[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 2921]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I want to spend just a few minutes to 
discuss women's health care because I believe women's health care in 
America is in trouble--very deep trouble. It is in trouble in Congress, 
it is in trouble in the courts, and it is in trouble in our 
statehouses. In these bodies, I think there is a serious risk to 
women's access to affordable, high-quality health care. There is an 
assault on women's right to choose their own physicians and their own 
providers, and that assault is wrong. Drip by drip, State by State, the 
assault goes on.
  The latest example is in Florida, where lawmakers seem to be heading 
down the same road that Texas and Louisiana have traveled, restricting 
the choices of women. This all began with a Texas law, HB2, that has 
been challenged all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Arguments were 
heard just last week. HB2 backers have argued the law is about 
protecting women's health. My view is that is pretty much fiction. HB2 
has very little to do with women's health. It is a thinly veiled scheme 
to block women's health choices with unjustifiable requirements for 
abortion clinics. The AMA and the American Congress of Obstetricians 
and Gynecologists--people who obviously have expertise on this issue--
have said very clearly in a legal brief, an amicus brief, that the 
restrictions are ``contrary to accepted medical practice and are not 
based on scientific evidence.'' Despite the advice of the American 
Medical Association and the American Congress of Obstetricians and 
Gynecologists, Texas went ahead with the law anyway. If it stands, the 
number of clinics that provide abortion care will drop by more than 
three-quarters. Now HB2 backers say it is about preventing 
complications from abortion. Yet they ignore other procedures--
colonoscopies, for example, that have much higher rates of 
complications. HB2 backers say women who live where these clinics have 
shuttered could go to other States, but the fact is, we are hearing 
that really isn't an option for so many women.
  Louisiana just passed its own version of HB2. Just yesterday the news 
came down that legislators in Florida have passed a similar measure. 
The Florida bill goes one dangerous step further by going after funding 
for Planned Parenthood. Attacks on Planned Parenthood aren't anything 
new, not in statehouses like Tallahassee or here in the Congress. When 
you threaten Planned Parenthood in this way, you are going far beyond 
restricting access to abortion. Here is the list of vital women's 
health care services which have absolutely nothing to do with abortion, 
and these services which have nothing to do with abortion are under 
threat: pregnancy testing, birth control, prenatal services, HIV 
testing, cancer screenings, vaccinations, testing and treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections, basic physical exams, treatment for 
chronic conditions, pediatric care, hospital and specialist referrals, 
adoption referrals, nutrition programs.
  The fact is, this assault on women's health care is going to hit 
disadvantaged, struggling women hard across our country. There are 
countless women across America enrolled in Medicaid who rely on Planned 
Parenthood and similar programs for their basic, essential medical 
care. It is their first line of defense for basic health care, 
particularly in rural communities in rural Oregon. The women know and 
trust their doctors at those clinics. Without those clinics, they 
aren't going to have anywhere to turn for their care. If you are 
working an hourly job, you have kids to care for on your own, it is 
pretty clear you are not going to find an easy way to take a day off 
work and travel far away for medical care. Yet these are the kind of 
laws that are being passed in States across America. These anti-woman 
laws are unfair and they are dangerous.
  This will not be the last time I come to the floor to discuss this. 
My view is access to health care for women in this country is in 
trouble, and a number of the services I have talked about are 
essentially part of what is a constitutional right--a constitutional 
right. It doesn't just mean it is a constitutional right if you are 
well-off. It is a constitutional right because the U.S. Supreme Court 
has said it, and I intend to defend that constitutional right. I intend 
to do everything I can to build bipartisan support so that instead of 
women's health services being in deep trouble as I described today, 
women can know that those essential services are available for them 
across the country.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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