[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN OPPOSITION TO H.R. 7

  (Ms. CLARKE of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 
7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.
  I speak for my constituents of the Ninth Congressional District of 
New York and for women across the Nation when I say that H.R. 7 is not 
only dangerous, but it is misleading and would be detrimental to 
women's health everywhere.
  This bill not only creates barriers for women who want to access 
abortion care, but it unfairly targets low-income women with there 
being a particularly disproportionate effect on women of color, who are 
more likely to live below the poverty level and become eligible for 
Medicaid. Additionally, it penalizes small businesses that want to 
provide comprehensive healthcare coverage to their employees, including 
reproductive health care.
  Let's not punish the single mother who recently left her abusive 
husband and who has no money, no job, and no health insurance--except 
for Medicaid--in making her unable to receive the abortion care and 
services she desperately needs. Let's not punish the young woman who is 
suffering from cancer, whose life will be in danger if she cannot 
access an abortion.
  This past weekend, millions of women and men across the country, 
including me, marched with one goal in mind: to let the world know that 
our rights must be respected and protected. A woman's right to an 
abortion should be a personal choice that she makes, not a decision 
that government makes for her.

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