'It's Not What Americans Want': Tammy Baldwin Tears Into Provisions On Abortion Access In GOP Budget

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During a press briefing on Tuesday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) spoke about provisions on abortion access in the Republican budget.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Chuck.

00:04Thank you, Mr. Leader.

00:06Good morning, and I want to start and take a moment to reflect on the events over the weekend.

00:13The senseless, abhorrent, cowardly events in Minnesota hit very close to home for my constituents

00:19who are grieving alongside our Midwestern neighbors,

00:23and sadly for those from Planned Parenthood and the reproductive rights community, too.

00:29My heart goes out to the victims, those grieving, those fighting for their lives,

00:34and those who are scared, and anyone who's impacted by this tragedy.

00:40We are lucky for the law enforcement who put their lives on the line to apprehend the suspect

00:45and prevent further heartbreak.

00:48This kind of political violence is simply unacceptable, and it is not who we are as a country,

00:55and we must come together to condemn this kind of hate wherever it exists

01:01and remind ourselves that we are better than this.

01:05I am honored to join my colleagues and reproductive rights leaders

01:09to spotlight yet another way this Republican budget bill will take away health care from Americans

01:17and gut their right to choose.

01:20Planned Parenthood is truly a saving grace for so many in my state and across the country.

01:28For Americans, Planned Parenthood clinics, for some of them,

01:33they're the only option they have for affordable health care,

01:37for basic reproductive care, to life-saving cancer screenings.

01:41It's also often the only place women can get abortion care

01:46and control their own bodies and their own futures.

01:51In a state like Wisconsin, where we live through 15 months

01:55with no access to abortion care because of a law passed in 1849,

02:02today there are just a few Planned Parenthood clinics providing abortion services

02:10in three counties, which means 69 counties in Wisconsin have no access.

02:17If these Planned Parenthood clinics were to close,

02:22women in my state could be left again with no other option than to leave the state

02:26just to get the care that they need.

02:29If these clinics close, Republicans would be further widening health care deserts

02:37in rural Wisconsin, making more of our friends, neighbors, and colleagues delay

02:42or forego care because they can't afford it or they can't take the time off work

02:49or find child care to drive hours to see a doctor.

02:53But as we all know, Planned Parenthood and places that offer reproductive care

02:59are our Republican colleagues' favorite target.

03:03They make Planned Parenthood a punchline to their jokes

03:06and a subject line to their fundraising emails.

03:11What they neglect to admit is it's a lifeline for our constituents.

03:17This bill says that the mother of three,

03:20the young woman trying to make ends meet,

03:23the veteran in need of care,

03:24and anyone else on Medicaid can't use their coverage at Planned Parenthood

03:29for annual checkups, cancer screenings, or birth control.

03:34We're not just talking about abortion.

03:38We're talking about basic health care that everyone needs

03:41and that my Republican colleagues say they support.

03:45But by doing this, they are one step closer to their North Star,

03:50a national abortion ban.

03:53So it seems they're okay with these devastating consequences.

03:57Even worse, it is also in service of finding every dollar that they can

04:03to pay for their scheme to rig the tax code

04:06for big corporations and their wealthy friends.

04:10The more I think about it,

04:12I'm struck by the idea that this provision

04:15so perfectly captures what this Republican Party

04:19has come to stand for,

04:21to tilt the tax code in favor of the rich and huge corporations

04:25at all costs,

04:27and to take away a woman's right to choose.

04:31We're not going silently into the night.

04:35At the ballot box, in poll after poll,

04:38and what I hear as I travel the state

04:40is that women want their right to choose.

04:43They want their fundamental freedoms back.

04:46They want affordable health care.

04:47They want more affordable health care options.

04:50This Republican bill would do just the opposite,

04:55jacking up health care costs,

04:57limiting affordable options,

04:59and taking away more women's rights

05:01to control their own bodies.

05:04It's wrong.

05:06It's not what Americans want.

05:08And we're going to fight it.

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