February, 21 2019, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Alissa Manzoeillo, National Abortion Federation
202.667.5881, ext 219; 202.595.4395 (after hours/cell)
amanzoeillo@prochoice.org
HHS Releases Anti-Abortion Title X Final Rule
WASHINGTON
Statement of The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, Interim President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) on the Trump Administration's release of the final anti-abortion Title X rule:
We believe that all forms of reproductive health care, including abortion care, should not only be legal, but also safe and accessible. Any attempt to reduce access to comprehensive reproductive health care simply to score political points with anti-abortion extremists is unacceptable.
The Department of Health and Human Services has previously tried to justify these changes to Title X as a step toward closing "gaps in service," when the changes do the opposite. The Proposed Rule would erect undue barriers to providing and accessing comprehensive reproductive health care, creating even larger gaps in service--especially for low income women, women of color, and the LGBTQ community.
It is unfathomable that anyone would want to prevent health care providers from giving their patients referrals to other safe, quality health care providers. This is another clear sign that President Trump and his administration would rather bow to anti-abortion extremists than ensure people in America have access to the quality health care they need.
The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers.Our members include individuals, private and non-profit clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, women's health centers, physicians' offices, and hospitals who together care for approximately half the women who choose abortion in the U.S. and Canada each year. Our members also include public hospitals and both public and private clinics in Mexico City and private clinics in Colombia.
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A campaign finance watchdog on Wednesday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, affiliated political groups, and an accounting firm of violating U.S. law in a scheme "seemingly designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump's legal bills."
The Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said that "evidence appears to show an illegal arrangement between several Trump-affiliated committees and a compliance firm named Red Curve Solutions that is designed to obscure the identities of those providing legal services and how much they are being paid."
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CLC alleges that the Trump campaign, Trump's political action committee (PAC) Save America, and three affiliated organizations "violated federal reporting requirements based on a scheme in which the committees reportedly paid over $7.2 million—described as 'reimbursement for legal' costs or expenses"—to Red Curve.
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Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
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Florez noted that "even with the repeal of the Civil War-era ban, the state will still have a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that denies people access to critical care. And lawmakers continue to attack Arizonans' ability to access reproductive healthcare. Our right to control our bodies and lives is hanging on by a thread."
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