Bush's Attack on Women’s Health Is Bad Medicine

The proposed regulation jeopardizes a patient’s right to know her options. This rule would completely disrupt the nation’s health care delivery system at a time when more and more families are uninsured and under economic assault. Here’s why:

• The HHS proposed regulation is intentionally vague. By leaving the term “abortion” undefined, the regulation creates a dangerous space for ideology and political views to be inserted into medical practices, emergency rooms, and clinics all across the country, and when that happens, women suffer.
• The proposed regulation complicates the law instead of clarifying the law. The new regulation lets health care providers define abortion, which could threaten broader reproductive health care, including contraception.
• The fact that HHS took out the definition of abortion that was included in an earlier draft is a red herring because this proposed regulation — even more than the previous leaked version — leaves health care services and information open to personal interpretation and political agendas.
• This rule will allow anti-choice extremists to receive federal funds for so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" — anti-choice facilities whose purpose is to deceive and dissuade women from accessing birth control and abortion information and services.

This is just one more example of how the Bush administration puts politics in the exam room. Planned Parenthood will not stand by and watch the Bush administration deny quality, affordable health care and accurate information to women, and you can help us take action.

Now that the new rule has been issued officially, we need you to speak out during the official 30-day comment period before the rule can go into effect. Please submit a comment to the Department of Health and Human Services before the official comment period ends on September 25.

SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT TODAY

Press Statements & News Releases

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America Statement in Response to the New HHS Regulation Impacting Women's Health (8/21/2008)
• Planned Parenthood: HHS Secretary Leavitt Blogs, but Misses the Point (8/08/2008)
• Planned Parenthood joins 56 other organizations in opposing draft HHS rule (07/22/2008)
• Planned Parenthood Joins Senator Hillary Clinton and Congresswoman Nita Lowey In Criticizing Bush Administration Plan on Women’s Health (07/18/2008) 
• Planned Parenthood: Proposed HHS Rule Would Compromise Women's Health Care (7/15/2008)

Already, the public has reacted strongly in opposition to a previous similar draft HHS rule.  Members from professional community groups across the country drafted letters urging HHS Secretary Leavitt to reject that rule.  These groups include

Medical Professionals

• Letter from a coalition of medical, public health, religious, advocacy, and research groups
• Letter from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• Letter from the American Medical Association
• Letter from the medical community and professional groups

Clergy

• Clergy Advisory Board Statement in Opposition to Proposed HHS Rule
• Letter from clergy members and religious groups

Members of Congress

• Letter from members of the United States Senate
• Letter from members of the United States House of Representatives 
• Follow-up letter from members of the United States House of Representatives
• Letter from Republican members of Congress

Newspapers across the country also ran editorials and columns speaking out against the previous draft rule.

• ABC News.com, Women's Health Debate Reaches Boiling Point
• Ashbury Park Press, Plan redefines birth control as form of abortion
• Associated Press, HHS: Doctors can refuse to provide abortions
• Boston Globe, A new attack on birth control
• Chicago Sun-Times, Stealth attack on women's rights exposed
• Florida Today, Rights at risk: Shelve arrogant White House push to redefine birth control as abortion
• Hartford Courant editorial: Put Patients First
• The Hill.com, Clinton, Murray slam Bush official on abortion proposal
• The Houston Chronicle, Redefining Abortion
• Minneapolis Star Tribune, Playing politics with women's health care
• The Oregonian, An Affront to Women and Families
• Roanoke Times, Don't let Bush restrict access to birth control
• RH Reality Check, Planned Parenthood, MoveOn Deliver 325,000 Signatures to HHS to Preserve Contraception Access
• San Jose Mercury News, Editorial: Defeat Bush's last stand against abortion
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Birth Control: They’re at it again
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Family Planning: Striking Plan
• Seattle Times, An anti-abortion ploy
• Waco Tribune-Herald, Shell game on women's health
• Wall Street Journal, Rules Let Health Workers Deny Abortions
• Washington Post, Birth Control Fears Addressed
• Washington Post, Protections Set for Antiabortion Health Workers