Slaughter and Degette Lead Coalition Urging Protection For DC's Women

Press Release

Today, U.S. Reps. Louise Slaughter (NY-28) and Diana DeGette (CO-1) led 59 members of the House in a letter urging Democratic appropriators to protect the health and reproductive rights of low-income women in the District of Columbia.

The letter asks appropriators to oppose language in the Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill that undermines D.C.'s self-government, by prohibiting local tax dollars from being used for abortions for women whose insurance is provided by the district government.

The letter was sent to Members in advance of Wednesday's Senate mark-up of the appropriations bill.

"Washington D.C. is not Congress' petri dish; we should not be using federal power to experiment with the rights of women, which is why I encourage every member of the Appropriations Committees to reject any effort to limit the District's control of local funds," said Slaughter, Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. "Congress should not be in the business of punishing low-income women and stripping them of their constitutionally-afforded rights. I believe we'd all do well to remember that."

"Not only would this proposed language undermine the self-governing rights of the people of the District of Columbia, it would deny low-income women access to basic, constitutionally protected, medical services," said DeGette, Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. "Congress should not violate the District's right to use its own tax dollars as it sees fit, in order to simply advance congressional Republicans' extreme assault on women's access to quality, reproductive healthcare. This intrusive initiative sadly sends a clear signal that this Congress does not believe vulnerable women are worthy of the same access to quality health as their middle-class and wealthy counterparts."

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