On the recordJanuary 24, 2017
Madam Speaker, let me tell you about Chelsea, a mother of two young children, who was on Medicaid when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She never missed her birth control pills, but when she went to the clinic for treatment, she was told that she was pregnant and could not get the surgery she needed because of the pregnancy. {time} 1315 Why is that? Because of the Hyde rule, Medicaid would not cover the abortion care that she needed, and her cancer treatment was delayed, obviously compromising her health. Instead of discussing ways to make Chelsea's situation better, we are considering a bill that would make the ban on abortion care services under Medicaid permanent. This is not about women asking for free, federally funded abortions. This is about women like Chelsea being able to receive the medical care they desperately need. We saw this weekend millions of women took to the streets throughout our country in a historic movement. So let's show them that we are listening by rejecting this bill that makes bad policy permanent. Madam Speaker, let's leave a woman's medical decision between her and her doctor and reject this far-reaching bill.





