A “People’s Hearing” Held at the Texas Capitol
Sarah Lipton-Lubet, Vice President at the National Partnership for Women & Families
(Austin, TX, Friday, March 3, 2017) – For years Texas politicians have based extreme anti-abortion laws on lies and misinformation, refusing even to hear from real experts about the serious consequences of those laws. A “people’s hearing” was held at the Texas Capitol, with policy and health experts as well as health care providers sharing information about these harmful “Bad Medicine” laws. Together they demonstrate what an evidence-based hearing should look like.
In conjunction with the “people’s hearing,” the National Partnership for Women & Families released a new report, Bad Medicine: How a Political Agenda Is Undermining Women’s Health Care – Texas Edition.
Sarah Lipton-Lubet, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families, discusses the report.
SOUNDBITE #1:
SINCE THE U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING IN ROE V. WADE, ANTI-ABORTION POLITICIANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE PASSED MORE THAN ELEVEN-HUNDRED ABORTION RESTRICTIONS – NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF THEM SINCE TWENTY-TEN. THEY TRY TO PREVENT A WOMAN FROM GETTING ABORTION CARE, EVEN WHEN THAT MEANS FORCING HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO LIE TO HER, DELAYING HER CARE, REQUIRING UNNECESSARY TESTS, MAKING CARE MORE EXPENSIVE, AND SHUTTING DOWN CLINICS. THESE TYPES OF INTRUSIVE ABORTION RESTRICTIONS HAVE PROLIFERATED IN TEXAS.
SOUNDBITE #2:
IT’S TIME FOR ANTI-ABORTION LEGISLATORS IN TEXAS TO STOP RELYING ON “ALTERNATIVE FACTS” AND JUNK SCIENCE. ALL PATIENTS DESERVE ACCURATE INFORMATION, HIGH-QUALITY CARE AND THE TREATMENT THAT BEST MEETS THEIR NEEDS. THERE IS NO PLACE FOR LIES IN HEALTH CARE, AND THAT INCLUDES WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE. PUT SIMPLY, LEGISLATING SOMETHING DOESN’T MAKE IT TRUE, AND ABORTION OPPONENTS NEED TO KNOW THAT WHEN THEY LIE, WE’RE GOING TO CALL THEM OUT.
Visit BadMedicine.org to learn more.