NARAL on FDA Commissioner Committee Vote

WASHINGTON, April 27 -- NARAL Pro-Choice America issued the following news release:

Today, the Republican-controlled Senate HELP Committee voted to move forward President Trump's anti-choice nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Trump's nominee, Scott Gottlieb, has opposed making birth control widely accessible and has joined in partisan attacks against women's reproductive health clinics.

"Scott Gottlieb's long history of pushing an anti-choice, anti-woman agenda is exactly what you'd expect from a Trump nominee," said Sasha Bruce, senior vice president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "Any woman can tell you that choosing if, when, and how to get pregnant helps determine whether she can continue her education, rise up in her career, and plan for her future. But Gottlieb's repeated, partisan attacks on Planned Parenthood clinics and basic reproductive healthcare showcases a hostility to women and our reproductive freedom that would take our country backward. The FDA commissioner plays a crucial role in protecting the health and well-being of every single American. We just can't risk our families' health and well-being on Trump's dangerous nominee."

Scott Gottlieb has opposed numerous policies that protect women and families, including the life-saving Affordable Care Act and the contraceptive coverage policy included in that landmark law. Following the release of the inflammatory and deceptively edited videos intended to defame Planned Parenthood and attack reproductive rights, Scott Gottlieb pointed to them as "unarguable proof that current laws governing the fetal-tissue trade don't work."