Sen. Gillibrand Files Budget Amendment to Protect Reproductive Health Care Coverage for Millions of Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 11, 2017

Contact: Christie Petrone, 646-520-3504, [email protected]

Statement by National Institute for Reproductive Health President Andrea Miller:

“Today Sen. Gillibrand stood up for millions of Americans who want and deserve access to reproductive health care.

“The efforts of the U.S. Senate Majority Leadership to repeal the Affordable Care Act — and to include in that repeal the means to defund Planned Parenthood — are reprehensible and serve only to discriminate against women and endanger their health and safety.  Sen. Gillibrand has courageously refused to accept this, and we applaud her and all of her colleagues who voted in favor of her amendment.

“While all efforts to repeal the ACA are potentially cataclysmic, the impact on women is disproportionately devastating.  Sen. Gillibrand’s amendment would protect   the coverage and care that women gained and have relied on under the ACA, including that they can no longer be charged more just because of their gender, and that health insurance companies can no longer use pregnancy as a pre-existing condition by which to deny women health coverage.
“Under the ACA, women receive critical preventive care without co-pays, including contraceptive counseling and birth control, mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, and breastfeeding support and supplies. Health insurance companies must include coverage for maternity care.

“The National Institute for Reproductive Health is proud to stand with Sen. Gillibrand in support of her amendment and applaud her for speaking up for the millions of Americans who want and deserve the coverage of the ACA.”

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health works across the country to increase access to reproductive health care by changing public policy, galvanizing public support, and normalizing women’s decisions to have abortions and use contraception.