NARAL Statement on Nomination of Tom Price as Secretary of HHS

WASHINGTON –(ENEWSPF)–November 29, 2016.  NARAL Pro-Choice America Senior Vice President Sasha Bruce issued the following statement in response to reports that Representative Tom Price (GA-06) will be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services:

“With the selection of Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donald Trump is sending a clear signal that he intends to punish women who seek abortion care. Tom Price is someone who has made clear throughout his career that he does not trust women to make our own decisions about our health care. Instead, he wants to punish us for the choices we make for our bodies, our futures, and our families. In Congress, Tom Price cosponsored some of the most offensive anti-choice legislation on record, legislation that could ban abortion for almost any reason. Not only has Tom Price tried to outlaw abortion nationwide, including in cases of rape, incest, and health of the woman, he has worked to put an outright ban on the most common forms of contraception. As chair of the Budget Committee, he has been on the front lines of the efforts to dismantle the lifesaving Affordable Care Act, as well as the dangerous attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. For the seven in 10 Americans who support legal access to abortion, this is an incredibly alarming pick.”

Tom Price has served in Congress for 11 years and has not cast a single pro-choice vote. In Congress, Tom Price:

• Cosponsored legislation that would, if it went into effect, make abortion illegal nationwide in almost all cases and ban some of the most common forms of contraception, stem-cell research, and in vitro fertilization. [1]
• Repeatedly voted to defund Planned Parenthood and its affiliates that, in addition to a full menu of reproductive-health services, provide abortion-related care. [2]
• Voted to support the Select Investigative Panel, which has targeted students, researchers, and healthcare providers in a way that opens them up to violence and harassment, in addition to wasting millions of taxpayer dollars. [3]

[1] H.R.552, 2/2/05.

[2] Pence Amendment to FY’08 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, H.R.3043, 7/19/07; Pence Amendment to FY’10 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, H.R.3293, 7/24/09; Pence Amendment to FY’11 Continuing Resolution, H.R.1, 2/18/11; H.R.1, 2/19/11; Enrollment Resolution 11 to H.Con.Res.36, 4/14/11; H.R.3134, 9/18/15; H.R.3495, 9/29/15; H.Con.Res.79, 9/30/15; H.R.3762, 10/23/15.

[3] H.Res.461, 10/7/15.