Fact Check: Senate Voting on Bills Allowing Politicians to Interfere in Personal Health Care Decisions

WASHINGTON — Tomorrow the U.S. Senate will vote on two bills, each with no chance of passing, that are designed to spread misinformation about abortion and shame pregnant people and doctors. The ultimate goal of these efforts — beyond wasting taxpayer time and dollars — is to ban access to safe, legal abortion in the country, despite the fact that the vast majority of the American public firmly believes that abortion should remain safe and legal.

Statement from Jacqueline Ayers, vice president of government relations & public policy, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

“Health care decisions should be made by patients and their trusted health care provider, not by politicians in the Senate. These bills push misinformation meant to end access to abortion, and serve no other purpose than to shame patients and deny people the ability to make the best medical decisions for themselves and their families. Let’s be clear: the politicians behind these bills have one ultimate goal in mind: to ban access to safe, legal abortion in this country — and they know the public is not on their side. The American people overwhelmingly support abortion access, and they want a U.S. Senate that works to expand health care, not take it away.”

Here is what you need to know about the bills on the Senate floor today:

FACT: Support for abortion is at record highs.

77 percent of Americans oppose overturning Roe. v Wade. [PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll, 6/07/19]
There is no state in the nation where making abortion illegal is popular. [Public Religion Research Institute, 8/13/19]
A majority of Republican men and Trump voters are opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade. [ABC News/Washington Post poll, 7/07/19], [Perry Undem survey, 1/11/18]

FACT: Knowing the public is not on their side, these bills are attempts by anti-abortion politicians to mislead voters, distort the truth, and shame pregnant people and their providers.

Sen. Sasse’s Legislation, S. 311/S. 130:

So-called “Born Alive” bills fabricate a problem that doesn’t exist. Doctors already have an obligation to provide appropriate medical care. To suggest otherwise is false, offensive, and dangerous, not to mention a complete waste of taxpayer time and money.
- The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly opposes this legislation calling it a “gross legislative interference in the practice of medicine.”
This bill adds new and extreme criminal and financial penalties against doctors and inappropriately intrudes with the doctor-patient relationship by substituting out a parent’s and a physician’s best judgment with that of a group of politicians.
- If this bill became law, parents and their doctors could be denied the ability to decide how the last few minutes or hours of their child's life will be spent. Infants could be taken away from their parents by doctors, under the threat of criminal charges, in order to receive unnecessary medical treatment that only prolongs suffering.

Sen. Graham’s Legislation, S.3275:

Attacks on abortion later in pregnancy are misleading and are not based in fact. They’re designed to confuse and manipulate people.
If an abortion does occur later in pregnancy, it’s often for complicated reasons. Sometimes a person may experience a health crisis or the pregnancy cannot survive. Other times, a person may not be able to get an abortion as soon as they decide because politicians have passed laws that put care out of reach. Or a pregnancy may be the result of rape or incest.
This bill would ban all abortions beginning at 20 weeks with extremely limited exceptions, denying a person access to abortion care, even in the cases of severe and dangerous health complications.
Each pregnancy and each circumstance is unique. When people are making personal medical decisions, one-size-fits all laws don’t work.
Leading medical groups oppose politicians imposing arbitrary restrictions on abortion and interference with the doctor-patient relationship.
- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposes 20-week abortion bans, saying they ignore scientific evidence, are not medically or clinically meaningful, and create ambiguity that would leave abortion providers vulnerable to unwarranted punishment. ACOG further calls these bills an “unconstitutional attempt to intimidate health care providers and prevent them from providing the safe care their patients want and need.”
- The American Medical Association “strongly condemn(s) any interference by the government or other third parties that causes a physician to compromise his or her medical judgment as to what information or treatment is in the best interest of the patient.”
20-week abortion bans are unconstitutional as they are in clear violation of Supreme Court precedent set in Roe v. Wade and affirmed in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

FACT: The politicians pushing these bills have one goal: to attack our rights and freedoms. It is no coincidence these bills come at a time when:

Eight states are pushing for anti-abortion constitutional amendments.
The Supreme Court is about to hear two pivotal reproductive health cases — one that could render protections under Roe meaningless, the other, could threaten birth control access.
More than 200 members of Congress have signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, asking it to reconsider Roe v. Wade.
The Trump administration greenlit a plan that would allow states to defund Planned Parenthood.

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.