Reproductive Freedom Caucus Co-Chairs Respond to Kennedy Confirmation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Congressional Reproductive Freedom Caucus (RFC) Co-Chairs Reps. Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) released the following statement on the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services:

“In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, Secretary Xavier Becerra's Department of Health and Human Services took on an important role facing the new challenges of America's reproductive health care landscape. Under his leadership, HHS took decisive action to protect the safety and autonomy of reproductive health care providers and patients — action we have already seen the Trump administration attempt to roll back.

As Secretary Kennedy begins his tenure today, he does so having already hedged on critical questions that will impact his leadership and the future of this work. He does not know whether he will enforce federal law protecting the right to life- and health-saving emergency abortion care. He will not commit to stopping a baseless ban on medication abortion. What he has promised is that he will enforce any directives from the White House, even if those directives are anti-abortion, anti-science, and anti-freedom. 

For the sake of every reproductive health care provider and patient in our nation, we hope this will not be an accurate reflection of his actions at the helm of our nation's vital health agency. We will always fight for the right of every person and patient to make their own medical decisions, access essential reproductive health care and health information, and live under the protections of an HHS leadership that uses evidence and science to govern. We urge Secretary Kennedy to join us in that fight.”

See and share the RFC’s statement on X here and Bluesky here.

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