Bera Fights Attack on Women's Access to Care

Press Release

Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. today fought against a radical assault on women's access to health care and voted against the so-called Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36)-- a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks and not allow any real exceptions to protect women's health.

"When I became a doctor, I took an oath to provide my patients with the best options available to them and to explain the risks and benefits of these choices," said Bera " Women should be free to make the health care decisions that are best for them, and doctors should not be threatened with jail time for doing what's in the best interest of their patients. This bill is just another extreme attempt of politicians trying to insert themselves into the exam room where they don't belong."

H.R. 36 makes it more difficult for women to get the health care they need, even in the cases of rape and incest, and interferes in the doctor patient relationship by placing criminal penalties on physicians providing life-saving care for their patients. According to Planned Parenthood, Nearly 99 percent of abortions occur before 21 weeks, but when they are needed later in pregnancy, it's often because of a serious medical issue when a woman and her doctor need every medical option available.

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