For Immediate Release: May 8, 2019
Contact: [email protected]
After the House Appropriations Committee marked up its FY’20 Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education spending bill, NARAL Pro-Choice America’s Vice President Adrienne Kimmell issued the following statement:
“Budgets reflect priorities, and this bill sends the message that reproductive freedom must be taken seriously. From blocking Trump’s domestic gag rule to increasing funding for family planning and sex education to blocking Trump’s refusal of healthcare rule, this bill includes many important safeguards for comprehensive reproductive healthcare. But the fact is, rights aren’t rights unless you can truly access them. We are disappointed the bill will continue to cut many low-income Americans off from abortion access through the harmful and discriminatory Hyde Amendment.
“Once again, the Republican party attempted to hijack this process by inserting numerous poison-pill riders aimed at gutting vital programs. They failed, but we won’t forget their hypocrisy. For the so-called ‘pro-life’ party, their increasingly desperate attempts to jeopardize the health and safety of millions of women are astounding.”
Throughout the markup process, Republicans attempted to add numerous anti-choice, poison-pill riders to the spending bill. Their failed amendments include attempts to:
- Strike the language blocking Trump’s domestic gag rule and cut Title X funds
- Interfere in patient care and criminalize doctors
- Prohibit fetal tissue research