Katie Porter: “last year an attempt was made to zero out the title X family planning program. That attempt failed here on the floor of…”

“last year an attempt was made to zero out the title X family planning program. That attempt failed here on the floor of the House. This year the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook] is offering an amendment to limit access to these important services. This is not an issue of abortion. Let me emphasize that once again. And we are talking here about services for poor, young women. We are talking about a successful program that prevents 500,000 abortions from occurring in our country every year. A study published by the Journal of Pediatrics found that 85 percent of teens would not seek care for sexually transmitted infections if parental consent or notice were required. I have a letter from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposing parental consent. They confirm that mandating parental consent will prevent teens from seeking contraceptive services, placing them at increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies. It is a very, very poorly advised amendment.”