Democratic Members Demand End to Trump Administration Proposal to Restrict Women's Reproductive Health Care
WASHINGTON –Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), along with Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) led over 170 House Democrats in opposing the Trump Administration’s latest attack on a women’s access to abortion. Members of the Senate sent a similar letter signed by 34 members, led by Senator patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
In November 2018, the Trump Administration proposed a rule that that would impose unnecessary and onerous burdens on insurers and consumers with the goal of eliminating abortion coverage in the Affordable Care Act marketplace and would deny women comprehensive health insurance. This rule would, for example, require that insurance companies send a separate bill for abortion care and require consumers to pay a separate payment from their premium. Not only would this rule create consumer confusion, this rule would push abortion coverage further out of reach for many.
Rep. Schakowsky: “Denying women access to abortion puts their health and lives in danger. This rule is just another attempt by the Trump Administration to block women’s right to control their own bodies. We will not stand-by while the Administration systematically dismantles access to abortion. We refuse to return to the dark times when women were forced to seek unsafe, back-alley abortions. Over 170 House Democrats sent a clear message to the Trump Administration- hands off of women’s health care.”
Rep Lee: “This is a blatant attempt, by far-right extremists in the Trump Administration, to erect roadblocks to legal abortion care for countless women. If enacted, this rule will create mass confusion and have a chilling effect on reproductive care for poor women, vulnerable women and women of color. Make no mistake: Congress will oppose this rule and any attempt by this Administration to chip away at women’s constitutionally-protected reproductive rights.”
Rep: DeGette: “Women in America have a constitutionally protected right to access abortion care if they so choose, period. The Pro-Choice Caucus has and will continue to fight back against each and every attempt by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress to limit women’s access to safe and effective health care, including their reproductive rights. We should be working together to make healthcare more affordable and more accessible for all Americans, not limiting women’s access to the care they need by implementing new, confusing and arduous regulations.”
This rule would reverse previous guidance to insurers and would cause delays implementation of abortion coverage. The changes would further push abortion out of reach for many and make access to the full spectrum of health care more difficult for women.
A copy of the letter can be found HERE.
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