Statement from Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights:

“With the passage of this legislation, the federal government has failed the American people. One-third of Planned Parenthood clinics will likely be forced to close, including in states where abortion is legal. Roughly half of the patients at Maine Family Planning, a Center client, rely on Medicaid and may be forced to forgo care. Millions who depend on clinics like these for affordable care will have nowhere else to go. The impact of this bill will reach far beyond reproductive health care, undercutting the foundation of the entire health care system and throwing 17 million Americans off their health insurance. This can only be described as a mass betrayal of the American people.

I want to be very clear: this bill is just the latest step of a full-scale assault intended to push abortion out of reach nationwide. In just the last several months, we have seen litigation filed against abortion care providers, emboldened harassers at clinics, an even broader scope of state abortion bans, cuts to essential funding and the withdrawal of both patient privacy protections and guidance for hospitals on their obligation to provide emergency abortion care under EMTALA. Anti-rights extremists will not stop until it is impossible for Americans to safely access reproductive care.

Nevertheless, we cannot and will not give in. The Center for Reproductive Rights will continue fighting on behalf of providers and their patients. As we have for over 30 years, we will use every means at our disposal to fight back against this war on the health and well-being of everyday Americans.”

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