Center for Reproductive Rights Calls President Trump’s Budget “Cruel and Short-Sighted”
Budget attacks women who rely on Planned Parenthood, decimates Medicaid program, eliminates international family planning assistance
(MEDIA ADVISORY) The Center for Reproductive Rights issued the following statement after President Donald Trump unveiled his proposed FY 2018 budget earlier today.
“President Trump continues to bend over backwards to harm women and families,” said Maya Rupert, Senior Director of Policy at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
“The cruel and short-sighted cuts to basic health care programs included in this budget will cause irreparable harm to millions at home and abroad. From targeting women and men who seek basic health care at Planned Parenthood to zeroing out life-saving international family planning assistance, this budget is an insult to women’s health and dignity. Congress must reject this ugly attack on women’s health and rights”
President Trump’s budget singles out Planned Parenthood by prohibiting it from participating in any program funded through Congress’s annual Labor-HHS appropriations bill. This is the first time in history an individual health care provider has been singled out for defunding and threatens the well-being and health for the millions of women and men who rely on Planned Parenthood for their health care.
Trump’s budget takes sharp aim at low-income women and families by slashing funding for critical health programs, economic supports, and social services. It includes unprecedented and devastating cuts to essential health care programs like Medicaid while retaining the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits Medicaid and Medicare recipients from using their health insurance to access safe and legal abortion care except in extremely limited circumstances.
Trump’s budget also makes sweeping cuts to critical global health investments and eliminates funding in the Global Health Programs account for international family planning, which could result in thousands of deaths and more unsafe abortions as millions of women across the globe lose access to essential contraceptive services.
A coalition of organizations—including the Center for Reproductive Rights– recently released a document detailing how President Trump’s budget could advance the health of women and families. From adequately funding health reproductive health care to addressing violence against women and girls, there are numerous steps the Trump administration could have taken to improve the well-being of women and families in this country.
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