House Democrats are slamming House Republicans for passing anti-abortion bills that they say are in line with an agenda to ban abortions nationwide.
U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, told theGrio, “Republicans are dismissive of the people’s voices and continue to try to operate in a state of deception by putting forward these initiatives to fund these so-called pregnancy crisis centers.”
U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, D-R.I., in a statement to theGrio, said, “House Republicans remain determined to pass a national abortion ban, prevent women from accessing FDA-approved medication, and stop women from traveling out-of-state to access care they need.”
The freshman congressman added, “This is unacceptable.”
These remarks come after House Republicans passed two pro-life bills last week.
The first bill, H.R. 6918, the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, aims to roll back a Biden-Harris administration rule that outlaws using federal dollars from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to subsidize pregnancy resource centers.
Brown stated that the statute “Would use federal dollars to fund anti-abortion centers, which are often deceptive organizations that manipulate women during their pregnancy and inhibit their ability to receive comprehensive care while actively promoting an anti-abortion agenda.”
The Ohio lawmaker told theGrio that the pregnancy crisis centers, which are led by faith-based organizations, are just anti-abortion clinics in disguise.
“No one would go to a crisis cancer center where they’re trying to prevent people from getting cancer treatment, and then all of a sudden, when you get inside, they call it something else,” she said.
“This is exactly what the Republicans are doing when it comes to these so-called pregnancy crisis centers. These are anti-abortion centers,” she continued.
The second bill, titled H.R. 6914, the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, would require colleges and universities to provide college students with information that would encourage them to carry a pregnancy to full term.
Brown says that this legislation promotes an “anti-abortion agenda” because it does not provide students with “any information on contraception, abortion, pregnancy loss, and other reproductive health issues, or any information about enrolling in Medicaid, WI, or related programs.”
She told theGrio that both bills are “deceptive, dangerous and divisive.”
“It just highlights the importance of us being able to enshrine Roe into law,” Brown continued.
Rep. Amo said, “Women across the United States are suffering. In some cases, women even fear being called to court for having a miscarriage or seeking abortion care.”
Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March, told theGrio that that’s why voting in the 2024 presidential election is important, given that if former President Donald Trump were re-elected, the GOP’s “anti-abortion agenda” would worsen.
“Trump has promised a national abortion ban, and he almost revels in telling you what he’s going to do. It’s not hyperbole…he has every intention on doing this,” she said.
“I believe him, so the fact that he’s running ahead in the polls means that we need to take this threat very seriously…but we should also understand that we can beat him by casting ballots in November,” she continued.
Amo said that given the attack on abortion rights in the U.S., “I will always stand up, fight back, and do all I can to support a woman’s right to choose in Rhode Island and across the nation.
Brown said in a statement to theGrio, “It is especially shameful that House Republicans would pass legislation that takes federal funding away from families and gives it to anti-abortion centers.”
“I opposed these bills and will continue to fight for abortion rights and access to reproductive health care as fundamental rights,” she said.
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