Congresswoman Barbara Lee Objects to Continued War on Women's Health
Contact Kristal DeKleer: (202) 225-1882
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Committee on the Judiciary conducted a legislative mark up of H.R. 3541, the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011 on February 7, 2012. This bill would criminalize doctors who provide abortion services and would provide legal recourse for the family members of a woman who decides to have an abortion.
Congresswoman Lee, a member of the Congressional Pro Choice Caucus, commented: “This is only the latest in a slew of thinly veiled attempts to erode and reverse fundamental reproductive rights of women, while further stigmatizing those women who seek out this care. This bill would lead to racial profiling in the doctor’s office and create additional barriers for women to access comprehensive health care. Discrimination and related health disparities for women of color are serious problems, and require serious solutions. Asian American, African American, and mixed-race couples and women do not need to be scrutinized for their health care choices. Republicans are advancing extreme legislation that is dangerous to women’s health, disrespects the judgment of American women, and is nothing less than the most comprehensive and radical assault on women’s health. This is yet another blow in the war on women and especially women of color, and even worse, this bill uses the language of civil and human rights to take away the rights of the people who the bill purports to help. I vehemently reject this dangerous and discriminatory bill that would limit women’s health care options. The American people want us to work together to address their top priority: creating jobs. But Republicans are again and again proposing legislation targeted at women’s health that is extreme and divisive.”
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