Minnesota NOW

Minnesota NOW is a multi-issue, grassroots organization that’s been fighting for equality and justice since 1971

Feminism in Action

Donate Join NOW

  • About
  • Get Involved
    • Attend an Event
    • Become a Member
    • Volunteer/Intern with Us
  • Issues
    • Constitutional Equality
    • Economic Justice
    • Freedom from Violence
    • LGBTQ Rights
    • Racial Justice
    • Reproductive Rights
  • News
  • Foundation
    • Planned Giving
  • PAC
    • MN NOW PAC – Candidates
    • Candidates Seeking Endorsement
  • Chapters
    • Fergus Falls Area NOW
    • Minnesota Valley NOW
    • MSP NOW
    • Sherburne-Wright NOW
    • South Central MN NOW
    • St. Croix Valley Alliance NOW
  • Conferences
    • 2021 State Conference
    • 2021 National Conference

October 16, 2017 by NOW National

Tom Price’s Revenge: HHS Makes Discriminating Against Reproductive Rights Central To Its Mission

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt

Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made turning back the clock on women’s reproductive rights central to its new mission.

A draft of its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan states unequivocally that the goals of HHS are contingent upon “serving and protecting Americans at every stage of life, beginning at conception.” This alarming and unproven definition of when life begins directly undermines the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v Wade that affirms the constitutional right to safe and legal abortion.

As a Member of Congress, recently departed HHS Secretary Tom Price sponsored the “Right to Life Act,” a bill that defined life as beginning at conception and would give zygotes (or a “preborn human person”) full legal rights with no exception for rape, incest, or threat to a woman’s life.

Now, the strategic review process begun by Tom Price continues under the leadership of religious conservatives like Teresa Manning, deputy assistant secretary for population affairs, an anti-abortion activist who once claimed that the “efficacy” of birth control is “very low” and that “family planning is something that occurs between a husband and a wife and God.”

HHS has opened the door for a barrage of actions against women, particularly low-income women and those who are most vulnerable. Their recent move to shred the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers cover birth control is just the first example.

The draft of the HHS strategic plan is open for comments through October 27. The National Organization for Women encourages every citizen to go on record objecting to this medically unsound, politically extreme, and morally indefensible mission statement.

A woman’s reproductive choices should be between herself and licensed physician, not Congress, not the President of the United States, and not the U.S Department of Health and Human Services.

Contact

M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

About NOW National

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Search

Upcoming Events

  1. International Women’s Day with ERA MN

    March 8
  2. Reproductive Freedom Lobby Day with UnRestrictMN

    March 12
  3. Sustainability Committee Meeting

    March 13 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am
  4. MN NOW State Conference

    April 10

View All Events

Trailblazers come in many colors!

Women Trailblazers
MN Suffrage
Suffrage Frustration in 1800s
Suffrage Takes off in 1900s
Suffrage Is Revolution
Sisters in Suffrage
Prohibition & Suffrage
Native Americans & Suffrage

Get Minnesota NOW Updates

Minnesota NOW

Minnesota NOW is a multi-issue, grassroots organization that’s been fighting for equality and justice since 1971.

Learn more about us.

Contact

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 912
Burnsville, MN 55337

E-Mail
mnnow@mnnow.org

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Handcrafted with by Mapped Digital. NOW Chapter Websites Reinvented.