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Pro-Choice Leaders decry GOP inclusion of nationwide abortion ban in must-pass budget bills

July 27, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The co-chairs of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), released the following statement in response to the GOP’s efforts to further restrict Americans’ right to abortion care as part of the annual appropriations process:

“Here we go again. Instead of advancing a budget that reflects our constituents’ values and priorities, House Republicans have hijacked this year’s appropriations process to advance their own extreme agenda. Once again, the GOP majority in the House is preparing to further restrict women’s right to abortion care and are using must-pass appropriation bills to move this country closer to their overall goal of a full, nationwide ban on abortion care.

“By banning the VA from providing abortion care to veterans, the GOP is putting countless Americans’ lives at risk. By denying patients access to mifepristone, they are taking away the only remaining avenue that many women have to access the care they need.

“If the GOP wants to enact a nationwide ban on abortion care, then let’s have that debate and let’s hold that vote – but let’s do it in the open, so the American people can judge each member’s action for themselves. Hijacking these critical funding bills to try to sneak through an extreme anti-abortion agenda that a vast majority of Americans oppose is reprehensible. House Republicans should be ashamed of themselves.”