21st Century Women's Health Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the 21st Century Women's Health Act to increase access to reproductive health care and to provide compassionate care to survivors of sexual assault.

Funding for the government runs out in a matter of hours. Rather than crafting a bipartisan solution on the Nation's budget, House leadership has been focusing on denying women their right to make their own healthcare decisions.

This is 2015. We should be doing all we can to increase access to health care for women. We should not be rolling back women's rights and cutting access to lifesaving cancer and preventative health screenings for women, men, and youth across the country.

As a mother, a daughter, and a Member of Congress, I understand the value of increasing access to health care for women; and that is why I am proud to introduce the 21st Century Women's Health Act, with my colleagues Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, and with our leadership of our ally in the Senate, Senator Patty Murray from Washington.

This comprehensive bill will increase access to preventative health services and contraception for low-income women, and it will help women report instances of inappropriate charges for birth control, a problem that affects too many women across the country. It will also expand the primary care workforce and ensure that survivors of sexual assault are provided with free emergency contraception and compassionate care.

I want my daughter and every woman in this country to live in a place where they have access to affordable healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood, a full range of reproductive choices, and, most importantly, the ability to make their own healthcare decisions.

Colleagues, I grew up before Roe v. Wade, and I know what our country looks like when women don't have access to a full range of reproductive healthcare options. We know that if abortion is restricted, it does not go away.

Let us not return to a time when women had to seek care in the shadows or the back alleys. Let us come together to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and let us champion our march forward toward a more equal society with the introduction of the 21st Century Women's Health Act.

I urge my colleagues to join me as cosponsors, and I look forward to working toward the passage of this important bill.

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