[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 80 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H3279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REVERSING PROGRESS ON WOMEN'S HEALTH

  (Ms. TSONGAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, during this Congress, we have seen numerous 
bills that would reverse decades of progress for women's health. Today 
we take our ninth such floor vote.
  We have seen H.R. 358, which permits hospitals and hospital workers 
to choose to deny women care that would save their lives, putting 
ideology above all. We have seen H.R. 3, a bill that would cause 
insurers to start refusing to cover a legal and safe procedure. We have 
seen bills that would restrict women's access to preventive care, and 
efforts to eliminate all funding for the only Federal program dedicated 
to providing comprehensive family planning services.
  At home, our constituents are pleading for us to focus on job 
creation, but here we are again today about to debate H.R. 3541, yet 
another ideologically driven bill that intrudes on the relationship 
between a woman and her doctor. In particular, this bill puts doctors 
in situations where they would be forced to report confidential 
conversations with women to law enforcement.
  Let's reject H.R. 3541 and start looking at bills that can solve 
problems for women.

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