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Senator Wyden urges colleagues to oppose amendment he says would cut Planned Parenthood funding
Summary
Senator Wyden told the Senate that an amendment under consideration would strip funding from Planned Parenthood, saying last year’s defunding closed clinics — especially in rural areas — and led to a fall in preventive visits. He urged rejection and raised a procedural point of order.
Senator Wyden, the senator from Oregon, urged his colleagues on the Senate floor to oppose an amendment he said would strip funding from Planned Parenthood and reduce access to preventive care for women.
Wyden said, "It's been a year since Republicans defunded Planned Parenthood clinics." He told colleagues that, for many women, Planned Parenthood is their only source of primary care and prevention, including cancer screenings and STI testing.
Wyden cited figures he attributed to the impact of last year’s funding changes, saying "75% of the clinics that shuttered their doors were in rural or underserved areas" and that "the number of breast exam visits fell by 25%." He framed those numbers as evidence that "fewer women are getting essential preventive care, tightening their risk of cancer."
"All of this life-saving care is on the chopping block if this amendment passes," Wyden said, urging senators to oppose the amendment. He characterized the measure as "Republicans' latest attempt to strip women of the health care they need and depend on," and said he "strongly oppose[d] it."
Wyden also raised a procedural challenge, saying, "Madam President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment is not..." The final word in the transcript is unclear; Wyden appeared to challenge the amendment's germaneness and sought a ruling from the chair. The record does not show a ruling or a subsequent vote on the amendment in the provided transcript.
No supporting documents, amendments text, or formal vote results were included in the transcript.
