[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 174 (Wednesday, December 2, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SUPPORT FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I wish to speak today in support of 
Planned Parenthood and express how heartbroken I am over last week's 
shooting in Colorado Springs. My thoughts are with the victims and 
their families. To experience such violence in a place dedicated to 
saving lives is unthinkable.
  I would also like to thank the staff of the clinic in Colorado 
Springs--and all Planned Parenthood clinics across the country. The 
health care services you provide are invaluable. You help so many 
people, and you do it in the face of so many challenges. I am grateful 
for your bravery and your compassion.
  Following last week's attack, the media reported that staff rushed to 
the clinic's safe room with their patients. Let me repeat: a health 
clinic with a safe room. That a clinic dedicated to helping women--many 
of whom have no other option for health care--needs a safe room is 
unbelievable.
  I have been deeply troubled over the years by the toxic rhetoric 
targeted at Planned Parenthood--and this dangerous rhetoric has only 
increased in recent months. It sends a signal that using violence to 
intimidate health care professionals and shut down clinics is somehow 
acceptable.
  Let me be clear: these actions are not acceptable. It is shameful and 
disgusting and should be universally condemned. I do believe there is a 
link between the poisonous rhetoric directed at these health care 
providers and the violence used against them.
  And I hope all of my colleagues in Congress--and every public 
official around the country--thinks carefully about the effects their 
words can have.
  An FBI intelligence assessment from September said, ``It is likely 
criminal or suspicious incidents will continue to be directed against 
reproductive health care providers, their staff and facilities.'' These 
incidents aren't new.
  Over the last 40 years, there have been more than 200 arsons and 
bombings at women's health care clinics. Doctors and health care staff 
have been murdered. Since July, four Planned Parenthood facilities have 
been set on fire, including one in my home State of California. This 
type of violence is simply abhorrent.
  And I strongly believe these aren't just attacks on Planned 
Parenthood and women's health; they are attacks on our way of life. 
This isn't what our country stands for.
  The individuals who carry out these crimes have one goal: to 
terrorize doctors, nurses, and clinic staff; to make them quit their 
jobs; to force these health care clinics to close. They want to make it 
harder and harder for women to access reproductive health care and make 
their own health care choices.
  In the wake of the Colorado Springs shooting, a former Planned 
Parenthood worker from Kansas shared some of her experiences. In the 3 
years she worked at Planned Parenthood, there were four attempts to 
burn her clinic to the ground. Two cherry bombs were left at the door 
after hours. They exploded and forced the clinic to close temporarily. 
Windows were shot out on three occasions. And butyric acid--essentially 
a stink bomb--was put in the clinic's ventilation system numerous 
times. These aren't acts of political protest. These are serious 
crimes, and the perpetrators must be prosecuted to the full extent of 
the law.
  Before I close, I would like to reiterate just how important Planned 
Parenthood is for our country. Planned Parenthood serves some of the 
most vulnerable women in our society. It cares for 2.7 million patients 
in the United States. Ninety-seven percent of Planned Parenthood 
services carried out by its 700 clinics involve basic health care.
  This includes breast exams, cervical cancer screenings, testing for 
sexually transmitted diseases, and contraception. One in five women 
will use Planned Parenthood as their primary health care provider at 
some point in their lives. Nationwide, 80 percent of Planned Parenthood 
patients make less than $18,000 per year. And Planned Parenthood is 
often the only health care option for low-income women and women in 
rural communities.
  Simply put, Planned Parenthood is vital for the women of this 
country. It is bad enough that some politicians want to limit women's 
health care options by defunding Planned Parenthood. It is even more 
inexcusable that violence is being used to achieve what my Republican 
colleagues have failed to do.
  I stand with Planned Parenthood now more than ever. And I call for an 
end to the sickening campaign of violence against clinics nationwide. 
Thank you.

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