Pro-Choice Caucus Leaders Say H.R. 4712 Interferes with Women’s Health Care and Deliberately Deters Providers

WASHINGTON, DC – The co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), assailed the House passage today of H.R. 4712, saying it was yet another in a string of GOP attempts to interfere with women's health care that would have a chilling effect on providers.

"This bill is just another effort by the majority to interfere with the medical judgment of doctors and other trained health care professionals," DeGette said. "It's a solution in search of a problem, since there is no evidence that current law is insufficient to protect infants. In 2002, Congress reaffirmed on a bipartisan basis that infants are entitled to appropriate medical care, and left that medical judgment where it should be: in the hands of doctors, not politicians. Sadly, the true intent of H.R. 4712 is to intimidate and shame doctors out of providing comprehensive reproductive health care to patients, and its extreme and vague requirements, coupled with stiff penalties, are meant only to have a chilling effect."

"It is a disgrace that on the verge of a government shutdown, House Republicans have passed a bill to try and shame and scare doctors out of providing constitutionally-protected abortion services," Slaughter said. "This legislation is totally unnecessary. In 2002, Congress upheld existing law when it passed a bipartisan bill reiterating that appropriate medical care should be given to any infant born alive. This bill's true intent is clear and will prevent women and families from getting the highest-quality medical treatment they deserve. Passing this bill while the administration works to allow heath care workers to deny care to women and transgender patients is the height of hypocrisy. This is another gross interference by Congressional Republicans into the patient-physician relationship."