Press Releases

Blunt Rochester Joins 174 Members of Congress In telling

President-elect Trump: Women are watching

Will attend Women’s March on Washington

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Blunt Rochester today announced that she joined 174 other members of Congress in sending a letter to President-elect Donald Trump yesterday encouraging him to reconsider his position on repealing the Affordable Care Act and defunding Planned Parenthood.

“Throughout this reckless quest, Republicans have made no promises nor put forward any plans to preserve the ACA’s crucial protections for women,” the letter states. “Prior to the ACA, being a woman was effectively a pre-existing condition.  Women were often denied insurance for having a C-section, breast cancer, or even a history of sexual or domestic abuse.  When women were able to obtain coverage, they were charged much higher premiums than men based on gender alone.  Thankfully, the ACA banned those discriminatory insurance company practices.”

Rep. Blunt Rochester strongly believes that protecting the Affordable Care Act and access to care through Planned Parenthood is critical for women across the country. The letter continues:

“Blocking patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood would only exacerbate the untenable situation we face with ACA repeal.  During the presidential campaign, even you acknowledged that Planned Parenthood does good work and helps millions of women and men.”

The letter closes by outlining the importance of these issues in every district across the country and the consequences if this access to care disappears:

“The women of America are watching, Mr. President-elect.  As are the men who care about them.  The true test of whether your policy agenda will harm or help women begins tomorrow.”

A copy of the letter can be found online here.

Rep. Blunt Rochester also announced that she will be attending the Women’s March on Washington and released the following statement:

“The right to peacefully protest is an invaluable pillar of our democracy and on Mother’s Day in 2000, I had the opportunity to join the Million Mom March with my sister to advocate for more sensible gun laws. We organized peacefully and made our voices heard, and fortunately the march worked. Congressional hearings on policies that would make Americans safer from guns began soon after. “

“On Saturday, I will be joining with hundreds of thousands of Americans who are once again calling for a peaceful march to ensure the policies the incoming administration chooses to champion are fair for all people and won’t disproportionately impact minority communities. Movements like this drive progress, and I’m inspired to be able to be a small part of it.”

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