Brownley Statement on Extreme GOP Bills Advancing Trump’s Anti-Choice Agenda

Washington, DC - Today marks the 53rd anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, which for nearly half a century provided constitutional protection for abortion and affirmed the right to make personal health care decisions free from government interference. That protection was dismantled by the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, a devastating setback for reproductive freedom in the United States. Against this backdrop, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) released the following statement on her strong opposition to two extreme, misleading bills brought to the House floor by anti-choice Republicans: the so-called Pregnant Students' Rights Act and the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act.

"These bills are not about supporting families - they are about control," said Congresswoman Brownley. "House Republicans are advancing Donald Trump's anti-choice agenda by censoring medically accurate information, stigmatizing abortion care, and inserting politics and extremist ideology into the most personal health care decisions a person can make."

The Pregnant Students' Rights Act fails to address the real, day-to-day needs of pregnant and parenting students, including medical leave, academic flexibility, childcare, lactation support, and financial assistance. Instead, it deliberately withholds information about comprehensive reproductive health care, denying students information on the full range of lawful medical options they deserve.

The Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act targets the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, a critical lifeline for over one million families who rely on it for food, housing assistance, and childcare. Rather than strengthening TANF to better support vulnerable families, the bill protects states' ability to divert these scarce resources to so-called "Crisis Pregnancy Centers," which are widely condemned by medical professionals for using deceptive and coercive tactics to deceive pregnant women and block access to abortion care.

"Using funds meant to help struggling families survive to advance an anti-choice agenda is not pro-family - it is cruel and immoral," Brownley continued. "Donald Trump and his allies are willing to weaponize poverty, misinformation, and fear to impose their will on American families and strip away reproductive freedom."

"Together, these bills advance a dangerous agenda of government control and bring us closer to a nationwide abortion ban," Brownley said. "I voted no on both bills because families deserve real support, honest information, and the freedom to make their own health care decisions."

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Issues: 119th Congress, Healthcare