Planned Parenthood Condemns GOP House Petition to Criminalize Doctors

WASHINGTON — Today, Reps. Scalise (R-LA) and Wagner (R-MO) tried to force a vote on an act to criminalize doctors – the same bill which failed in the Senate in February. This bill is not based in science or reality, but is yet another part of the Trump-Pence administration and Republican leadership’s attacks on health care. This legislation is overwhelmingly opposed by the medical community.

Politicians in Congress are trying to shame patients and criminalize doctors for a practice that doesn’t exist – while giving political cover to politicians at the state level to pass bans that outlaw abortionbefore many women know they’re pregnant. In fact, new new data shows proposed six-week abortion bans — like the ban passed in Georgia last week — have increased by an alarming 63 percentcompared to last year.

Statement from Jacqueline Ayers, Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

Today’s filing was yet another out of touch attack on women’s health and rights – based on dangerous lies. Republican leadership is shaming women and criminalizing doctors for a practice that doesn’t exist in reality.

“Americans are counting on their members of Congress to protect their rights and access to health care — not take it away. The right to safe, legal abortion is at risk, with politicians in more than half the states in the country pushing laws to ban abortion. We cannot and will not let that happen. At Planned Parenthood, we won’t stop fighting for everyone’s right to health care, including safe, legal abortion.

Background

The claims regarding this legislation are completely false and offensive, and are not based in science or medicine. It’s important to remember that the people spreading this misinformation have one motive in mind -- to ban safe, legal abortion in this country. About one in four women in this country will have an abortion in her lifetime. Undermining access to safe, legal abortion is wildly out of touch with the majority of Americans – 73 percent of Americans do not want women to lose their access to safe, legal abortion.

This bill represents overreach into the practice of medicine, and is opposed by medical groups. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly opposed this legislation calling it a “gross interference in the practice of medicine.”

States across the country are chipping away at the ability to access abortion safely and legally. More than 420 abortion restrictions have gone into effect since 2011 – the constitutional right to safe, legal abortion in our country has been eroded to the point that millions of women across the US do not have access to abortion.

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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.