Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, today, the majority is pushing yet another extreme anti- choice bill just in time for the big antiwoman rally in Washington this weekend.
Rather than helping hardworking American families, Republicans are working to divert Federal funds from needy children in order to serve their own extremist agenda that is out of step with the majority of Americans.
Republicans are attempting to funnel more Federal funds into dangerous anti-abortion facilities, the so-called pregnancy centers. The other side doesn't even dispute that these centers have a specific agenda: to do everything they can within their power to coerce women into doing what the center thinks is best for the women, not what is in the best interest of the mother.
These so-called crisis pregnancy centers provide deceptive and inaccurate information to pregnant women.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is intended to help low-income women and families, not to reduce abortions. This funding was not intended to bankroll deceptive anti-abortion centers that misrepresent themselves as healthcare facilities. These facilities often delay access to care, and they use emotional manipulation to divert access to care from licensed medical professionals.
The American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and even the National Institutes of Health have all issued reports citing numerous ethical and medical concerns with these so-called centers.
These facilities are unregulated. They have no legal obligation to provide pregnant people with accurate information. They are not subject to HIPAA protections, nor are they required by law to maintain client confidentiality. In many cases, they don't even have licensed medical professionals on staff.
One woman who sought out care at a Florida women's health center in Jacksonville was told that having an abortion would cause breast cancer. This is patently false. Another was advised to relax at the beach after being incorrectly informed she was carrying an ectopic pregnancy.
These facilities are unsafe. Multiple physician organizations have stated that they are unethical. The bottom line is that anti-abortion clinics should not receive Federal dollars to continue spreading false information to low-income, often minority, women seeking comprehensive, nonjudgmental fact- and science-based reproductive healthcare.
I will point out that one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle mentioned some violence, and I will talk about the violence that happens at abortion provider clinics.
They have been compiling statistics on instances of violence and disruption against abortion providers for more than 40 years, and there is definite uptick in the amount of clinic invasions, obstructions, blockades, targeted mail, and harassing phone calls.
In recent years, we have seen incidents of violence with devastating impacts. For example, in November 2015, three people were murdered and nine injured when Robert Dear brought an assault-style rifle to a Planned Parenthood healthcare center in Colorado Springs and opened fire.
A gunman also attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the early hours of January 22, 2021. In December 2021, the same clinic was burned to the ground by arsonists.
If you want to talk about incidents of violence, let's talk about the onslaught of violent attacks that abortion providers have had to deal with for over the past 40 years.
Chu), my colleague on the Ways and Means Committee and a champion for women's rights.
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Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I will tell my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that unlike these so-called pregnancy centers, Planned Parenthood actually gives women factually and scientifically accurate information and the full range of choices, while the pregnancy centers have a clear agenda and only one point of view.
Moore), a champion for women everywhere.
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Ms. SANCHEZ. McClellan), my esteemed colleague.
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are insulted by the issues that we are raising because I have a brief here in front of me from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists which talks about the fact that these pregnancy crisis centers use digital marketing tactics to target people seeking information about abortion care. According to their studies, 71 percent of these centers use deceptive means, such as spreading thoroughly debunked misinformation, and 38 percent of them do not clearly state on their home page that they don't provide abortion care.
If you are mad at us for raising these points, talk to the College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, because they have done an in-depth, comprehensive study to talk about the repeated misinformation that these centers give out to women who are in crisis. The deceptive information that they give to them puts these women's lives at risk. If you are so pro-life, why do you not care about the life of the mother?
Lois Frankel).
Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, my, my, my, Republicans are at it again, trying every which way to obstruct legal access to abortion, preventing women from the freedom of making their own choice of when or whether to start or grow a family.
This time, Republicans want to fund fake clinics run by anti-abortion activists who deceptively provide women with misleading information with one purpose: to scare, disgrace, or pressure them from getting an abortion.
Shamefully, in order to bankroll these fake centers, this Republican bill grabs funding from a program designed to assist needy pregnant women and children get back on their feet.
Overwhelmingly, Americans believe that women should make their own personal healthcare decisions without interference by politicians.
This proposed legislation is dangerous hypocrisy on steroids and not worthy of support.
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Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would just love to point out to anybody who cares for real facts a 2006 congressional report and investigation that found false and misleading health information provided by federally funded pregnancy resource centers. That will give you an accurate picture of just what goes on behind those doors.
Bonamici).
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Ms. SANCHEZ. Wasserman Schultz).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise to oppose yet another extreme Republican assault on families and reproductive freedoms.
This thinly veiled attack on abortion rights would let States divert critical Federal funds meant for struggling families with children into shady anti-choice groups.
These so-called crisis pregnancy centers claim to help women, but they are unregulated, unlicensed, and not even required to have medical professionals. They say whatever they want, and they offer inaccurate, biased information meant to scare women and limit their choices.
Worse, this bill diverts vital TANF funds from needy children and steers it to dangerous anti-choice outfits that will help Republicans secure their extreme national abortion ban.
With partial government funding about to run out, why do Republicans waste our time on these shameful stunts?
I want to be clear: This deceptive bill does not help pregnant women. It simply funds groups that lie to them.
As a woman and mother of three young adult children, I ask my Republican colleagues to truly help women and families and stop deceiving and defunding them.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this deceptive bill.
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Ms. SANCHEZ. Davids).
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Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
We keep hearing about how these centers provide infant formula, and we have a program that helps mothers afford infant formula. It is called WIC.
I remind my colleagues that House Republicans' fiscal year 2024 Agriculture appropriations bill would have made benefit cuts and eligibility losses for millions of mothers who rely on WIC. It would have shortchanged WIC by $800 million.
So, I find the argument that the centers are so necessary to be specious because that could have been provided under the Agriculture appropriations bill, which my Republican colleagues wanted to cut so dramatically. If they really cared about working families, they wouldn't be asking for those deep and unconscionable cuts to a program that provides infant formula to mothers.
As we have seen over the past hour, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are choosing to double down on their war on women. These centers have coerced, deceived, and put women's lives in danger with inaccurate, biased information, but don't just take my word for it. A congressional investigation found that the majority of these clinics surveyed provided false information about abortion. The American Medical Association has called these centers unethical because of the gross disinformation that they push on vulnerable women.
These centers are not regulated by State's consumer protection statutes which govern the practice of medicine. Republicans have proven they have no interest in amending this bill to actually protect pregnant women seeking care from these facilities.
My Ways and Means Republican colleagues voted against ensuring these facilities provide medically accurate information.
Why are they so afraid to provide women with medically accurate information?
My Republican colleagues voted against prohibiting these facilities from providing biased reproductive health information or counseling.
Let me be very clear. Democrats have fought, and we continue to fight, for comprehensive equitable access to reproductive healthcare for women.
We passed the Women's Health Protection Act twice.
We passed the right to contraception.
The American people have been very clear about supporting access to reproductive healthcare. Democrats have proven that we stand with them, and this bill that the Republicans have put on the floor today once again shows that my Republican colleagues are willing to discard pregnant women to appease their extremist anti-choice rightwing base.
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