Right to Contraception Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE. Madam Speaker, at the hearing I had on this issue in my subcommittee the other day, Dr. Resneck, the president of the AMA, said he doesn't want to have, when he is in clinic with a patient, a State Attorney General sitting on his shoulder.

I know how he feels because many of my colleagues on the other side not only want to stop a patient's ability and decision to have an abortion, they apparently want to tell people now what kinds of birth control they can use.

Today I have heard my colleagues on the other side say falsely that IUDs, that chemical birth control, that other forms of birth control are ``abortifacients.'' Not only is this patently untrue, but it harms millions of Americans.

I would say that I think everybody listening to this debate is probably confused. My colleagues say, oh, we support birth control. But make no mistake about it, there have been bills in a number of States, and there have been bills in this body to ban common forms of birth control--not abortion, birth control--and that has got to stop.

My colleagues across the aisle, they think that the rhythm method or condoms or something like that are okay, but the things women use to stop getting pregnant can't be used, and I think that is important to point out.

I think every woman in America needs to know this, and, frankly, every patient in America should be able to make their open decision about their healthcare for abortion and birth control.

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