In response to yesterday’s vote by the U.S. House of Representatives to overturn an Obama-era rule prohibiting states from denying federal family planning funding to Planned Parenthood or other organizations because they also offer abortion care, Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur issued the following statement:

“While the House did not vote outright to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood, yesterday’s vote is still an assault on vital health services for women and for hundreds of thousands of LGBT people across the country. Federal rules already prohibit federal funds from supporting abortion services. If also approved by the Senate, the vote would allow states to remove federal funding for basic healthcare services provided by Planned Parenthood if they choose to do so.

The move would hurt most the people who can least afford it, the nearly four million low-income people who receive healthcare, family planning and other services at federally funded sites across the United States. Cutting funding for Planned Parenthood means cutting access for millions of women and hundreds of thousands of LGBT people to transgender health services, lifesaving cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and sexual healthcare information and education, among other things.

Polls show that a majority of Americans support Planned Parenthood and its work. We urge Congress to relent from efforts to defund this critical healthcare resource that serves millions of Americans.”