In response to reports that the Trump administration plans to announce a domestic gag rule that would withhold federal funding from any health provider that “promotes abortion or refers patients to a caregiver that will provide one,” People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement:

“This is an outrageous attack on millions of people’s access to basic health care, particularly low-income women. There is already a ban on federal funds for abortion care—this would mean that caregivers could refuse to provide information about where to get an abortion, or even to tell patients that abortion is an option. It will also mean lost access to birth control, cancer screenings, and other critical care. An attack on women’s access to medical care is quite literally an attack on our lives.

“Through their transparently political war on Planned Parenthood and fundamental reproductive rights, the Trump administration is yet again doing the bidding of the Religious Right—no matter who it harms.”

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.

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