Congressman Crow Works to Protect Reproductive Health Care for Coloradans
AURORA — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06) held a meeting with Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains today in Aurora. He was joined at the roundtable by Jack Teter, Vice President of Government Affairs for PPRM. The conversation coincided with Colorado’s General Assembly holding a Special Session this week to address a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall after the passage of President Trump and Republican’s budget bill, H.R.1.
When the Republican budget bill went into effect, Planned Parenthood was immediately prohibited from serving over 11,000 Colorado Medicaid enrollees. Planned Parenthood provides a wide array of health care services to Coloradans, including contraception, pregnancy tests, cancer screenings, and STD testing. In some states, clinics have been forced to close due to Republican cuts to Medicaid. In addition to serving Colorado, PPRM serves New Mexico and Wyoming. Two-thirds of their health centers are in rural and underserved communities.
“Republican cuts to Medicaid are hurting Colorado and making life harder for working families,” said Congressman Crow. “Taking away access to health care means that tens of thousands of my constituents will lose their insurance or make it harder to receive care. I will continue to fight these cuts and stand with organizations like Planned Parenthood that are serving our community.”
"This law is a cruel and calculated attack on health equity, and it’s having real, devastating consequences for our patients across Colorado. In just the first nine days after the law took effect, nearly 1,000 patients across our region were denied essential care,” said Jack Teter, Vice President of Government Affairs for PPRM. “These are people who couldn’t pick up their birth control, missed time-sensitive abortion care services, or were turned away from cancer screenings and STI treatment. We are grateful for leaders like Congressman Crow, who continue to show bravery in speaking out against this heinous bill and using their platform to defend access to essential health care.”
Congressman Crow has long worked to protect the critical work of Planned Parenthood, and has consistently supported access to reproductive health care. Earlier this year, he introduced legislation to ensure servicemembers and military families continue to have access to abortion and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments regardless of where they are stationed, including states with extreme abortion bans. Previously, he voted to support the Women’s Health Protection Act. Congressman Crow is committed to protecting health care for the over 5,000 people in his district who rely on Planned Parenthood each year.
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