The House has already passed HR7, which bans taxpayer funding for abortion. This is a cruel insult to women and reproductive rights. Denying women control of their bodies will lead to increased poverty, crime and homelessness.
Destiny Lopez, co-director of All* Above All, denounced the bill in a statement to Refinery29.
"Already, too many women are denied abortion coverage because of how much they earn: HR 7 is cruel and callous legislation that would make these discriminatory bans permanent law," she said. "This is all part of the Trump-Pence agenda to punish women."
Kierra Johnson, executive director of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE), also noted that the bill would disproportionately affect women who are already at a disadvantage.
"Black women in our country are already suffering the harms of bans on abortion coverage, and rather than improving our access to necessary health services, the new Congress is obsessed with restricting abortion and doubling down on the Hyde Amendment," she said. "Americans are more supportive than ever of keeping abortion legal, available, and covered by insurance. Shame on these out-of-touch politicians."
The House version has passed, but there is still time to squelch the companion bill in the Senate.
We the undersigned call upon you to oppose the Senate version of HR7, which makes permanent bans on public funding of abortion services. This bill is cruel and callous, denying poor women control of their bodies. Without reproductive freedom, women cannot escape from poverty. This cruel bill denies women access to vital health care coverage, and must be stopped.
