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Senator Hassan Stands with Colleagues Against New GOP Attempt to Defund Planned Parenthood

Senator Hassan Stands with Colleagues Against New GOP Attempt to Defund Planned Parenthood

Senator Calls GOP Attempts to Defund Planned Parenthood "An Outrage"

WASHINGTON -- Today, Senator Hassan joined Senators Murray (D-WA), Shaheen (D-NH), Gillibrand (D-NY), Booker (D-NJ), Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Harris (D-CA) to voice her strong opposition to Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. Calling Speaker Ryan's announced plan to try to defund Planned Parenthood through the budget reconciliation processan "outrage," Senator Hassan discussed the story of a constituent from Rollinsford, New Hampshire who was able to seek medical care from Planned Parenthood when her father passed away and she lost her health insurance.

https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif See below for transcript of Senator Hassan's remarks:

I just want to echo what my colleague from New Hampshire said. I join with the women in the Senate. I join with constituents across New Hampshire and with women across our country and with men who support women across our country as well in being absolutely outraged.

There was no mandate in this election to take away basic healthcare from 51% of the population. Women in my state depend on Planned Parenthood for all the healthcare services that you just heard described: preventive care, cancer screenings. They provide - they depend on it for emergency services too, like a constituent of mine in Rollinsford, New Hampshire, who was on her father's health insurance - a young woman - her father unexpectedly died.

She lost her health insurance that day along with her father. And then she had an emergency health event. She turned to Planned Parenthood for that health care.

Now the Republicans in the House tell us they want to take that option away from constituents like my constituent in Rollinsford, New Hampshire. They want to take healthcare away from women. They want to take away our opportunity to control our own destinies, to make our own decisions about whether and when to have a family for instance, how to participate in the economy. It's also part of their strategy to make healthcare more expensive for women in repealing the ACA.

So, this is an outrage. It's long past time that we stop trying to relegate - that Republicans stop trying to relegate - women to second class status in the United States of America. We are full participants in the economy. We are full participants in our society and our democracy. We deserve to be treated the same. Thank you.