Protect Funding for Women's Health Care Act

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I rise today to object to the Senator from Iowa's legislation, which would defund Planned Parenthood--defund Planned Parenthood and prevent millions of men and women across the country from being able to access the healthcare which they need.

This bill, which targets the largest provider of reproductive care in this country, is part of my Republican colleagues' relentless efforts to undermine reproductive rights and further erode the health, the freedom, and the dignity of the American people.

Four years ago this week, the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision, tearing down nearly 50 years of constitutional protections and declaring

open season on American reproductive freedom.

Since then, Republicans got to work. States passed sweeping abortion bans. They peeled back protections for birth control. They created confusing, punitive, and terrifying schemes that have thrown patients into jail and charged their providers for simply receiving and providing basic medical care. And this is just the beginning.

Today, my Republican colleagues are again seeking to advance their anti-choice, anti-health, anti-family, anti-freedom agenda right here on the Senate floor. They want to strip funding from health centers that prescribe birth control. They want to strip funding from health centers that provide birth control, that treat infections, that screen for cancer--and, yes, that offer abortions. The result? Hundreds of closed clinics. Traveling farther to get care. Paying more or not getting care at all. Untreated illnesses. Delayed cancer diagnoses. I will not allow that to happen without a fight.

Let me be clear about where Republicans stand. Republicans will not protect the right to an abortion. Republicans will not protect the right to birth control. Republicans will not protect the right for Americans to decide their own futures. Instead, they will continue to pursue an agenda that is so offended by bodily autonomy that they would rather follow the extremism of the few than the will of the majority, who want their reproductive rights protected.

We must make the right to contraception the law of the land. Are you ready for me to say that again? We must make the right to contraception the law of the land before extremist judges and legislators further strip it away to advance their radical political agenda.

By the way, this is not some hypothetical. In his written opinion for the Dobbs decision, Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court of the United States urged the Court to overturn settled precedent and threaten the fundamental right to contraception.

We know what the ``GOP'' really stands for: ``Gutting Our Protections.''

That is why I am again calling for the Senate to pass my Right to Contraception Act. This legislation would enshrine in Federal law the right to obtain and use contraception and put in place vital protections for providers.

The right to contraception shouldn't be a partisan issue. Americans of all parties overwhelmingly support it. It is central to an individual's health, well-being, life, liberty, equality, and economic and social freedom. It is a right grounded in the fundamental ability to make decisions about one's own body, one's own family, one's own future.

We must meet the clarity of their extremism with the clarity of justice. That is why I am out here on the floor of the Senate today--to make sure we debate that clarity which must be brought to this central issue of families' well-being all across our country.

Therefore, I ask that the consent be modified; that, instead, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 422. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I object.

Mr. President, today, I join millions of Americans commemorating the Dobbs Supreme Court decision anniversary. We are united in two simple truths: Abortion is not a constitutional right, but life is. And life is a gift worth protecting. Each and every one of us was given this gift.

When we honor the dignity of every human being, we give them a chance to become loving sons and daughters, neighbors, and leaders.

This is not a political issue for me; it is deeply personal. Few things have brought me greater joy than when I first became a mother and, more recently, a grandmother. Holding my daughter and my grandson and watching them grow are memories I will always cherish. I want to protect and preserve this same experience for young mothers everywhere.

Last month, Stephanie, a constituent in Iowa, entrusted me with her story about the lasting effects of her abortion experience. With her permission, I am sharing her account, including the loss of her unborn child.

My daughter Lily died during an abortion procedure at 21

weeks. At the time, I was a young girl in crisis, frightened

and unequipped to understand the full consequences of what I

would experience afterwards. The effects did not end with the

procedure itself. They affected me psychologically,

emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

At 17, I had very little language or support to help me

understand those effects. I believe many women face similar

trauma without diagnoses, treatment, or meaningful follow-up

care. In the years since, I have experienced PTSD symptoms,

grief, and significant emotional and hormonal changes after

losing my child.

My concern extends beyond my own experience. There appears to be too little long-term follow-up care, too little research into women's post- abortion outcomes, and too little screening for trauma before and after abortion procedures, especially later term abortions.

Women should be better informed about possible mental, physical, and emotional effects and should have access to appropriate care when those effects arise.

On this solemn note, there is no doubt we can do better by women and mothers-to-be, and that is what my Protect Funding for Women's Healthcare Act is all about. My Protect Funding for Women's Healthcare Act prohibits taxpayer dollars from going to Planned Parenthood. Instead, the bill redirects those funds to women's healthcare providers and ensures no reduction in Federal funding for women's health services.

As I continue to protect the life-changing experience of becoming a mother, I want mothers and families to know that they are supported in pregnancy and beyond no matter their situation.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 177. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, claiming Republicans pose a threat to contraception is absurd. Despite fearmongering and election-year stunts from the left, over-the-counter daily oral contraceptive pills are available everywhere and have been for years.

Democrats have repeatedly made it clear that they want to control every aspect of your life--your healthcare, your job, your finances, and, yes, even your children.

To be clear, I support access to safe and effective contraception options for women. But that is not what Senator Markey's bill does. Instead, it attempts to provide drugs and sterilization procedures to minor children without parental consent. You do not need to be a parent or a grandparent to know this is profoundly wrong. It is dangerous, it is immoral, and it must be stopped.

Out of concern for every single child in this country, I cannot support this. Therefore, I object.