State leaders respond to House Speaker’s plan

Services provided by Planned Parenthood include cancer screening, health testing and birth control.

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s declaration that fellow Republicans in Congress will move to defund Planned Parenthood sparked a response from the organization’s Connecticut chapter and from the state’s federal lawmakers condemning the GOP’s plan.

According to CNN, Ryan made the announcement during a news conference on Capitol Hill as part of the GOP’s process of repealing Obamacare. Many Republicans have long opposed funding Planned Parenthood because of its abortion services.

Planned Parenthood of Southern New England’s advocacy and political arm Planned Parenthood Votes! CT/RI issued a release Thursday from group President and CEO Judy Tabar critical of Ryan’s announcement. The organization is planning a day of action and rally on Jan. 18 at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The Planned Parenthood of Southern New England’s Connecticut Administrative office is located in New Haven.

Services provided by Planned Parenthood include cancer screening, health testing and birth control, which are services the company said are used by millions of low-income women, men and young people. Tabar said in her statement that 70,000 people in Connecticut and Rhode Island use the agency’s services.

“Defunding Planned Parenthood is dangerous to people’s health, it’s unpopular, and it would leave people across the country without care,” Tabar said in the release. “It’s likely no accident that this attack was launched the day after Vice President-elect Mike Pence, a longtime opponent of Planned Parenthood, held a closed-door meeting with Speaker Ryan and the Republican leadership.”

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5, condemned Ryan’s “promise” in a statement issued Thursday, adding that the federal funds received by the health organization make, “vital health services including lifesaving breast exams, Pap smears, and ovarian cancer screenings affordable and accessible for women throughout the country.”

Esty said Ryan’s plan was a “shameful attack” on the country’s most vulnerable. Esty said in her statement that the organization’s aid to women prompted her to volunteer for them in college.

“I grew up in a town where many young women didn’t have access to basic reproductive health care and saw how it irrevocably altered the course of their lives,” Esty said in the statement. “I’ve seen firsthand the very real and important difference reproductive health services make for women and their families.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called out the antichoice movement and what he termed Ryan’s “disgraceful assault on women’s health,” in a statement on Thursday.

“I am appalled by his proposal to slam through legislation that would defund Planned Parenthood and deprive millions of women of access to basic health services,” Blumenthal said. “This proposal is especially alarming because it is tied to Republican efforts to strip millions of Americans of their health insurance and gut funding for preventive health care.”

Additionally, the General Assembly’s Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors issued a statement Thursday regarding Ryan’s announcement. CWCS Executive Director Steven Hernández said in statement that more than 60,000 people use Planned Parenthood in the state’s 17 sites.

Defunding the organization would be “devastating to Connecticut women and families,” Hernández said in the statement.

“They are a time-honored, well respected and professional organization that abides by the law and serves thousands of families in our state,” Hernández said. “We cannot permit any federal initiative to derail our commitment to the healthcare of our residents.”

Esty said Congress needs to ensure preventative health care services are affordable and accessible to everyone.

“The GOP’s proposed attack on women’s health is exactly the opposite of what the American people want,” Esty said in her statement. “I urge my colleagues to reconsider this dangerous proposal and put the needs of the public before partisan politics.”