Rep. Shea-Porter Urges President-Elect Trump: Hands Off Planned Parenthood, Women’s Health Protections

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 -- Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., issued the following news release:

Today, the Office of Congresswoman Shea-Porter announced that she sent a letter along with 175 of her colleagues to President-Elect Trump, calling on him to preserve protections for women in the Affordable Care Act and reject attempts to defund Planned Parenthood.

"Women and families across New Hampshire have deep concerns with the policy proposals coming from the new administration, which include efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act's important protections for women and inhibit access to critical health care services, like breast cancer screenings, no-cost contraceptives, and coverage for maternity care. Health care costs for women would increase. I am calling on President-Elect Trump to keep his promises to women and preserve funding for Planned Parenthood and the protections for women in the ACA, so that all women can have access to affordable health care," said Congresswoman Shea-Porter.

Background

The Affordable Care Act established numerous critical protections and benefits for women. Millions of women now have access to affordable coverage and critical health care services because the ACA is working. Under the ACA:

* The uninsured rate for women age 18-64 dropped from 19.3% to 10.8%

* Women have access to no-cost preventive care, like breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings

* Maternity and pregnancy care is covered

* Woman can access no-cost contraceptives

* Woman can't be denied coverage for preexisting conditions, like being the victim of domestic violence or having breast cancer

Planned Parenthood is a critical provider of women's health care services. Stripping the organization of federal funding will result in increased spending on health care services for women by as much as $130 million over ten years. In many neighborhoods, a PlannedParenthood clinic is the only affordable provider for cancer screenings and contraception. Defunding Planned Parenthood could leave 650,000 women without access to critical health care services, like HIV screenings, colonoscopies, and Pap tests and cost the federal government $130 million over ten years.

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