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.
###