Congressman Krishnamoorthi Tours Planned Parenthood of Illinois Center, Calls Out Dangerous Republican Budget Cuts, President Trump, and Recent Supreme Court Decision Following Three-Year Anniversary of Dobbs Ruling
CHICAGO – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) visited a Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) facility in downtown Chicago to discuss the potentially drastic impacts of President Donald Trump’s proposed spending bill and the Supreme Court’s decision last week that allows states to cut off government funding for Planned Parenthood. Following a tour of the center, Congressman Krishnamoorthi joined a press conference with PPIL Interim President and CEO Tonya Tucker, providers, and community advocates to denounce both the budget proposal and the Supreme Court decision, calling them both dangerous for Illinoisans and Americans across the country, no matter where they live. The congressman’s visit to the PPIL center came a week after the three-year anniversary of the Dobbs ruling that has allowed nearly 20 states, including several neighboring Illinois, to pass near or total abortion bans.
“Targeting Planned Parenthood isn’t just about reproductive rights, it’s a direct attack on basic health care for thousands of Illinoisans,” said Congressman Krishnamoorthi. “From the Trump administration’s illegal withholding of Title X funding to the Supreme Court’s Medina ruling allowing states to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid to the GOP’s push to slash $1 trillion from the program, the message is clear: women’s health is on the chopping block. I’ll fight tooth and nail to stop these cruel cuts and protect reproductive health care for all.”
During the press conference, Senate Republicans began voting on their massive reconciliation budget package. This legislation calls for billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, which could result in more than 700,000 Illinoisans losing access to their health care, including more than 30,000 Planned Parenthood patients. Congressman Krishnamoorthi remains committed to fighting back against any cuts to Medicaid and other critical social safety net programs and will vote against the Republican budget bill if it reaches the House floor this week.
Both Congressman Krishnamoorthi and PPIL’s Tonya Tucker also called attention to the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to gut Planned Parenthood, even in states such as Illinois that have become sanctuary states for reproductive health care in the years following the Dobbs decision. Under the current Republican budget proposal, one-third of Planned Parenthood health clinics could close nationwide. President Trump has also attempted to withhold federal funding for Title X, which provides resources for family planning and preventative health services, and block coverage for reproductive health care under the Affordable Care Act.
The Supreme Court’s decision last Thursday to allow states to completely cut off government funding for Planned Parenthood will also have wide-ranging negative consequences, not just for abortion care but also for non-abortion health care such as screenings for cancer, tests for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and other reproductive care. Illinois already serves as a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of Americans who live in neighboring states that have enacted near or total abortion bans or have forced the closure of most or all of their Planned Parenthood clinics.