Congressman Engle Supports Planned Parenthood

Congressman Eliot Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, spoke out against recent Republican attacks on Planned Parenthood. In defense of Planned Parenthood, Rep. Engel stated:

 

“The most recent Republican attacks on Planned Parenthood are merely the latest in a long and drawn-out vendetta the GOP has with a women’s health organization that provides nearly 900,000 breast exams and pap smears each year, along with millions of other crucial procedures.

 

“Make no mistake, Republicans have mischaracterized what Planned Parenthood does in order to once again politicize and attack a woman’s right to choose. They don’t believe women should have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, and will seek any opportunity they can to derail or defund organizations that support that precept. This latest ploy to strip Planned Parenthood of its funding—based on deceptively-edited videos—is just another attempt to foist their out of touch reproductive rights agenda on women across the country, and it cannot stand.

 

Cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood is to cut off access to critical preventative screenings and services. For many women, especially those in underserved communities, Planned Parenthood is their only source of health care. The majority of Planned Parenthood health centers are located in medically underserved areas. Many women in these communities would face tremendous difficulty finding other health care providers able and willing to deliver the high-quality services Planned Parenthood provides. It’s unbelievable to me that anyone would want to cut funding to something so vital.

 

Republicans like to govern by crisis, and are perfectly willing to create one out of thin air to do so. They threaten to shut down the entire government every few months in order to get their way, often without any consideration of the implications. As such, budget negotiations in Washington are more often akin to hostage negotiations, and this time, the GOP hostage of choice is Planned Parenthood. I find this to be unacceptable.

 

“I stand with Planned Parenthood. I stand with the life-saving services they provide, and the amazing work they do for families all across the country. I have always been a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood throughout my years in Congress, and I will continue to be a strong supporter of theirs during our next round of budget negotiations this session. Stripping funding to Planned Parenthood would be a disservice to millions of America’s most vulnerable women. Please know I will do everything I can to ensure funding is maintained.”

 

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