most extreme effort to roll back women\u2019s healthcare in decades. Gutting #TitleX is a blatant attempt to muzzle doctors & deny women their constitutional rights. My colleagues & I won\u2019t stand for it. Read our statement \u2b07\ufe0f\u201d— Rep. Barbara Lee (@Rep. Barbara Lee) 1526663870
As NBC News explained, federal law already
prohibits the use of competitive federal family-planning grant funds for abortion, but organizations like Planned Parenthood have traditionally used the federal money for other health services while using private money for abortions and related services--sometimes at the same facilities and with the same staff.
Based on a Reagan-era regulation and championed by abortion-rights opponents, the new rule would force entities that receive so-called Title X family-planning funding to maintain physical and financial separation between taxpayer-backed operations and any related facilities that perform abortions, support the procedures, or receive referrals about them, [an administration] official said.
The ability to have such physical separations between operations would obviously not be feasible to many providers.
The Abortion Care Network said, "Withholding #TitleX healthcare from entire communities in order to restrict abortion care is a ransom no patient, provider, or community should ever have to pay."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.