Conscience Protection Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. FOSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak out against the so- called Conscience Protection Act. I proudly represent the 11th District of Illinois. And as someone who supports a woman's right to choose, I find it deeply disturbing that so many lawmakers today want to make healthcare access more difficult for women.

This legislation will be detrimental to women's health because it gives individuals and corporations a license to discriminate against women's reproductive choices.

I am also the only Ph.D. scientist in Congress. And as a scientist, I find it outrageous that this bill will give healthcare companies the right to deny accurate medical information to patients. This kind of legislation deliberately undercuts a woman's relationship to her doctor and has no place in the laws of our country.

It is designed to confuse and to muddle the responsibilities of the medical community, who have been trained to make the best possible decisions for the patients in their trust. It, therefore, prioritizes ideology above science and reason to the detriment of women throughout the country.

Every woman has the legal and constitutional right to make the healthcare decisions that are right for her and to receive scientifically correct advice from her healthcare providers.

So I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this unnecessary and dangerous legislation.

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