Senator Murray Slams Republican Attempt to Ban Abortion Nationwide, Defund Basic Health Care in Big Ugly Betrayal Bill

***VIDEO OF SENATOR MURRAY'S REMARKS HERE***

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered the following remarks at a press conference on Republicans' efforts to ban abortion nationwide as part of their One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which they are pushing through Congress via the budget reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority to pass in each Chamber.

In addition to kicking 16 million people off their health insurance through massive cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the legislation also seeks to make abortion care impossible to access everywhere by defunding Planned Parenthood-which would threaten the closure of 200 health centers across the country and rip away care from 1.1 million patients-and by banning ACA marketplace health plans from covering abortion services.

Senator Murray's full remarks are below and HERE:

"Well, you know there is a lot to be mad about in Republicans' big, ugly, betrayal, and I want to make sure one hugely important issue does not get missed.

"Because I've come to know by now there is not a day that ends in Y, where Republicans are nottrying to ban abortion here in Congress. Republicans just can't help themselves! If they can find a way to attack abortion care-they do it.

"And wouldn't you know it? They snuck what essentially amounts to a backdoor abortion ban into the health provisions of this big, ugly, betrayal. That's right, not only does this Republican monstrosity of a bill make health care more expensive, and harder to get-they are trying to stop health plans from covering abortion care altogether.

"This bill would effectively ban health insurance on the ACA marketplaces from covering abortion. This would send a shock wave through the country and put abortion care out of reach for countless women.

"It would be a nightmare for states like mine that require these plans to cover abortion. And it would be yet another blow for women across the country, as abortion access gets pushed farther and farther out of reach by right-wing politicians who think they should get to make deeply personal decisions about women's health and lives.

"And the attacks don't stop there. Because Republicans want to shut the doors of one of the biggest health care providers in the country. They want to defund Planned Parenthood.

"That is wildly unpopular with the American people. And it is widely dangerous for patients who turn to Planned Parenthood for a wide spectrum of care-including cancer screenings, and pap smears, and birth control.

"And if it were successful, Republicans would be closing the doors to 200 health centers-and that includes cutting the number of Planned Parenthood health centers in states with abortion access by half-and stripping away people's access to abortion and other reproductive health care.

"It is hard to understate how devastating that would be. We are talking clinics shuttering across the country, overwhelmingly in states where abortion is legal. We are talking women left with no options for the care that they need.

"It doesn't matter if you are a rape survivor, or you have a medical emergency, or if you simply do not want to become a parent. Whatever your reason-and whatever state you are in-if Republicans get their way, abortion care will be a lot more expensive, and a lot less accessible. For some patients, it will simply be impossible to get the care they need regardless of how badly they need it.

"We have already seen, with painful clarity, how dangerous abortion bans can be for patients. We have already seen patients pushed to the brink-and even killed-because they could not get the care they needed. And now, Republicans are about to mark the anniversary of the Dobbs decision by taking their extremism to new heights.

"We are not going to be silent about this big, ugly, betrayal, including what it means for reproductive rights. We are not going to be silent about Republicans' backdoor efforts to ban abortion nationwide, and we are not going to stop pushing back to make sure this bill goes nowhere-except the garbage bin."

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