Go to Content Go to Navigation Go to Navigation Go to Site Search Homepage

"American women made their voices heard today, and Washington DC listened. A handful of members of Congress tried to use the debate over our nation's deficit to pursue an extreme agenda that would cut millions of women off from Pap tests, breast exams and birth control--without reducing the deficit.

"It was an outrageous proposal, and it was rightly rejected today. Planned Parenthood applauds the members of Congress who stood up for women’s health and the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lent their voices to stop this extreme proposal.

"The rejection of this proposal in the final budget deal is a victory for women’s health.

"However, we are deeply disappointed that the final budget deal includes a policy rider restricting the District of Columbia’s right to make its own decisions regarding how to spend local money just as the 50 states are allowed to do.

"This provision prohibits the District of Columbia from deciding whether to use locally-raised revenue to help low-income women access medically necessary abortions. The District is already prohibited from spending federal dollars on abortion. (fact sheet below)

"It’s clear that the fight for women’s health will continue, and we will continue to work on behalf of the millions of American women who count on this critical care.”

###

BACKGROUND: More than 90 percent of the health care Planned Parenthood provides is preventive.

Every year, Planned Parenthood doctors and nurses provide

  • nearly one million screenings for cervical cancer
  • 830,000 breast exams
  • affordable birth control to nearly 2.5 million patients
  • nearly four million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV testing

Read fact sheet on Planned Parenthood health services here:

FACTS on RIDER on DC ABORTION BAN: Current Law Allows DC to Use Local Funds, not Federal Funds, to Provide Abortions. In 2009, Congress removed the unfair prohibition restricting DC from deciding whether to use its own locally-raised revenue to help low-income women access medically necessary abortion services. This allowed DC to be treated just like every other state in making their own decision on how to use local funds.

No Federal Tax Dollars Would Be Used to Fund Abortion Services. Despite misleading rhetoric from those who oppose abortion rights, the law is very clear. No federal tax dollars can be used by the District of Columbia to help low-income women access medically necessary abortion services.

Current law maintains the ban on the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services. (SEC. 815.) None of the Federal funds appropriated under this Act shall be expended for any abortion except when the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or when the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.

Seventeen Other States Use Local Funds to Provide Abortions. DC joins 17 other states that use state and local funding to pay for medically necessary abortion care for women who otherwise can’t afford it. Those states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.

The District of Columbia and Its Taxpayers Should Be Treated Fairly. The District of Columbia should have the same ability to control its own tax dollars as the 50 states, including having the option to provide support to low-income women with its local tax dollars. The District’s local general funds are only unique because the District’s spending, unlike the 50 states, is subject to Congressional oversight. They are, however, local taxes paid by DC residents and not by taxpayers in any of the 50 states.

The Health and Lives of Women in the District of Columbia Are Protected. Congress should respect the health of DC residents and continue to allow DC to use its own funds to pay for medically necessary abortion services for low-income women if it so chooses.

###

ABOUT PPRM: Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains empowers individuals and families in the communities we serve to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health by providing high quality health services, comprehensive sex education, and strategic advocacy. More than 123,000 women, men, and young adults annually visit our 28 health centers throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Southern Nevada, and Wyoming. Since 1916, we have been the region’s most trusted provider of reproductive health care. For more information about Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, call 1.800.230.PLAN or visit pprm.org for the health center nearest you.

Source

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Inc.

Contact

Monica McCafferty
303.813.7732
720.475.0289

Published

April 09, 2011

We and our third partners use cookies and other tools to collect, store, monitor, and analyze information about your interaction with our site to improve performance, analyze your use of our sites and assist in our marketing efforts. You may opt out of the use of these cookies and other tools at any time by visiting Cookie Settings. By clicking “Allow All Cookies” you consent to our collection and use of such data, and our Terms of Use. For more information, see our Privacy Notice.

Cookie Settings

We, and our third-party partners, use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect, store, monitor, and process certain information about you when you access and use our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device. We use that information to make the site work, analyze performance and traffic on our website, to provide a more personalized web experience, and assist in our marketing efforts. We also share information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. You can change your default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of required cookies when utilizing our site; this includes necessary cookies that help our site to function (such as remembering your cookie preference settings). For more information, please see our Privacy Notice.

Marketing

On

We use online advertising to promote our mission and help constituents find our services. Marketing pixels help us measure the success of our campaigns.

User Feedback and Session Replay

On

We use qualitative data from LogRocket, UserZoom, Hotjar and AB Tasty to learn about your user experience and improve our products and services. LogRocket allows us to view session replays.