Bill Lee: “I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding, but also for her tremendous leadership on this and so many issues. Madam…”

“I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding, but also for her tremendous leadership on this and so many issues. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3495, the so- called Women's Public Health and Safety Act. First of all, this bill does not keep women safe, and it certainly won't keep them healthy. Instead, it would prevent individuals or organizations that provide abortion services from treating women enrolled in Medicaid, and it would simply strip women of their fundamental right to choose their own healthcare provider. Congress already denies Federal Medicaid coverage of abortion, which is wrong, and that needs to be repealed. That is the Hyde amendment. We have got to repeal that. Now, excluding doctors from serving Medicaid patients is yet another attack on the rights of low-income women. When in the world are you going to stop? H.R. 3495 would deny more than 7 million women access to critical healthcare services, including contraceptive care, STI tests, lifesaving cancer screenings, and other primary care services; and it would hurt our most vulnerable communities, including low-income women and women of color. Madam Speaker, this bill is simply wrong. It is nothing more than a shameful attempt to restrict women's constitutional rights. Politicians should never interfere with women's personal healthcare decisions, period. Stay out of our lives. The Women's Public Health and Safety Act does just the opposite of what this bogus title says.…”