In newly released documents, Office of Refugee Resettlement Director Scott Lloyd admitted to an “ad hoc” process for personally interfering with abortion access for young, unaccompanied women

Congressional Documents & Publications

(Washington, D.C.) - Today U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called for Scott Lloyd to resign as the Director of the Department of Health and Humans Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), following news that Lloyd openly admitted to an "ad hoc" strategy of personally attempting to block young women in ORR's custody from obtaining abortions, regardless of any conflicts with federal and state laws. ORR oversees the network of providers that care for unaccompanied children and youth in the United States.

Senator Murray has repeatedly criticized Director Lloyd's ideologically-driven efforts to interfere with and attempt to deny vulnerable young women in the federal government's custody their constitutional right to safe, legal abortion. Revelations about Lloyd's efforts come on the heels of Vice President Mike Pence's suggestion earlier this week that access to safe, legal abortion will end in the United States "in our lifetime."

"Under Scott Lloyd's leadership, an office tasked with caring for young, vulnerable women in our country's custody has been turned into an 'ad hoc' testing ground for the Trump-Pence plan to interfere with women's most personal health care decisions and take away women's constitutional right to safe, legal abortion.

"As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother, I am deeply concerned for the young women entrusted to this office's care with Scott Lloyd as director. He is nothing less than a threat to their safety and should step down immediately."

Senator Murray has called on the Department to halt Director Scott's efforts to restrict women's access to reproductive health care and demanded accountability from HHS about Director Lloyd's record of interfering in women's rights.