Larson Opposes Republican Legislation to Divert Funding from Working Families to Dangerous Anti-Abortion Centers

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) opposed H.R. 6918, extreme legislation proposed by Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee that would divert funding from America’s most impoverished families to dangerous anti-abortion centers. 

You can view Rep. Larson’s remarks here. 

“I don’t know anyone on this committee that isn’t and doesn’t care deeply about the sanctity of life, but when you see people in Texas fleeing for their lives and women in Tennessee concerned about their lives, that’s the sanctity of life as well,” said Larson. “It’s a subject matter area that tugs at everybody’s heart strings but at the end of the day, is it a governmental decision or is that a decision of the individual, their doctor, and their conscience? Government can do an awful lot of things but when it comes in a very constructive way but when we see the adverse effects and the jeopardy that places so many women in, especially women who have less means, women who are impoverished, women who don’t have the opportunities that many of us do. It’s unfair. It’s not right, and that’s why I join with my colleagues in opposing this legislation.” 

H.R. 6918 would block the Biden Administration’s effort to ban states from using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) money to fund anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” that provide misleading or inaccurate medical information in order to prevent women from seeking abortions. Every House Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee joined Rep. Larson to oppose this extreme legislation.  

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, twenty-one states have moved to ban abortion or restrict the procedure, criminalizing reproductive health care services for millions of women. Last week, a federal appeals court issued a ruling allowing states to ban emergency abortion care even when the life of the mother is at risk.