Prohibiting Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I am a physician, a doctor. For the last 25 years, I have worked in hospitals for the uninsured. So when my friend from California mentions the need to ensure access for those who might not otherwise afford it, that is what I have been attempting to do in my medical practice for the last 25 years.

As a practicing physician, one of the first things you are taught in medical school is ``first, do no harm.'' Tragically, these videos demonstrate that some do not share that perspective.

When patients see their doctors, they want an honest, objective opinion. But what the video suggests is that Planned Parenthood puts profits and special interests before the women who call on them for their advice.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CASSIDY. Now, again, for 30 years, I have been working to get health care for folks, and I think it is important we ensure access for women to health care.

Currently, Planned Parenthood gets $500 million in Federal funding per year. If we redirect this funding to the community health centers, which I have worked with for 30 years, their health can be better served.

There are two Planned Parenthood facilities in Louisiana, and there are 160 community health centers. The two Planned Parenthood offices, one in New Orleans and one in Baton Rouge, are in the southeastern portion of the State. The community health centers are scattered all over the State, and, again, there are 160 of those.

For every American who is troubled by these videos, we should be equally troubled by the fact that the Planned Parenthood provision of health care is geographically centered in some areas but not as broadly as the community health centers.

I will also point out, as a physician, that the Planned Parenthood model of care is outdated. We now talk about clinics which are medical homes, not which are siloed into only the provision of birth control pills and, in the case of Planned Parenthood, abortion. The community health centers can provide the whole range of services including those for diabetes, hypertension, et cetera.

It is time for Congress to act. I ask my colleagues to support this redistribution of money, sending it closer to where those patients live, to better ensure a woman's access to health care, and to address the troubling issues raised by these videos.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source