Chu, Slaughter, DeGette, and Pallone Lead Nearly 160 of their Colleagues in Demanding Speaker Ryan Stop the Republican Attack on Women's Health

Press Release

Representatives Judy Chu (CA-27), Louise Slaughter (NY-25), Diana DeGette (CO-01), and Frank Pallone (NJ-06) today led nearly 160 of their colleagues in demanding that Speaker Ryan stop Republicans' unprecedented assault on women's health care. Despite their promise to focus on jobs and the economy, Republican leaders have made attacking women's health care their top priority during the 115th Congress. This week, the House will consider the most serious threat so far, a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act that would roll back a Title X rule designed to shield family planning clinics across the country from partisan state-level defunding efforts.

"While Republicans are leaving all Americans uncertain about the future of their healthcare, they are removing healthcare options for women altogether. This attack on Title X is just the latest in a series of efforts to limit women's access to healthcare and the ability to plan for their families and their lives. Title X has a long, bipartisan history of support, and for 6 in 10 patients, Title X clinics serve as their "usual or only' source of healthcare. Denying women access to Title X will jeopardize essential services, like cancer screenings, HIV testing, counseling services, and sex education. And once again, it is low-income women who will be hurt the most. A woman's healthcare choices should be up to her and her doctor, not Republican lawmakers," said Chu.

"From working to repeal the Affordable Care Act to advancing legislation to place unprecedented limits on women's access to reproductive health services, Republicans have made attacking women's health their top priority. Consideration this week of a measure to roll back the Title X rule is the most serious threat to women's health so far this Congress. Programs supported by Title X help provide life-saving and preventative health care services to uninsured and low-income men and women nationwide. It is outrageous that Congressional Republicans are now trying to allow conservative state legislatures to pick and choose who can provide this essential care. This marks an entirely new front on Congressional Republicans' never-ending crusade against women's access to reproductive health services," said Slaughter.

"At a time when millions of constituents are phoning, showing up at our offices, and doing everything they can to stop Congress from ripping away their health care, Republicans must be entirely tone-deaf as they prepare to take this step, " DeGette said. "Thanks to Title X funding, people who face the steepest challenges in accessing care can receive basic and potentially life-saving services at the health centers closest to them. Sadly, if the roll-back of this program succeeds, those who will suffer most are the uninsured, people with low incomes, and those living in rural and remote areas."

"Title X provides critical grants to public and nonprofit organizations that offer a broad range of family planning and preventive health services to more than 4 million women, men and teens every year," said Pallone. "This resolution is another attempt by Congressional Republicans to limit women's access to high-quality essential health care, and it should be rejected."

The letter highlights Republicans' relentless attacks on women's choices, access to care, and economic security. In addition to pushing to roll back the Title X rule, Republican leaders are also working to repeal the Affordable Care Act without anything to take its place, defund Planned Parenthood and advance the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R. 7), which would effectively ban private insurance companies from covering comprehensive reproductive health services.

Immediately after taking office, the president signed a dramatic expansion of the Global Gag Rule, which forces health providers eligible for U.S. assistance to choose between receiving U.S. funding or providing comprehensive health care services to their patients.