“The three anti-choice bills the House of Representatives is now considering constitute as callous an attack on women as we have seen in many, many years. The legislation sponsored by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ), Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Mike Pence (R-IN) are extreme, radical proposals designed to deny women health care services they urgently need.

These bills are shameful. They would use health reform to deny the abortion coverage most women have now; defund Planned Parenthood and deny women access to preventive care; limit privately funded abortion; and allow hospitals to refuse to provide abortion care, even when a woman’s life is in critical danger. It is no exaggeration to say that if these bills become law, women — including mothers — will suffer and die.

This isn’t about preventing federal funding of abortion services, which was, in a punitive move, stopped years ago. This is about denying contraception and other critical health services to women, despite the grave danger this poses to women’s lives.

That the House is holding hearings and seriously considering this legislation is a measure of how ideologically extreme the new majority is. We urge Congress to say no to an anti-choice agenda that imperils women, and instead return to the nation’s urgent business of improving health care, creating jobs, and strengthening schools and communities.”