Republicans Put Anti-Abortion Extremism First Instead of Addressing Health Care Crisis

Republican lawmakers care more about banning abortion than lowering costs for millions of families

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, Senate Republicans rejected legislation that would extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits for three years and protect millions of Americans’ access to health care. Instead, they rallied behind a bogus bill that leaves out critical tax credits that so many families rely on, and includes further restrictions on abortion coverage.  

Now, millions of Americans’ health care hangs in the balance as the same lawmakers who claim that abortion should be “left up to the states” pull every lever they can to ban abortion nationwide.  

After today’s votes, Veronica Ingham, Managing Director of Free & Just, released the following statement:

“Republican lawmakers would rather cater to anti-abortion extremists than address the health care crisis they created, and American families will pay the price. We are just days away from millions of people losing health coverage, and the last thing Americans need is for Republicans to bow to anti-abortion extremists. It’s time for Republicans to stop spreading misinformation about abortion coverage under the ACA and get serious about lowering costs for working families.”

If you are interested in connecting with patients, providers, or advocates about what is at stake for Americans’ health care and reproductive freedom, please contact Kelly Rimar (kelly@freeandjust.us).

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

New Data Confirms Two-Thirds of Americans Reject Efforts to Ban Medication Abortion as Bogus FDA “Review” Continues

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, KFF released new data highlighting the popularity of medication abortion nationwide, and yet, most Americans are largely unaware of how President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are pushing their extreme agenda to ban access to care. Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication that’s been approved for over twenty years. Despite a proven track record, and years of evidence-based research, medication abortion is the latest target for anti-abortion Republicans to ban abortion nationwide. 

Medication abortion now accounts for nearly two-thirds of abortions across the country, while  Republicans are pressuring federal agencies to reverse the FDA’s approval of the medication involved. In June, Commissioner Makary pulled from bogus science to affirm his pledge to conduct an “investigation” into mifepristone. In September, RFK Jr. launched a new FDA review of mifepristone. When asked during a hearing, Secretary Kennedy shared that investigations into medication abortion are underway, tracking this administration's continued commitment to banning abortion and restricting reproductive freedom across the country.

In response to the new data reported by KFF, Veronica Ingham, Managing Director of Free & Just, released the following statement:

“Despite data showing that Americans support reproductive freedom, Trump and his anti-abortion appointees are pulling every lever to attack medication abortion. Science affirms that medication abortion is safe and effective; and it’s changed the lives of patients nationwide. Baseless political attacks on medical care are dangerous, and Free & Just will continue uplifting the stories of those impacted.”

Bottomline: Anti-abortion extremists are working to ban abortion nationwide any way they can – no matter how unpopular it is.

Key findings include:

• Fewer Than Half Of The Public Are Aware Of Mifepristone’s Prevalence And Safety. About half (53%) of the public say they have heard of mifepristone, but about one in four (24%) adults correctly say that most abortions in the U.S. are medication abortions, while three in ten (29%) incorrectly believe that most abortions are done procedurally, and nearly half (47%) say they are not sure.

• Public Awareness of Recent FDA Review of Mifepristone Is Low. Most of the public say they have heard “a little” (27%) or “nothing at all” (47%) about the move from Secretary Kennedy and the FDA. 

• A Majority of the Public Oppose Policy Proposals Aimed at Restricting Medication Abortion Access. Two-thirds of adults who oppose banning the use of medication abortion, nationwide (68%) and a similar share who oppose making it a crime for health care providers to mail abortion pills to patients in states where abortion is banned (65%).

• Most of the Public Opposes the Medicaid Funding Ban on Clinics that also Provide Abortions. About two-thirds (65%) of the public oppose the current law banning clinics that provide abortions from receiving federal Medicaid payments for other services they provide.

• Nearly half of Republicans oppose banning medication abortion. 48% of MAGA Republicans oppose banning mifepristone nationwide.

  If you are interested in connecting with patients, providers, or advocates about access to medication abortion and the continued attacks on mifepristone at the local and federal level, please contact Kelly Rimar (kelly@freeandjust.us). 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

ICYMI: Speaker Johnson Quietly Tries to Kill IVF Coverage for Military Families

New reporting reveals Johnson’s push to strip bipartisan IVF protections from the National Defense Authorization Act, leaving service members behind

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, Free & Just is responding to new reporting that House Speaker Mike Johnson is working to remove a bipartisan provision that would guarantee IVF coverage for all active-duty service members and their families through TRICARE. TRICARE is the Pentagon’s health coverage program serving more than 9 million service members, retirees, and military families.

The provision — supported in both chambers — would finally extend assisted reproductive technology coverage to the millions of service members who experience infertility at higher rates than the general population.

In response to today’s reporting, Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaign Director for Free & Just, released the following statement:

“Speaker Johnnson’s push to strip IVF coverage from military families is a cruel and needless political choice. Our service members sacrifice more than most Americans can imagine. Denying them a chance to build the families they dream of is indefensible.”

The reporting follows months of silence from the administration after releasing a misleading new proposal related to IVF treatment in October. Instead, under the leadership of the self-proclaimed “father of IVF,” the Trump administration continues to roll back access to all types of reproductive health care, including fertility treatment.

This reporting confirms that Speaker Johnson is pushing behind closed doors to remove the IVF provision from this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, despite public promises from President Trump and congressional Republicans to expand IVF access.

Free & Just will continue fighting to ensure every family has access to the reproductive care they need.

If you are interested in connecting with patients, providers, or advocates about this reporting and how the Trump administration’s attacks on reproductive freedom harm growing families, please contact Kelly Rimar (kelly@freeandjust.us).

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

Texas Patients and Advocates Warn: New 12/4 GOP Abortion Law Is Putting Women at Risk

WATCH THE EVENT HERE

TEXAS –– Today, patient storytellers and advocates joined Free & Just to spotlight how Republican attacks on abortion care are making pregnancy more dangerous across Texas. The event also honored the life of San Antonio mother and wife, Tierra Walker, who died of complications from preeclampsia after being denied care under the abortion ban.

On December 4, 2025, a new anti-abortion Texas law (HB 7) takes effect, further targeting medication abortion in the state. 

Texas has imposed more abortion restrictions than almost any other state, and now extremist GOP lawmakers are going even further. Republicans' latest attack targets medication abortion, by cracking down on how patients can access abortion medication and encouraging private citizens to sue Texans who receive or provide care.

At the event patient storytellers and advocates honored Tierra Walker and shared how the latest attacks on reproductive freedom harm women and families in Texas and across the country.

“I was forced to flee my home state to access abortion care after my very wanted, long-awaited IVF pregnancy was given a fatal fetal diagnosis at my anatomy scan. In the middle of grief, shock, and rising medical risks to myself, I had to pack a bag, book a hotel, arrange a rental car, and get on a flight. Not because I wanted to, but because I had no other choice, because the care I needed and the autonomy I deserved were taken away from me by politicians who will never meet the families that they harm,” said Taylor Edwards, a former plaintiff in Zurawski v. Texas. “Laws like the one taking effect tomorrow do not stop abortions. They stop safe abortions. They punish those of us navigating wanted pregnancies. They terrorize families. They take choices that should only belong to us and make them nearly impossible to reach. I believe that we deserve better. We deserve autonomy, and we deserve the unquestioned right to make decisions about our own bodies.”

“When physicians feel unable to counsel patients honestly, and when hospitals fear legal consequences for providing evidence-based care, the result is a system that fails people in the moments when they need help the most. No patient should ever have to cross state lines to receive essential health care. Yet this is the reality we face in Texas, where legislative barriers and widespread fear have made pregnancy and pregnancy complications far more dangerous than they need to be,” said Uma Reddy, a fourth-year medical student in Texas pursuing Adolescent Medicine. “As a future Pediatric Adolescent Medicine physician, and as someone who hopes to build a career serving young people in Texas, I worry about the message this new law sends to the next generation. It tells them that their safety is negotiable, that their autonomy is conditional, and that their medical needs are less important than political pressure. I believe Texas can do better than this. Our patients deserve better than this.”

“I contribute the access that I had to abortion medication to saving my life. No person should have to go through the mental distress of what you have to do to get access to abortion medication. Without these medications, who knows how many more people we will lose while having these bans in place. Unfortunately, if we do not make a change, it will continue to get worse. We should not be losing people like we lost Tierra,” said Melanie Shipley, a patient storyteller who received medication abortion care.

“Tierra is a black woman navigating a system that already fails black women at much higher rates, and Texas's abortion bans are magnifying the systemic existing inequality. I don't know what it is like to be a black woman in Texas, but I do know what it is like to be a white woman with healthcare, with an advanced degree and a professional career in maternal and infant health. And despite all of my privilege, I have had to fight like hell to get the healthcare that I need,” said Kaitlyn Kash, a former plaintiff in Zurawski v. Texas. “HB 7 will be the fourth cruel and harmful law that says that the government knows how to provide healthcare better than our doctors — that the government knows how to provide or what kind of healthcare we need more than we do and what our own bodies are telling us. Someone is already pregnant right now, who is going to need medication abortion. Someone is already pregnant right now, whose life will be forever changed tomorrow when a new law goes into effect.”

You can watch the event here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants at the event, please contact malachi@freeandjust.us. 

This week, Free & Just released a NEW Fact Sheet: President Trump and Extreme Republican Lawmakers are Making Pregnancy More Dangerous for Texans:

• Abortion bans are killing women and at least four women have died as a result of Texas’ abortion ban – and those are just the deaths we know of.

• Texas’ strict abortion bans have driven medical professionals and trainees away, leaving massive gaps of care for pregnant women within the state.

• As a result of abortion laws in Texas, thousands of patients are frequently forced to travel out of state to access essential abortion care. 

• Texas lawmakers have recently doubled down on efforts to restrict medication abortion via telehealth, which 2,800 Texans rely on every month to access abortion care.

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Reproductive Freedom Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Diana DeGette, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, and Health Policy Experts Set the Record Straight on Latest Republican Attacks on Abortion

WATCH HERE

WASHINGTON, DC ––  Today, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB/GYN from Wisconsin, and Jessica Schubel, Founder of Day One Strategies and former Special Assistant to President Biden for Health Care joined Free & Just to discuss how Republicans are hijacking important health care negotiations to impose dangerous new abortion restrictions nationwide. 

Instead of addressing soaring health care costs that threaten millions of American families, Republican lawmakers are catering to anti-abortion extremists and spreading misinformation about abortion coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The reality is that millions of working families are facing higher premiums and could lose health care coverage entirely because Republicans want to keep their extremist allies happy. 

“My Republican colleagues are attempting to hijack health care negotiations in order to advance their anti-abortion agenda. The American people overwhelmingly support reproductive freedom, and they deserve to spend their own hard-earned money on whatever health coverage they and their families need,” said Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01), Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “Threatening to insert a backdoor abortion ban into critical health care tax credits is just another page from the same, tired playbook that our constituents do not want. I am focused on fighting alongside partners like Free & Just to ensure that every American has access to affordable health coverage, including abortion coverage.”

“I spent four years at the White House doing everything I could to make sure people could sign up for and enroll in affordable health care.I am so proud of the work that my colleagues and I did – during our time together in the Biden Administration, more Americans had health insurance than at any point in our nation’s history. But, that’s all at risk,” said Jessica Schubel, who served as a Special Assistant to President Biden for health care. What the Republicans are trying to do here is use abortion to justify taking health coverage away from millions of people. Republicans shouldn’t be holding this hostage over an issue they’re making up. No federal money goes to abortion coverage.”

“When politicians pass abortion restrictions, they sell it to us like they're passing a single-issue law. But medicine doesn't work that way. I went to medical school for four years. I completed four years of residency. I maintain board certification with continuing education and skills training — and yet politicians who often couldn't tell you the difference between a placenta and a pancreas, they think they're qualified to override my medical judgment in the exam room. They’re not,” said Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB/GYN and advocate from Wisconsin. “Let's be honest about what's happening here. If this were really about protecting life, we'd see investment in maternal health care, not attacks on it. I trust my patients to make their own health care decisions in consultation with their doctors. Politicians need to get out of the exam room and let doctors practice medicine.” 

You can watch the event here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants in the press event, please contact malachi@freeandjust.us. 

Free & Just is committed to fighting for reproductive freedom. Join us in sharing stories, raising voices, and securing our future. 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

Free & Just Statement on Preventable Death of Tierra Walker, Mother Killed by Texas Abortion Ban

Walker’s death is the fourth attributed to state’s abortion ban.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, ProPublica reported on the preventable death of Texas mother, Tierra La'Nesa Walker, 37, who lost her life as a result of the state’s extreme abortion ban. Walker, who was a wife and mother to a 14-year-old son, died of complications from preeclampsia after being denied care under the abortion ban at medical facilities across the state. Texas has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, and Walker’s death is the fourth attributed to the state’s near total ban. 

In September, Texas Republicans passed sweeping new legislation cracking down on abortion care even further. The new law, which takes effect on December 4, goes far beyond any restrictions before it by allowing private citizens to sue anyone who provides patients in Texas with abortion medication, including health care professionals and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Experts warn that other states could follow Texas’ lead and enact deadly new abortion bans of their own – at the cost of many more lives. 

In response to today’s reporting, Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just released the following statement: 

“Tierra La'Nesa Walker should be here today, and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, her loved ones, and the entire San Antonio community. In the years since the deadly Dobbs decision, abortion bans have cost women across the country their lives. Instead of taking action to protect families, Republican lawmakers are making pregnancy more dangerous for women in Texas and punishing people in need of care. Tierra Walker’s life will unfortunately not be the last lost to an abortion ban.” 

BACKGROUND:

Abortion bans are killing women across the country, and at least four women have died in Texas as a result of the state’s abortion ban. These are just the deaths we know of.

• Texas is a testing ground for some of the most nefarious abortion policies in the country and has a long track record of being a dangerous place to be pregnant and give birth. Experts say it has only become more perilous since Trump has taken office and growing medical research supports this reality, with worse health outcomes being reported for Texas mothers and babies since abortion bans were enacted.

• Research has found that after Texas banned abortion care in the aftermath of Dobbs in August 2022, women required more lifesaving care in the forms of blood transfusions, treatment for miscarriages, and hospital visits — signaling how abortion bans are hurting the wellbeing of women and patients at large.

• The rate of sepsis — a life-threatening reaction to infection – has shot up more than 50% for women in their second trimester hospitalized for losing their pregnancies after Texas banned abortion in 2021. 

• Physician storytellers specializing in OB-GYN, maternal-fetal medicine, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, neonatology and emergency medicine have shared tragic stories of how they weren’t able to provide lifesaving care within their expertise and training. Doctors also described medical decision-making being influenced by the threat of criminalization due to abortion bans in the state.
  

If you are interested in speaking with local patient storytellers, health care providers, or families impacted by ongoing attacks on access to abortion care, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us. 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

Republican Lawmakers Can’t Stop Themselves from Advancing Anti-Abortion Extremism

Congressional Republicans Push National Abortion Ban Amid Government Shutdown Fight

WASHINGTON, DC –– Senate Republicans are once again using government funding negotiations to push their extreme anti-abortion agenda – this time demanding new restrictions as a condition to reopen the government. They won't stop until abortion is banned nationwide, while people's livelihoods and health care hang in the balance. 

This attack from Republican lawmakers comes just one week after Americans overwhelmingly rejected anti-abortion extremism in key elections across the country. There is more evidence than ever before that protecting abortion is broadly popular with Americans of all backgrounds, but that isn’t stopping extremists from launching new attacks on reproductive freedom and spending millions to roll back our rights. 

“Republican lawmakers are holding millions of people's health care hostage to advance their unpopular anti-abortion agenda,” said Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just. “Our country is facing a health care crisis, and Republicans' extreme anti-abortion agenda is putting lives at risk and making life hard for American women, patients, and working families across the country.”

Big Picture: While the country is facing a health care crisis, Trump and Republicans are charging ahead with their efforts to ban abortion nationwide.

Trump and his allies are making clear where their priorities lie. The Trump administration is charging ahead with efforts to dismantle access to one of the safest, most widely used medications in the country: the abortion medication, mifepristone. With families across the country holding their breath and waiting to learn the fate of their health care, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s so-called “investigation” into mifepristone continues. Anti-abortion extremists and the Trump administration are testing a national abortion ban through attacks on medication abortion, and no amount of human suffering will stop them.

If you are interested in connecting with patients, providers, or advocates about what continued attacks on abortion care mean for reproductive freedom, please contact Kelly Rimar (kelly@freeandjust.us). 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

Election Recap - Americans Overwhelmingly Reject Anti-Abortion Extremism in Key Races Nationwide

Statewide elections confirm abortion remains a key issue in the voting booth

WASHINGTON, DC –– Voters in Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania  made clear that America has not “moved on” from abortion rights. In fact, this week’s elections confirm that abortion remains a defining test of politicians' extremism, and Americans continue to reject politicians who threaten reproductive freedom, and abortion access. 

“Abortion remains one of the clearest measures of who Americans trust with power — and who they don’t,” said Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just. “In the weeks leading up to yesterday’s elections, candidates and campaigns zeroed in on abortion messaging and it’s clear why: Attacking reproductive freedom is deeply unpopular, and when the stakes are made real, voters draw the line. Today, we have more evidence than ever before that Americans of all stripes reject anti-abortion extremism, and do not want politicians intervening in their personal, private medical decisions.”

In the weeks after the 2024 election, pundits were quick to dismiss the saliency of abortion as an issue that moves the needle, but the data told a different story. Research conducted among voters in the presidential battleground states immediately after the 2024 election showed that when voters understood Republican candidates wanted to ban abortion, they voted for the Democrats. 

This week’s elections confirm that protecting reproductive freedom remains a priority for people across the country.

If you are interested in connecting with patients, providers, or advocates about what week’s elections mean for reproductive freedom, please contact Kelly Rimar (kelly@freeandjust.us). 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

On Veterans Day, Trump and Anti-Abortion Extremists are Making it Harder for Veterans to Access Care

Veterans are being targeted in Trump administration’s national abortion ban push.

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, the Trump administration intends to honor the men and women who have served our country, while simultaneously working to gut access to essential health care for servicemembers and veterans nationwide. In August, the Trump Administration proposed new rules that would prevent veterans from accessing abortion care or counseling through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. The new rules would mean that hospitals and doctors affiliated with the VA will no longer offer abortion services to veterans who became pregnant through rape or incest.

Additional context: Before SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, the VA banned abortion under any circumstances and prohibited its medical providers from counseling patients about abortion. However, after the Dobbs decision, President Biden enacted a rule allowing VA medical facilities to offer abortion counseling and abortion care to veterans and their beneficiaries in certain situations. The Biden Administration also supported facilitating travel for service members and their families to access reproductive health care services.

Bottomline: The Trump administration is attacking veterans and their ability to receive health care by gutting veterans’ access to health care, including lifesaving abortion care. 

“The same people who say abortion should be ‘left up to the states’ are using every tool they can to ban abortion nationwide, and veterans are paying the price,” said Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just. “Under Trump, millions of veterans in states with abortion bans could lose access to comprehensive reproductive health care and counseling. This administration has proven time and time again that they will use whatever means necessary to ban abortion, no matter who it harms.” 

“There seems to be no end to this administration's attacks on health care, even towards those who bravely protected and served this country," said Carrie Frail, an airforce veteran from Missouri who credits her abortion with helping her escape an abusive relationship, and ultimately, saving her life. “The Trump administration is playing political games to advance a larger agenda fueled by hate and anti-abortion extremism. Abortion care is life-saving care, and should be accessible to anyone who needs it without government interference.”

“Today is meant to be a day to honor the men and women who pledged their lives to defend our country. Instead, we are reminded that this administration does not care about veterans or our families,” said Joanna Sweatt, National Organizing Director for Common Defense and Arizona-based Marine Corps veteran. “Receiving abortion care allowed me to serve my country while raising a healthy family on my own terms. I stand with my fellow women in uniform who deserve access to comprehensive health care, and condemn this administration for their continued efforts to turn back the clock on access to reproductive care.” 

“In this time of uncertainty and chaos, veterans stand up for the rights of all citizens because we took the oath to support the constitution — not a regime who uses us as pawns for their own political interests. That oath does not expire,” said Sylvia Andersh, an Air Force veteran and first-generation Mexican immigrant who had an abortion in 1978 while on active duty. “Today veterans are some of the first ones attacked, losing rights to care, and losing support from this administration. Women veterans are the bellwether of the harm and the disrespect and contempt this administration has for all Americans who are not billionaires.”

If you are interested in speaking to storytellers about the impacts of the administration's attacks on abortion care for veterans, please contact Malachi White, malachi@freeandjust.us. 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.

Congresswoman Deborah Ross Spotlights GOP Government Shutdown and Attacks on Reproductive Health Care Alongside North Carolina Advocates and Storytellers

Washington, DC –– This week, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) joined Free & Just and local health care advocates Dr. Rita Kuwahara, Dr. Kristen Feldman, and patient advocate Gabby Long to spotlight how Republican lawmakers are holding the government hostage to gut health care for millions of Americans and launch new attacks on reproductive freedom. 

Even as the government grinds to a halt leaving millions of Americans’ health care hanging in the balance, the Trump administration is charging ahead with efforts to dismantle access to one of the safest, most widely used medications in the country: the abortion medication mifepristone. Earlier this month, nearly every Senate Republican urged the FDA to require the safe and effective abortion medication to be distributed in person, banning the use of telehealth and to suspend approval of all mifepristone generics. 

At the event, Congresswoman Deborah Ross, Free & Just, and local advocates shed light on what is at stake as Trump and Republican lawmakers gut health care, raise costs, and launch new attacks on reproductive freedom in North Carolina and across the country.

“Ever since January, women — and in particular their health care — have been at risk because of this administration. There has been nothing less than an all-out war on women's health care,” said Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02). “We've also seen a Congress that has no regard for women's reproductive health care, which includes abortion care. There are some places where you simply cannot get access to reproductive health care or to pregnancy care, and women are having to travel sometimes more than an hour just to get the care that they need. This is an emergency, and we need to look at it through the lens of a government shutdown, but really the broader lens of an assault on women's health care.”  

“As a physician, I think that health is not a partisan issue. When a patient comes in, my role would be to take care of the patient and make sure that they can be as healthy as they can be. It doesn't make sense that we're having these partisan conversations when we’re talking about access to health care because no one chooses to get sick, they just happen to get sick, and so it shouldn't be based on how much you have in the bank that determines whether or not you're able to access the care that you really need,” said Dr. Rita Kuwahara, a local primary care and internal medicine physician. 

“If patients are not able to access the care that they need, because health centers are closing due to rising costs, then they're not able to access family planning products and services so that they can live their healthiest and best lives,” said Dr. Kristen Feldman, OB/GYN and Vice President, Medical Affairs at Afaxys, Inc. “Planned Parenthood providers are no longer able to accept federal Medicaid dollars, and I think that some people think that they're preventing abortions from happening because of the ability to accept federal Medicaid dollars. But the Hyde Amendment already prevents federal Medicaid dollars from being used for abortions. So what this means is that Planned Parenthood providers are not able to be reimbursed for pap tests, breast cancer screening, sexually transmitted infection testing, and so that sort of basic health care is what is being compromised when they are eliminating providers from receiving federal Medicaid dollars.”

“Facilities are going to close, have already started to close, and we've seen it in other states. It's not something that's going to happen, it's something that is already happening and patients are being forced to pay out of pocket for care when that money that they have should also be going towards their bills,” said Gabby Long, Outreach Organizer and Coordinator with A Woman’s Choice. “These are people's lives that are at risk. Women should not have to worry about getting access to care based on their zip code, or the type of care that they're going to receive based on their zip code. It should be out there for everybody and we should already have plans in place to protect these people, including women.”

This week, Congresswoman Ross joined 54 of her colleagues on the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) in sending Speaker Mike Johnson a letter demanding he bring Republicans to the negotiating table to end the government shutdown. The letter highlights how women will predominantly be responsible for navigating the skyrocketing cost of health care for their households and safeguarding their families’ access to health care coverage.

You can watch the event here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants in the press event, please contact malachi@freeandjust.us.

Free & Just is committed to fighting for reproductive freedom. Join us in sharing stories, raising voices, and securing our future. 

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