Date: 2016-07-13
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. this is the final amendment to the bill. which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted. the bill will immediately proceed to final passage. as amended. S. 304. the Conscience Protection Act. is yet another extreme attempt to block womens access to health care. This dangerous legislation. which the President has threatened to veto. would strip away patient protections and permit employers to override a womans personal medical decisions. It is the 113th House GOP vote in this Congress alone to attack womens health care. This bill is an attempt to make permanent the socalled Weldon amendment. which pressures any Federal agency or program. or any State or local government. with the potential loss of all of its Labor and Health and Human Services funding if it doesnt allow a healthcare entity to provide. pay for. cover. or refer for abortions. The majority purports that this legislation would protect religious liberty. but. in reality. it is a thinly veiled attempt to restrict womens access to safe and legal abortion. To be clear. religious liberty is one of our Nations most fundamental and cherished values. but it does not. and should never. mean the freedom to discriminate against or harm others. This bill would unduly limit womens healthcare choices by allowing a broad set of health providers. including many employers. to deny their female employees access to legal medical services based on any and all objections. This legislation could not possibly have been written more broadly. Specifically. the Conscience Protection Act would allow employers and insurance companies. among other "healthcare entities." to refuse to "facilitate." "make arrangements for." or "otherwise participate in" abortions. Women of color. lowincome families. LGBTQ individuals. young people. and those living in rural areas already experience widespread and systemic barriers to health care. This vague and overly broad language will exacerbate the significant barriers to care that they already face. Additionally. the bill would give virtually any individual or entity standing to sue for an actual or threatened violation. As civil rights organizations have noted: This broad right of action would chill State. local. and Federal Governments ability to advance prowomens health policies by exposing them to frivolous. resourcedraining lawsuits by opponents of safe. legal abortion. Undoubtedly. this bill is a wolf in sheeps clothing. In the name of religious liberty. the majority is continuing its campaign to deny women access to safe and legal abortion and create a healthcare system that is legally permitted to discriminate against women. Women and all Americans deserve access to the care and coverage that is right for them. The Conscience Protection Act threatens that access and is another attempt by the majority to insert themselves into a decision best left between a woman and her doctor. This motion to recommit prevents the harmful provisions of the bill from applying to any area in the U.S. where it would reduce access to healthcare services to prevent. prepare for. or respond to the Zika virus. More than 3.600 Americans. including more than 600 pregnant women in 45 States. D.C.. and 3 U.S. territories. have already been diagnosed with the Zika virus. and more transmission is expected. In my home State of Florida. there are more than 250 people that have contracted Zika. including 43 pregnant women. During pregnancy. the Zika virus can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly. as well other severe fetal brain defects. The Zika virus is primarily transmitted through two types of mosquitos. and according to a recent article in the Journal of Medical Entomology. 40 States and D.C. have reported the presence of one or both of those mosquitos. Public health experts have made clear that it is not if we will have local transmission of the Zika virus in the continental U.S.. it is when. Despite that risk. our Republican colleagues are on the floor today playing politics with women and childrens access to federally supported healthcare services like Medicaid. Through Federal healthcare services. women can visit healthcare providers to better understand how to prevent contracting the Zika virus. and children born with severe fetal brain defects can receive the healthcare services that they need. Threatening receipt of Federal healthcare services by women and children in need of care to advance the harmful Republican war on women is unconscionable. It is shocking that anyone would even consider taking any action that would cut off federally supported healthcare services when the threat of the Zika virus looms so large in this country. especially during the summer. the height of tourist and mosquito season. This bill is dangerous and irresponsible. Pregnant women who contract the Zika virus and infants born with microcephaly or severe fetal birth defects as a result should have the federally guaranteed healthcare benefits and services that they need and not be punished because the Republicans wanted to score more political points. Enough is enough. I urge my colleagues to support the motion to recommit. I yield back the balance of my time.