[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 148 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6273-S6274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 590--COMMEMORATING 100 YEARS OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES 
                     PROVIDED BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD

  Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Brown, Mrs. 
Shaheen, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Franken, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. 
Boxer, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Booker, Mr. Schumer, 
Ms. Warren, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Cantwell, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 590

       Whereas on October 16, 1916, Margaret Sanger, her sister 
     Ethel Byrne, and their activist friend Fania Mindell opened 
     the first birth control health clinic in the United States in 
     Brooklyn, New York, a groundbreaking and revolutionary act 
     for women at that time;
       Whereas their clinic was founded on the idea that women 
     should have the information and care they need to live 
     strong, healthy lives and fulfill their dreams;
       Whereas Margaret Sanger in 1922 incorporated the American 
     Birth Control League and in 1923 opened the first legal birth 
     control center in the United States, the Birth Control 
     Clinical Research Bureau, two organizations that would later 
     merge to become Planned Parenthood Federation of America;
       Whereas leading up to 1916, the two most common causes of 
     death for women of childbearing age in the United States were 
     tuberculosis and complications from pregnancy and childbirth;
       Whereas over the past 100 years, gains in access to birth 
     control, safe and legal abortion, and other reproductive 
     health services have improved and transformed the lives of 
     women, men, and young people in the United States and around 
     the world;
       Whereas for the past century, Planned Parenthood has helped 
     lead massive changes in women's health and civil rights and 
     has empowered millions of women, men, and young people 
     worldwide to make informed health decisions, transforming the 
     way they live, love, learn, and work;
       Whereas Planned Parenthood has been at the forefront of 
     fights for social change, including when the executive 
     director of Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut 
     challenged a law preventing the distribution of birth 
     control, leading to the landmark 1964 Supreme Court ruling in 
     Griswold v. Connecticut, 379 U.S. 926, which finally allowed 
     married women across the country to have legal access to 
     birth control;
       Whereas Planned Parenthood health care providers and staff 
     have played important roles in increasing access to safe and 
     legal abortion, and have successfully advocated for measures 
     that increase access to birth control, including the 
     Affordable Care Act requirement that private insurance plans 
     provide coverage for birth control with no-out-of-pocket 
     costs;
       Whereas many leaders, including those in the domestic and 
     global reproductive health, rights, and justice communities, 
     have worked alongside Planned Parenthood in accomplishing 
     these achievements;
       Whereas breakthroughs in women's health care, such as the 
     legalization and expanded availability of birth control, have 
     been named one of the biggest economic advancements for women 
     in the past 100 years;
       Whereas changes in women's access to reproductive health 
     care have led to cultural shifts: in the United States, women 
     are now nearly half the workforce, the sole or primary 
     breadwinners in 40 percent of homes, and more than half of 
     the college students;
       Whereas from the single Brooklyn clinic in 1916, Planned 
     Parenthood has grown to approximately 650 clinics across the 
     United States, with partners in a dozen countries in Africa 
     and Latin America;
       Whereas today Planned Parenthood proudly provides high-
     quality, affordable health care, with 90 percent of services 
     provided being preventive health care for women, men, and 
     young people;
       Whereas Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of sex 
     education in the United States;
       Whereas an estimated 1 in 5 women in the United States have 
     been to a Planned Parenthood clinic for care at some point in 
     their lives, and, for many people, a Planned Parenthood 
     clinic may be the only place they can turn to for health 
     care;
       Whereas in a single year, Planned Parenthood clinics 
     provide sexual and reproductive health care, education, 
     information, and outreach to 2,500,000 women, men, and 
     adolescents in the United States and almost 2,000,000 women, 
     men, and young people globally through its global programs 
     and partnerships, and over 72,000,000 people visit Planned 
     Parenthood's website;
       Whereas in the past 10 years, Planned Parenthood has nearly 
     doubled services for male patients and expanded services for 
     LGBTQ communities; and
       Whereas Planned Parenthood's commitment to offer care and 
     resources has grown over the past century and is stronger 
     than ever as it enters into its second century: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the wide-ranging preventive services that 
     Planned Parenthood Federation of America doctors, nurses, and 
     staff provide every day to patients across the United States;
       (2) recognizes that Planned Parenthood is a safety-net 
     provider that reaches medically underserved people who are 
     critically in need of compassionate care;
       (3) declares that Planned Parenthood should not be 
     defunded, attacked, or discriminated against for their role 
     as a vital women's health care provider across the country; 
     and
       (4) affirms that Planned Parenthood remains an essential 
     thread in the fabric of society, and it will be key in the 
     next century to assisting millions of women, men, and young 
     people in accessing the health care they need and deserve, no 
     matter who they are or where they live.

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, Congress has just passed a funding measure 
that will prevent a shutdown at the end of this week. As headlines 
across the country noted as the debate over this bill played out, it 
was delayed partly due to partisan attacks against women's health and 
one provider in particular--Planned Parenthood--that were shoehorned 
into the debate once again.
  Colleagues, this year Planned Parenthood turns 100 years old. You 
cannot look at the last 100 years and deny that monumental progress has 
been made with respect to women's health and rights--thanks to strong 
allies like Planned Parenthood. But that progress is what some members 
of this body want to roll back.
  When the first Planned Parenthood opened in 1916, it was illegal for 
women to get information about how to prevent a pregnancy. It is not 
surprising that at the time, one of the leading causes of death for 
women in the United States was complications from pregnancy and 
childbirth.
  From the get-go, Planned Parenthood said that women in America have a 
fundamental right to information about their reproductive health and 
access to care. It was about the right of all women to a healthy life 
and the pursuit of happiness.
  In 1965, Planned Parenthood Connecticut fought and won the Supreme 
Court decision that made birth control legal for married women.
  In 2010, Planned Parenthood was at the front lines of the battle, 
along with a lot of us here in the Senate, to ensure that birth control 
would be covered under the Affordable Care Act.
  Today, an estimated one in five women in America has been to a 
Planned Parenthood clinic for care at some point in her life. Eight out 
of ten Planned Parenthood patients live in or near poverty. As tough as 
it is for them to make ends meet, Planned Parenthood is a place they 
can turn to for important medical care from a provider they trust.
  Planned Parenthood at 100 years old has racked up some impressive 
points on the scoreboard. Each year Planned Parenthood provides 
educational programs to 1.5 million people. Planned Parenthood has 
doubled the number of health services it provides to men and has led 
the way in expanding access to health care for LGBT Americans. It has 
more than 650 health centers across the country and served two and a 
half million women and men last year.
  In my home State of Oregon, more than 70,000 Oregonians are served by 
11 Planned Parenthood centers. I know firsthand from visiting with 
Planned Parenthood officials throughout Oregon in Portland, in Lane 
County, in central Oregon, how important these centers are to the 
health care of Oregonians.
  Planned Parenthood is at the heart of the revolution in women's 
health care over the last 100 years. It is the first place millions of 
American women turn to for health care--women from Portland, OR, to 
Portland, ME.
  Here are some of the services Planned Parenthood provides: birth 
control and counseling; pregnancy tests; prenatal services; HIV tests; 
safe, legal abortion services; breast cancer screenings; HPV 
vaccinations; cervical cancer screenings and prevention; ovarian cancer 
screenings; PAP tests;

[[Page S6274]]

exams for sexually transmitted diseases; treatment for urinary tract 
infections; basic physical exams; adoption referrals; family practice 
services; and nutrition programs.
  Despite all these critical services Planned Parenthood provides, 
every day, legislators attack Planned Parenthood.
  The fact is this crusade against Planned Parenthood is a crusade 
against the fundamental and constitutionally-protected right of women 
to make their own decisions about their bodies.
  Time and time again on the Senate floor and in debates with the other 
side, my Democratic colleagues and I have had to beat back the attempts 
to defund Planned Parenthood.
  Here is my bottom line colleagues. This country has made 100 years of 
progress on women's health, and it's not going to move backward.
  I urge my colleagues to honor the commitment to women's health and 
rights that Planned Parenthood has shown in the last 100 years by 
working in a bipartisan way to improve access to women's health care, 
instead of limiting it.
  Let us allow more women and men to access the health care they need 
and deserve, no matter who they are or where they live. Let us work to 
uphold the fundamental right of all women to make their own 
reproductive choices and access quality health care. Let us continue 
funding for Planned Parenthood and end these partisan attacks against 
this bedrock American health provider.
  Today, I am joined by 17 of my colleagues in introducing a resolution 
to formally recognize Planned Parenthood's immense contributions to 
progress for women's health and quality of life in America. It is time 
to end the unfounded attacks against Planned Parenthood and allow it to 
continue to provide critical health services for the next 100 years.

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