The Trump administration will announce a new rule today that would end federal funding to women’s health organizations that provide abortions or refer patients to other clinics for abortions. The rule is aimed at Planned Parenthood, a longtime target of anti-choice activists. This is former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards speaking earlier this month on Democracy Now!
Cecile Richards: “It’s a domestic gag order that would really parallel what’s happening overseas. Women would no longer be able to get information about the legality of abortion, get referral, even mention the word, if a healthcare provider is participating in the family planning program. Planned Parenthood provides more than 40 percent of the family planning through the national family planning program. We would be banned, and women who come to us for healthcare would be banned. It is unbelievably extreme.”