Submitted Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Franken, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Booker, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Warren, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Cantwell, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

Whereas on October 16, 1916, Margaret Sanger, her sister Ethel Byrne, and their activist friend Fania Mindell opened the first birth control health clinic in the United States in Brooklyn, New York, a groundbreaking and revolutionary act for women at that time;

Whereas their clinic was founded on the idea that women should have the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives and fulfill their dreams; Whereas Margaret Sanger in 1922 incorporated the American Birth Control League and in 1923 opened the first legal birth control center in the United States, the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau, two organizations that would later merge to become Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Whereas leading up to 1916, the two most common causes of death for women of childbearing age in the United States were tuberculosis and complications from pregnancy and childbirth; Whereas over the past 100 years, gains in access to birth control, safe and legal abortion, and other reproductive health services have improved and transformed the lives of women, men, and young people in the United States and around the world;

Whereas for the past century, Planned Parenthood has helped lead massive changes in women's health and civil rights and has empowered millions of women, men, and young people worldwide to make informed health decisions, transforming the way they live, love, learn, and work; Whereas Planned Parenthood has been at the forefront of fights for social change, including when the executive director of Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut challenged a law preventing the distribution of birth control, leading to the landmark 1964 Supreme Court ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, 379 U.S. 926, which finally allowed married women across the country to have legal access to birth control;

Whereas Planned Parenthood health care providers and staff have played important roles in increasing access to safe and legal abortion, and have successfully advocated for measures that increase access to birth control, including the Affordable Care Act requirement that private insurance plans provide coverage for birth control with no-out-of-pocket costs;

Whereas many leaders, including those in the domestic and global reproductive health, rights, and justice communities, have worked alongside Planned Parenthood in accomplishing these achievements;

Whereas breakthroughs in women's health care, such as the legalization and expanded availability of birth control, have been named one of the biggest economic advancements for women in the past 100 years;
Whereas changes in women's access to reproductive health care have led to cultural shifts: in the United States, women are now nearly half the workforce, the sole or primary breadwinners in 40 percent of homes, and more than half of the college students;

Whereas from the single Brooklyn clinic in 1916, Planned Parenthood has grown to approximately 650 clinics across the United States, with partners in a dozen countries in Africa and Latin America;

Whereas today Planned Parenthood proudly provides high- quality, affordable health care, with 90 percent of services provided being preventive health care for women, men, and young people;

Whereas Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of sex education in the United States;

Whereas an estimated 1 in 5 women in the United States have been to a Planned Parenthood clinic for care at some point in their lives, and, for many people, a Planned Parenthood clinic may be the only place they can turn to for health care;

Whereas in a single year, Planned Parenthood clinics provide sexual and reproductive health care, education, information, and outreach to 2,500,000 women, men, and adolescents in the United States and almost 2,000,000 women, men, and young people globally through its global programs and partnerships, and over 72,000,000 people visit Planned Parenthood's website;

Whereas in the past 10 years, Planned Parenthood has nearly doubled services for male patients and expanded services for LGBTQ communities; and Whereas Planned Parenthood's commitment to offer care and resources has grown over the past century and is stronger than ever as it enters into its second century: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) supports the wide-ranging preventive services that Planned Parenthood Federation of America doctors, nurses, and staff provide every day to patients across the United States;

(2) recognizes that Planned Parenthood is a safety-net provider that reaches medically underserved people who are critically in need of compassionate care;

(3) declares that Planned Parenthood should not be defunded, attacked, or discriminated against for their role as a vital women's health care provider across the country; and

(4) affirms that Planned Parenthood remains an essential thread in the fabric of society, and it will be key in the next century to assisting millions of women, men, and young people in accessing the health care they need and deserve, no matter who they are or where they live.

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, Congress has just passed a funding measure that will prevent a shutdown at the end of this week. As headlines across the country noted as the debate over this bill played out, it was delayed partly due to partisan attacks against women's health and one provider in particular--Planned Parenthood--that were shoehorned into the debate once again.

Colleagues, this year Planned Parenthood turns 100 years old. You cannot look at the last 100 years and deny that monumental progress has been made with respect to women's health and rights--thanks to strong allies like Planned Parenthood. But that progress is what some members of this body want to roll back.
When the first Planned Parenthood opened in 1916, it was illegal for women to get information about how to prevent a pregnancy. It is not surprising that at the time, one of the leading causes of death for women in the United States was complications from pregnancy and childbirth.

From the get-go, Planned Parenthood said that women in America have a fundamental right to information about their reproductive health and access to care. It was about the right of all women to a healthy life and the pursuit of happiness.

In 1965, Planned Parenthood Connecticut fought and won the Supreme Court decision that made birth control legal for married women.

In 2010, Planned Parenthood was at the front lines of the battle, along with a lot of us here in the Senate, to ensure that birth control would be covered under the Affordable Care Act.

Today, an estimated one in five women in America has been to a Planned Parenthood clinic for care at some point in her life. Eight out of ten Planned Parenthood patients live in or near poverty. As tough as it is for them to make ends meet, Planned Parenthood is a place they can turn to for important medical care from a provider they trust.

Planned Parenthood at 100 years old has racked up some impressive points on the scoreboard. Each year Planned Parenthood provides educational programs to 1.5 million people. Planned Parenthood has doubled the number of health services it provides to men and has led the way in expanding access to health care for LGBT Americans. It has more than 650 health centers across the country and served two and a half million women and men last year.

In my home State of Oregon, more than 70,000 Oregonians are served by 11 Planned Parenthood centers. I know firsthand from visiting with Planned Parenthood officials throughout Oregon in Portland, in Lane County, in central Oregon, how important these centers are to the health care of Oregonians.

Planned Parenthood is at the heart of the revolution in women's health care over the last 100 years. It is the first place millions of American women turn to for health care--women from Portland, OR, to Portland, ME.
Here are some of the services Planned Parenthood provides: birth control and counseling; pregnancy tests; prenatal services; HIV tests; safe, legal abortion services; breast cancer screenings; HPV vaccinations; cervical cancer screenings and prevention; ovarian cancer screenings; PAP tests; exams for sexually transmitted diseases; treatment for urinary tract infections; basic physical exams; adoption referrals; family practice services; and nutrition programs.

Despite all these critical services Planned Parenthood provides, every day, legislators attack Planned Parenthood.

The fact is this crusade against Planned Parenthood is a crusade against the fundamental and constitutionally-protected right of women to make their own decisions about their bodies.

Time and time again on the Senate floor and in debates with the other side, my Democratic colleagues and I have had to beat back the attempts to defund Planned Parenthood.

Here is my bottom line colleagues. This country has made 100 years of progress on women's health, and it's not going to move backward.

I urge my colleagues to honor the commitment to women's health and rights that Planned Parenthood has shown in the last 100 years by working in a bipartisan way to improve access to women's health care, instead of limiting it.

Let us allow more women and men to access the health care they need and deserve, no matter who they are or where they live. Let us work to uphold the fundamental right of all women to make their own reproductive choices and access quality health care. Let us continue funding for Planned Parenthood and end these partisan attacks against this bedrock American health provider.

Today, I am joined by 17 of my colleagues in introducing a resolution to formally recognize Planned Parenthood's immense contributions to progress for women's health and quality of life in America. It is time to end the unfounded attacks against Planned Parenthood and allow it to continue to provide critical health services for the next 100 years.

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