search across because the word is spreading that our border is open. we've got to do something immediately both on the appropriations bill as well as securing the border. i think we will get that done this year. whether we can get it done the next two weeks will be a challenge. host: representative jeff 3spspan3 >> "washington journal" continues. >> we are here to talk about financial literacy in the united states. good morning. the financial literacy group, what is it >> it's a group that helps

government and non-profits with financial research hosti held that position over five years and we focused on financial literacy throughout the country. i think what we are about to talk about this survey shows why this is important. consumers play an important role in this economy. and if they make mistakes that aren't in their best interests it has affects, certainly as we saw in the housing crisis. that office was set up a few years ago and it was an inspired move to set it up host: so before we go too far when you say consumer literacy or financial literacy what are we talking about? guest: everything from preparing yourself for retirement, to getting a bank account if you don't have one. to managing basic things like a credit card, figuring out your mortgage, being able to budget. basically doing what you and

your family need to do to get by in today's economy. there's so many choice today's than there were 30 or 40 years ago. we have a lot of abundance in credit cards, in mortgages. we are responsible for managing our own pensions and retirement plans so there's a need that there wasn't before host: one of the things that you highlight was a recent study taking a look at young people, their fiscal literacy skills and comparing them across. world. what was the study? guest: sure. an international organization has an organization within in which is the program for international student assessment. they look at math, science, reading. but this year for the first time they include financial literacy in their battery of tests. in 18 countries they asked what they knew about financial matters. they found the us didn't stack up too well. the score, the mean, we were

below the mean and 8th out of 19 countries. it gave us a lot of good data on the us host: so the questions were what kind of questions host: they would ask people things like could you understand an invoice if you were in business. could you understand withdrawals on a paycheck. they asked about budgeting, comparing rates on loans. basic tools people will need as they enter a adulthood host: talking about the united states ranking guest: i think the united states ranking tells us something about what we can learn from other nations. australia and new zealand we can learn a lot from. but it

doesn't make our kids any smarter or any worse. i hate to over focus on the comparison because we don't want to lose sight of what we need to do in this country. most nations can do a lot better on this. host: what do we learn from countries that scored well on the chart? guest: i think australia is one of the best apples to apples comparisons. they have a much more highly coordinated effort between the national level, the state level, even down to the classroom. they have a national curriculum they encourage but don't mandate schools use. they do a lot on teacher training and include financial literacy in multiple levels so it's not just high school or grade school, it's all of the above >> so our guest to talk about financial literacy in the united states, the result of the survey

which you have talked about and other issues related to it. if you want to give your thoughts, if you fall when the agess of 18 to 29, call 202-585-3880. if you call between 30 and 49, 202-585-3881. if you are 50 plus, 202-585-3882. and all these ages i guess you would say need to learn something about it especially at the age they fall guest: that's one. one of the mistakes some critics make it's to presume it's a one-shot deal. that's not how it happens. it's important to have this base so as you move forward in life when these things come up this wouldn't be the first time you've thought of a mortgagor

heard of a stock portfolio. this is really foundational learning and we build on it at every age >> is there current curriculum in if united states at public schools that deal with these issues? >> there is. a lot of produced by ngo's, some are great and some are not so great. sometimes teachers are at a loss as to which materials they use. >> when it comes down to age groups, does the federal government offer programs to help with this? guest: they do. we launched a website and i said been improved by treasury called my money.gov. it's a website with materials from 20 plus federal agencies, easy to use. that's a great tool. other things put out by the federal deposit insurance corporation called money smart and there's other adult

curricula as well. >> my money dot gov what does it teach you? >> when is it wise to collect social security? what are your rights when buying stock. it may tell you how to get basic bank accounts from the fdic. treasury has it's own materials on there. so it really covers the waterfront. there's a lot of other nonprofits out there and even some profits that have good materials as well on the web host: don here to talk about financial literacy. patricia, you are up first, go ahead caller: my question was if you had actually gone into the public schools to see if your programs which i'm so glad you have programs available. where we are they don't teach anything with financial literacy. they just don't teach that kind

of stuff in the school anymore. they did when i was young enough to be in school but they don't anymore. guest: certainly implementation is a big issue and that's where teacher training comes in. you can ever all the terms in the world but if teachers don't feel like they have a background in it and most americans don't it's going to be hard to bring night the classroom. missouri is one of the states that has the toughest or best requirements in the nation. they have a graduation requirement for a financial literacy class taken senior year. i wou saying this deserves the same recognition, the same attention as math, as science, as reading host: fairfield, connecticut,

tim. good morning caller: good morning. i want to thank you for bringing financial literacy to light but are you going to look at the historical impacts of the 208 recession so we know what to expect if that's going to happen again guest: i can't know what 18 different nations were deciding when they decided to sign up for the financial literacy. the crash was a wake up call. certainly the consumer was not the prime driver of the crash but one piece of it. so if we educate consumers perhaps the next time the next sure thing comes along like a house that will only go up in value, they will be able to

pause and say this may not work. what does the research say? should i get a tip from somebody else? host: here from willingboro, new jersey. this is cg caller: hi, how are you. this is a very, very important subject that is being discussed right now and based on i'm just going to speak in balance to the spiritual and national realms, that basically the training should start at home and the teaching should be based upon the need of knowing what the future, not only for the present but what the future would hold of educating not only the children but the parent of

passing on the knowledge of what and how to live because finance is very important. it's really the backbone of any and everything that a person may do. and financially speaking it should not wait until as it's been stated here listening to the other person that spoke prior, based upon everything, not waiting until just before graduation from high school. this is a very important basics of what everyone should be involved in and know about. and i'm saying as far as for the protection of knowing how to choose a candidate, based on the concept of where the person's morality is when it comes to understanding the importance of finances host: can i ask you a question? what kind of financial education did you receive? caller: from a great

grandmother and a great grandfather that was always showing us how to leverage any monies we had of keeping it in the family as long as possible by doing work with them, getting paid. not for chores, never for that. not for chores. that was a part of living. but when you did a little extra something. when i was five years old i would get a quarter and i would take that quarter, not put it just in my piggy bank. i loved to hear the rattle. as a matter of fact my grandmother called me honey money. one of the things we would always receive the youngest of the children when relatives woe come in they would give you a piece of money. i learned the difference from the nickle or the penny. then i learned that the value of the nickle wasn't as great as a dime back then. you know how small a dime is. but we would forever be learned or -- when i say learned through

the experience, teach. we were always being learned host: thank you, i appreciate your thoughts this morning. guest: lots to cover there. it's not only a good story but one borne out by the data. one of the biggest things to come out of that research is learning by doing is very important. students who had a bank account did better on this test. students that didn't have a bank account who had a little bit have money, it might be gifts like you mentioned or work from part-time jobs, those students did better, too. so in the field we call that experiential learning, the idea of getting your hands dirty and not just making it something in a book. so what your relatives taught you was on the mark guest: maryland, this is sandy caller: hi, this is a great segment. i wish c-span will divide callers more this way instead of

by politics because we don't get anywhere. but i would like to say that financial illiteracy is great for a capitalist country because people are spending their money on frivolous things. one of the worst things we have now is things like american idol or reality shows because young people all they have to do is do something stupid and they will make a lot of money so great show, thank you. guest: that's good to hear. there's a lot of good things that come out of this i think in reference to what the caller is mentioning. some important points to come out of this study which go to exactly what you are thinking, if you hit them several times, if there are several touch points they will do better some you talked about an influence of television. influence of parents can be greatly impact full for their financial literacy skills. if you you have conversations with your kids about money

they're going to do better on a test like this. if you have one class it's good but several classes at different age groups you'll do even better. so it's that idea of multiple touch points. most of us did not learn to read or write in one class. we learned over years and years and apply it in our adult lives. financial literacy es -- is very much like that >> one of the callers said did you offer classes on how to balance a checkbook? guest: students will pick up things targeted to them. most of them are using debt cards. there are classes out in from a lot of nonprofits and a lot of government programs as well.

there's a lot of programs out there on the very basics. we find that's important especially for low-income consumers, understanding how basic bank account works. that will save them from going to alternative service providers who may have higher fees. it could be pawn shops, pay-day lenders, check cashing services, all these services very well play be legal within the state they operate but it's going to be better for fees and other terms for a consumetory -- consumer to go to a regulated financial institution or bank. i think we do see that's an issue. and the banks have been trying to learn about making themselves more accessible. if you go to a shopping mall where consumers are or you have

hours that are open late, that's better more some consumers so some banks are starting to be more inciteful and starting to replicate some of those marketing tactics t and earned the trust. >> from denver colorado, good morning caller: there was an interesting point, i'm from a low income area and therefore i was not educated on the advantages of being financially conservative. and learned the hard way as far as interest rates and stuff like that. but my question is, i understand how retirement works, i understand the concept. why you should -- i'm asking for

some guidance and where i can go to educate myself. my biggest fear right now is not being financially prepared to retire. i've attended financial seminars and i'm consistently the youngest one in those seminars. they are more geared towards those that have been in it for a while or exiting out of it host: thanks guest: it raises great issues. 59 percent of americans have not tried to figure put -- out what it's going to take for them to retire. so you're ahead of the game just by thinking about it. hopefully if you can put some money away the power of compounding will help you immensely. there's a good resource for talking to your kids about money, there's a number of them.

jump start.org which is a coalition. they have a whole host of materials you can use, most of which are free of charge so i would direct you there. but i would also direct you there to keep thinking about retirement and do whatever you can in your 20s because it will matter. the whole point of financial literacy is to learn from school with out having to learn from the school of hard knocks and make mistakes and that's the way most american adults learn. they make mistakes and do better next time >> another in his 20's, jonathan from arkansas caller: financial literacy in public schools, if my parents didn't tell me how to balance a checkbook i really would have never known. i have friends taking out credit

cards in college and paying off credit cards with credit cards >> do you still use a checkbook? caller: not all the time. mostly for more miscellaneous things like rent and things like that. but i mean if i haven't been taught by my parents i wouldn't have known how to use one host: have you been educated as far as how a credit card works and do you have credit cards? caller: i'm educated on how they work but do i not have credit cards guest: i think it goes to the idea that this needs to be out in if united states more. i think we just need to be in more classrooms. right now only four states have very strict requirements, missouri is one. 20 something states have some other other requirements of

financial literacy, half have none at all. kudos on the teachers doing it to teach financial literacy. it's not going to teach everything but at least it's a start. it sounds like a lots of the people our caller has run into has not had that chance host: financial soccer. what about the area of financial services companies? guest: financial services companies have not just an responsibility but an opportunity. these people are going to be future customers. if they know how to use the products well, the companies are going to benefit. as our caller mentioned previously, they can always opt not to use a credit card at all. they have other options. to do things that are non-selling, good research-based materials can only help the

process. host: are credit cards -- how young can a person before before they get a credit card? is it easier nowadays? guest: it's slightly harder than it was because of the card act a few years ago. before that time age 18 you can very easily get a credit card. now you can get one at 18 but you have to show you can pay it back so there's a few more hoops to jump through. typically by age 21 credit cars are more available. if a student wants one and can jump through the hoops they can get one at 18 host: in virginia this is barbara. go ahead please caller: i'm in the over 50 age group and i know you're starting to address that increase now but the impact of credit cards on this country -- when i first started working there was no such thing. we started with a layaway system and then moved to credit cards.

and to me at that point is when i first saw cashiers in a store that couldn't make change properly. and now we have cash registers that automatically do it because the person can't count and can't make change for a dollar. and this is just gone throughout our economy all the way up to the terrible terrible mess we have in credit card debt and children who do not understand the value of the dollar. i'll take your response off line, thank you. guest: well credit cards are a tool for good and dangerous tool at the same time depending how you use them. what we are seeing is young people did not have the life cycle that you did, that is to be gradually introduced to

credit cards. they are coming out of the gate, out of graduation, and being hit with a market that has all these things on day one. so they don't have a chance to see it as deal with it in slow motion as you did or over years. so that's really part of the problem. and again, it's a case where our financial choices have out paced our knowledge. we don't know anymore or less as i said earlier than our grandparents know we just need to know a lot more. it's how we catch up to all the innovations in financial services host: ken up next from ridgewood, new york caller: i'm calling from the over 30's group. i've always been of the opinion but i'd be interested to know if there's a similar study of the financial literacy of the elderly. the reason i ask is i live with my parents oon i've seen first hand they have done nothing to

plan for my future, despite my dad's pension and my mom's social security, they had a really hard time saving. i don't know if it's the economy or a generational thing guest: a couple things. first there is a study. a foundation has done a study in 2012 and it's a follow-up -- the results came out in 2013. it's a follow-up from a baseline study done in 2009. so that study focuses on adults, american adults. you'll see it broken down by age so look that up and you can get all the data you want. but an important thing that is trapping a lot of american seniors now is they have gotten caught in this switch from

defined contribution -- defined benefit program to defined contributions. in the old days you would go to your mailbox and get a check. now the companies only tell you what they're going to put in and when you get to retirement you have a lump sum. what do you do? how do you spend your money down? that's a complicated question. you have to factor how long you're going to live, how long is your spouse going to be around and how do you work social security into all this. so to ask people with out any training to pull this off is asking a lot. i would image your parents respect dealing with a lot of these same issues. host: caller, go ahead caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i came from a one-horse town in east texas and we had a teach they're put something on my mind

in the third grade said if you don't put something aside from tomorrow, you don't plan to be there. i wanted to make a statement more or less. it was a great learning to me back in the third grade host: so what is the best financial advice you've learned since then. you're 72. what pieces of wisdom do you want to pass on to the audience caller: always put something aside. pay yourself. something i learned, pay yourself. don't care what you make, pay yourself a little something. i found that to be successful. i'm getting by pretty easy host: did you use credit cards and the like? caller: yeah, but you have to use it sparingly host: thanks, homer guest: that's great advice. pay yourself first.

i'm glad he found good benefit by doing. he gets to another point which is important to highlight. teaching people this, getting the knowledge is important but the knowledge is meaningless if it doesn't result in behavior. so there's been a lot of good studies on brain chemistry on behavioral economics which figures out how we turn a good thought into a good action so you're seeing more and more programs and materials interventions from the government nonprofits and other universitys that take that into account. a good example of that is automatic enrollment in 401(k)s. of course you can opt out but it puts you in there. people don't generally undo that. so just by inertia, laziness if you will, they will be helped. those sorts of interventions and programs can help us turn our

good thoughts into good actions host: eric up next from pittsburgh, pennsylvania. you're on caller: good morning. i teach at a school. most of my students are from oriental parents. american parent don't seem to value the game. it's basic math. host: okay. allen, 76 years old, hello caller: hello. how are you doing? host: fine sir, go ahead please caller: i've worked for 20 something years. i came out with a good pension. i have a good life. i worked at just host: you're listening to yourself. caller: i worked in a shipyard and i came out with a good pension. and i save a lot.

host: you need to turn down your television. let me put you on hold while you do that. we have ted from oregon, hello caller: good morning. i'm an old guy now at 55. i was raised by parents that went through the great depression. like dad used to say if you need to buy something on time payments you cannot afford it. and i've never had a credit card or a loan for a car or a boat or anything. i own a house, i own property. i was able to put 50 percent down on a house that i bought $125,000 and put the rest on a va loan. my first question every banker i deal with is let me see your fee card. the last bank i had was charging

me $3.50 to move money, that's the last i heard of that bank. check the fee list of your banker. thank you guest: knowing what you get into before and during your relationship with a financial institution is important. good financial institutions want you to be aware of those things. you need to be able to dig into the details host: is the paperwork easier now a days? guest: we have seen advances in the hud documents around mortgages but overall credit card applications are very difficult to go through. i still encourage people to make the attempt on a previous life i was an attorney and it was my job to write some of those things. no matter how simplistically you want to write them, what you're describing is so complicated and sometimes statutes come in play

that it ends up being several pages to go through. but read the fine print host: here is allen from ark son caller: i had a good life. i worked for 20 something years, came out with a good pension, i saved a lot of bonds. i was getting 52 benonds a year. i'm doing good, me and my wife. but it was better when bush was in there. i get a better raise with bush social security wise, bush looked out for the senior citizens host: thanks guest: a lot of people in early retirement need to think about the idea of when to claim your social security benefits. more and more studies are showing it's probably in everyone's best interests to

wait as long as they can because they will get more but it's a difficult thing to figure out all the variables involved in your retirement and again how long you'll be around and making sure you have enough money so you don't out live it host: he said he bond have have -- bought a bond a week it sounds like. okay, ne next caller, i was thinking of the challenge i've had and how many adults are not financial litterate in my lifetime. i was told you work hard, make your pay, get rewarded for it. typically it took 30 years to

pay your dues. well today typically you don't get that 30 years year that we wi will -- had the opportunity to do. so coupled with social impacts where the kids don't seem to realize there's an internal and external locus of control, you think you're in charge of your life or your financial ability or you don't think you're in charge of it. and they have to be taught that they have to choose whether to take control or not. once they do, the old 40 hour a week, five days a week, my old life i wasn't even allowed that. i worked multiple jobs. i was good at math. so i could see an accumulation over time if you did this what you would end up with. host: thanks, william

guest: he raises a lots of good points. let me bring some back to the survey because he hits on something important. some people are under the impression you need to be good at math to understand this truly you don't. you need to understand what goes up. you can do it with very minimal math. in fact the study showed financial literacy is for everyone. there are students that did better in the financial literacy category than the math category. host: as a starting point if someone wanted to learn today how to better manager their money what would you advice from the start? guest: i would advice them to go to the my money.gov site. that's an easy place to start because it's unbiased.

they're not trying to sell you anything, it's the federal government. then there are a variety of sources. there's good for-profit materials but you want to make sure you're being educated, not marketed. and those materials exist. i think a lot of good things on the web there are. if they're in the crisis moment, there's a lot of good non--profit credit counseling organizations host: one on one does it go to state and local levels as well? host: some grants are given to the state level. some credit counseling organizations are funded by the industry so a lot of industry organizations would rather see somebody get credit counseling than go to bankruptcy. so those sorts of things are there. sometimes they're at a fee but the fee can be reduced if

someone can't afford it host: as far as the costs, are the programs provided fee? there is a cost associated? how does that work guest: many are provided free of charge of a lot of these materials are funded sometimes by state local governments and frequently by financial institutions. we do see a difference between the us and other countries. here it's more diffuse, most are free host: we started talking about that survey. when does it get reevaluated host: guest: there will be another one in 2015. these are just the baseline. you can see what your country has done in between those times and if it worked host: our guest has been dan dan -- dan iannicola

host: it's going to tell what you our capabilities are to create programs. but the direct to consumer programs

[inaudible conversations] >> thank you for joining us today and to our witnesses

and ranking member senator grassley and the chairman of the judiciary committee for giving me this to share this hearing. we are here today to hear testimony regarding the women's health protection act removing barriers to reproductive rights and the first panel consists of a number of colleagues who have views of this issue we welcome you this morning from my colleagues in the senate who is my co-sponsor in the measure that is now pending before the senate in this area we have support for more than 30 senate colleagues and maya understanding is the companion measure introduced by the representative has 125 co-sponsors in the house or thereabouts.

the reason for the bill is the cascading avalanche of reproductive health care around the country increasingly in effect an avalanche of measures that purportedly protect women's health care but in reality restrict reproductive rights this bill is about stopping laws when really they interfere with the doctor patient relationship and have the fact of a practical impact to harm women to limit constitutionally protected rights our goal, speaking for myself is to stop politicians from playing doctor and officials from interfering in a significant in medical decisions that should be

made by eight medical experts and patients together. this legislation would eliminate limitations on access to abortion services and eliminate the targeting and restrictions against abortion providers and clinics no matter where a woman may live. in fact, more than half the states now have these unconstitutional restrictions and the majority of women with in those states. they have passed 92 restrictions on a woman's right to choose in those states since 2011 more than 100 and in 2014 at least another dozen of these have been enacted talking about harassment of health care providers and regulations that apply with no other

medical services that do nothing to approve a woman's health and are more likely to harm them. they are designed to shut doors of vital health care providers for ever and that purpose has been fulfilled across the country as the availability of services has been restricted. these regulations are in the fact a share rating and one of the purposes i see is to remove the respectability to show many of them are irresponsible and reprehensible under the guise to protect women's health care they actually in danger it. i want to thank our witnesses and my fellow members for making this hearing have been they may

disagree but i know that we will have a very enlightening and engaging hearing and i will turn choose the of ranking members senator grassley. >> thank-you to our colleagues that are here as well as the senator from wisconsin and also to the panel. four and a half years ago a woman walked into an abortion clinic with expectations she would have her pregnancy terminated and walked out without major side effects. 41 years old, 19 weeks pregnant she had three children and was a grandmother she and her daughter entered but she never left alive. she was one of many victims.

operating a clinic in west philadelphia for four days and made a living by performing abortions that no other doctor should never do. the grand jury report stated "the approach was simple keep expenses low and break the law. caving into the competitive advantage and also to the grand jury report running a baby house that smelled of pet urine and blankets were stained with blood items were not sterilized and medical equipment was broken to provide the same day service and was constantly ignored the bigger the baby the bigger the charged ultrasounds were performed so the government would

never know how old the aborted babies were they could be born alive and killed after a briefing on their own by sticking baby's neck. these were a live briefing squirming baby as he did not care about the well-being of these babies or the health of women because he disliked the moaning and groaning they were put under that best practice and disregard for the ball led to the deaths of two women including the one i already mentioned. pennsylvania has a law against abortions after 24 weeks and has a common sense law that says women should receive counseling about abortion procedures and wait 24 hours after the first visit in order to fully consider the decisions they are about to make. it is true although he

ignored them what it could have saved lives and women from horrible life-threatening procedures to save babies. is the bill we are discussing today were to become law pennsylvania law would be invalidated abortion providers would not be allowed to counsel patients were given 24 hours to consider what they were about to do and more importantly lead to inhumane and sanitary and unsafe abortions the lot of help to convict him would be wiped away. this proposed legislation is the attempt to override president by severely restricting the of states to regulate abortion and those such as planning regulations and privileges and

requirements with regulations on abortion with the abortion did inducing drugs ultrasound requirements and selection bands and limitations on the use of state funding and facilities. my home state of iowa has laws on the books to protect the women and for example, an iowa law states when inducing an abortion by providing the drug a physician must be physically present with the woman at the time the drug is provided that was enacted to make sure women were not taking abortion inducing drugs via web cam then be far away from a medical provider. we also have a lot of the books and the law says the individual who may lawfully perform to participate in

medical procedures to results in the abortion would not be required to perform or a sister or participate in procedures and shall not discriminate against any individual in any way to transferring licensing education or hospital privileges because of the individuals participation or refusal to participate in the abortion procedure in die welt like many others to make sure they are done safely and keeping from killing babies of their own religious beliefs. that would allow abortion providers to set standards of care with no oversight from the state and allow

them to determine what life is viable that there are some standards across the country. the bill would invalidates the laws enacted by 10 states since 21 and children are capable to experience pain had 20 weeks of fetal age and prohibits the abortion after that point. if the bill were to be signed into law the government would protect patients to regulate the health and welfare of citizens is not one of the tenth amendment rights and to nullify those losses this is a political opportunity before the midterm election in using the issue to appear compassionate and concerned

about women's rights when in reality it disregards common-sense laws enacted in various states to protect women across the country to stop murders a large majority of americans support strong abortion restrictions that this bill would overturn it will not become law because the american people will not support it and i think the witnesses once again. >> we will now hear from our colleagues and my thanks to the congresswoman who has come to you join us. >> thank you chairman plymouth all and members of the committee for this opportunity i encouraged with the constructive conversation on this issue for the opportunity to share my work on the women's health protection act and also like to recognize the

advocacy of my wisconsin's state representative chris taylor who is here today on the second panel to share her experience in wisconsin and i thank her for her testimony today. expecting to have access to high quality dependable health care when day and their families needed to with improved health care the entire health care system to expand the options so all patients have a health care that meets their needs but unfortunately for women this access comes under attack under the last 40 years politicians have been increasingly chipping of way that constitutional rights guaranteed under roe v wade that women have their

own personal health care decisions to have access to the goal care and since that land mark decision since the highest court to ministates have tried to turn back the clock with quality care and in just the past three years enacting a total of 205 provisions that would restrict women's access to safe abortion services 13 states this year have been working to erode women's freedom and have already adopted 21 new restrictions designed to limit access to abortion. in my home state of wisconsin we are now ranked as one of the worst dates when it comes to women's reproductive rights things to the restrictive measures enacted by eric governor and legislature last year the governor signed a measure

for women that were already required by the law to make two separate trips to the clinic to undergo the ultrasound 24 hours before receiving abortion care that same law as un necessary privileges at a local hospital if not for a federal judge temporarily blocking the position to of the four abortion clinics would have been forced to shut the doors and others would be forced to reduce services leaving many out in the cold but with an and the family should not have to rely on the decision to make the decisions for themselves and their families. recently heard from another in wisconsin that was not so lucky when she found out her baby had severe fetal

anomaly that would not survive delivery she had to endure the consequences of the governor's new bobby for the federal court judge one deposition and had to undergo emergency termination and the clinic in milwaukee was the only place to do the procedure because the governor was set to sign though lot with these on reasonable requirements the clinic was preparing to close its doors and would not do the procedure she and her husband were forced to find child care to travel out of state so she could receive the care she needed so in states across the country it is clear some politicians do this because they think they know better than women and their doctors so women are more than capable with their

own personal medical decisions it is not the job of politicians to play doctor and dictate how they practice medicine nor is our job with them for a health decisions why i am proud to be a co-sponsor with my colleague senator blumenthal to put a stop to the relentless attacks and we conclude by briefly describing the bill. to prohibit the laws to undermine and infringe on the constitutional rights under roe v wade specifically the bill would mandate the regulation that does not advance health or safety the legislation also protects by invalidating measures to make services more difficult to access and

restrictions that are not imposed on any other medical procedures. and for enforcing every rights guaranteed by the constitution throughout history with the states pass laws to make it harder or even impossible to exercise the rights we have necessarily step dan with the health protection act will ensure every woman a matter where she lives will have access to safe quality reproductive health care without interference from politicians and i thank you for your time. >>. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify today. i am privileged to have the honor to serve on behalf of the tennessee sixth

congressional district bridal my a career brodie a registered near landers starting as the emergency room nurse and then with the a patient surgery team. and after poor public policy and more importantly the unfortunate outcomes for my patients and today i am here to share with you as the mother and a colleague and vendors my grave concern with the chairman legislation. this bill would nullify to declare unlawful any level of the government whether federal or state or local this seems to be the and do

pork -- burden the legislation would overturn the majority of state laws regulating abortions has sanders they're unlike any other medical procedure does not affect the mother but the child takes the life of the unborn child in the process imposes medical risks to the mother. and unapologetically pro-life that davis to everything in our power to protect any woman who was to have an abortion even though i may disagree with their choice. after having complications with the abortion a woman was in a clinic that was not regulated properly. there was no answer at the

after hours number that she called. there was nothing that i or the doctors could do to save her life since she lost her life her life could have been saved with proper regulation in place to protect her health and well-being to hold the abortionist accountable. cervical lacerations and other injuries can occur to the cervix in at two july says likely to have the lacerations and overall it women who have had abortions have a 37% chance of preterm births with a subsequent

pregnancies and also a 50% increase of placental hypatia and 18 percent more likely to develop breast 12% with a family history of breast cancer this jumps at 80%. they not only pose serious physical risks but also mental health as well. after having an abortion study showed 81 percent more likely to develop a mental-health issue a 37% increase would hundred 10% increase of alcohol abuse and sadly and increase and the risk of suicide. after the horrific example even though their legal fees are dangers that must be regulated. that is why 39 states require abortions be required by a licensed

physician in 26 states require clinics meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical care clinics. just as important with the nine abortion that 20 of the core the star of the six months of pregnancy confirming they can feel the pain during the abortion we're discussing a medical procedure that and save human life. and with plan para heard vs casey to have an interest of fetal life. with a sweeping attempt to undermine dozens of measures to protect women and to the false pretense that they're safe and real i hope we can reach across party lines to see abortions for what they are is brutal to the mother

and the unborn child to reference the supreme court extraction abortion with those procedures is gruesome as a partial birth this procedure is the most common in the second trimester of pregnancy when they're torn apart limb by limb and considering this with many health care risks i strongly urge you to reconsider advancing the senate bill 1696 and any effort to undermine current law that protects the health of women and unborn children with dash children at federal, state, and local level thank you for the opportunity to be here today and i yield back. >> thank you chairman and

committee members for the opportunity to testify today. every woman to have access to comprehensive health care coverage that protects her right to choose there should be the case regardless of income or the type of insurance or the state she resides in to make personal health decisions based on what is best for her and her family. we are witnessing an alarming moment in time of the reproductive rights are intensifying with roe v wade opponents of reproductive freedom are trying to undermine the constitutional right to make it difficult to access to legal abortion. they tried to take us back to a time before roe v wade when 1.2 million women resorted to illegal abortions each year talking about unlicensed doctors

with unsanitary conditions that lead to infections and hemorrhages and at times death at a time when many women do that hazards this was their only option. the new trend is to shut down abortion services state-by-state. this is happening all across the country is their signed into law that single out abortion services between 2011 and 2013 more than two dozen states passed over 200 restrictions to block access to abortion services this translates to more restrictions placed on women health care in three years than with the entire proceeding decade. the women's constitutional right now depends on her address.

women in california now to those rights differ from texas or mississippi. according to one is to to 56 percent of women 56 percent now with in a state that is hostile to abortion. these laws range from mandatory waiting periods to buy as counseling to the exact size requirements for the offices of which the procedure is to take place of a recent law in texas requires doctors to perform procedures to have former admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinical on with other senseless requirements we see the effects and clinics began to close their doors so women in texas have longer wait, higher cost and canceled appointments some have to travel over

150 miles to get to the nearest clinic these obstacles have put women in desperate circumstances than some of which may endanger their lives. we need laws that put women's health and safety first not politics that is why reintroduced the women's health protection act to congress recognize about the ability to access it the right to abortion is meaningless. those that are get abortion services to shut down across the country the bill would outlaw state mandated medical procedures such as a forced ultrasound and other onerous laws. simply put this bill would end discrimination against abortion access for women based on there is a. i am so proud to be the lead sponsor of this bill and to

partner with senators limassol and others to push as hard as we can on this bill we already have 124 co-sponsors of the house. constitutional rights should never be subject to the personal whims or believes nor should the safety of mothers of daughters and sisters or wives be jeopardized in the process. thank you for the opportunity to testify and thank you for holding this important hearing to discuss how we can protect the health and safety and rights of all women. >> thank you representative. representative blackburn? >> we appreciate the opportunity to address you all and thank you for the invitation. it is fair to say everyone of us at the table want what is best for women. we differ on what that is

and how to get there and i am very appreciative of the opportunity to be here and talk with you about this legislation the women's health protection act. in my opinion it is something that is extraordinarily broad, loosely written and through sub wide ranging words would substitute the special interest of the abortion industry for the well-being of women and the value of human life. the legislation would jeopardize an nullify hundreds of lives as has previously been mentioned at this table to protect both mothers and they're unborn children and among my concerns with the bill senator grassley said it would be impossible to limit abortions based on the sex of the child and put a double pressure on women who

were often forced by pressures to exercise male bias to eliminate a female child. this legislation sets a dangerous precedent because it places on constitutional limits on the state's ability to ensure the safety of medical facilities abortions are indeed in invasive medical procedures and should be regulated by the state's as such a. in addition, many of your constituents see the body is out of touch with the consensus opinion in this country. public opinion polls show that the american people support limits on abortion. 60 percent of americans believe abortion should not

be permitted in the second trimester and the overwhelming 80 percent believe it should never have been in the third. women hold these conditions at a higher percentage van minh and it is no wonder it is their life and we bear the burden when public policy fails to support women in the critical hour the committee would be well apprised to consider how well this bill goes to of uprooting existing and rising consensus. 1696 conscious exemptions have existed since the abortion decision that of 1973 giving periods of reflection and consideration before it is chosen even prevent us state to assure that a physician is physically present when abortion drugs are given or that all may a physician may perform a surgical abortion would make the process less

safe. what the senate should be considering is the unborn child protection act passed in 17, 2014 on a bipartisan vote to 28 / 196 it is the piece of legislation that is supported by the american people, based in science and filled with compassion it limits abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy except in the instances of rape or incest or to protect the life of the mother we only have about one of seven countries to allow selective abortion to determine and this legislation would take one small vital step to move us closer to international norms. of paul and also "the

washington post" and having to post have shown a strong majority of people support living the abortion after the 20th week. and that women supported 20 weeks limits an even greater numbers than men 60% vs. 20% when they give you an example. you all have the exhibit for me and i want to show you this. this is the 3d ultrasound of my grandson made on march 11, 2009 before his birth on june 12th of 2009. this is the wonder of science and i have to tell you how exciting it was for me to see this ultrasound. i was thrilled. i could tell i could tell before he was born, three

months before he had my eyes and nose and for a grandmother that is a really big deal. i concede his hands and his arms and i could see him peacefully resting in his mother's well. that is the wonder of science. our constitution does not put a qualifier on life. the pursuits of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness", even in the mother's womb. i a great urge you to reconsider this legislation we have heard the horrors of the trial the abortionist to

read of the ghastly so-called clinic and was tried and convicted for the crimes and said tests that he caused yes legislation you are considering it could be used to validate the act to please him behind bars and invalidate the bipartisan legislation put in place i find it curious it is termed the women's health protection act and in my opinion it would be more accurately titled the removal of existing protections and safety measures for women undergoing abortions act. i encourage you to reconsider your legislation and take up the unborn child protection act and to be more in line with the consensus of americans and the states to make certain abortion is safe and legal

and rare. i really -- i yield back the balance of my time. >> we will move to the next being here this morning for your testimony. [inaudible conversations]

>> telecast you to stand to swear in the witnesses if you will please rise to affirm the testimony were about to give is the truth soldiers nothing but the truth so help you god? the q. let me introduce our witnesses before they give testimony starting with nancy who is the president and ceo of the center for reproductive rights working as a constitutional litigator before her appointment has center for reproductive rights of coble human-rights organization that has documented cases before federal and state courts and human-rights bodies and as ben women's rights advocates

and an obstetrician gynecologist from north carolina and affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area including to cantor of veterans affairs and one of 250 doctors and one of five at the veterans affairs center that specialize in obstetrics and gynecology. our third witness has overturned years of experience providing comprehensive medical care and is board certified and trained to preventive medicine with the cdc and currently provides care for women in alabama and mississippi. and also president of the national right-to-life movement has held various positions at the right to life committee since 1991.

representative taylor represents district in wisconsin and has a long history of working with the state legislature prior to her election in 2011 when she led the state and local coalitions around the state of wisconsin and we welcome you all and 84 being here this morning. nancy? >>. >> thank-you for having us here today. i am president and ceo of women's production rights to day the right to make for ourselves the decisions of our lives is under assault over a vast part of the nation over 200 state laws have passed to make it harder or impossible for

women to access to abortion services in their community we're not blocked by courts it is shutting down clinics closing of the essential services to harm women. this is the newest tactic in the for a decade campaign to deprive women of the promise of roe v wade during the four decades of physical attacks, clinics bombed and vandalized and clinic workers murdered and blockaded. 25 years ago i locked arms with members of my church with concerned citizens to have a human chain of protection as hundreds of operation rescue protesters descended intent that this scene was played out over and over again and then taken in 1984 with

congress's passage. today's women's access to abortion services is brought to an avalanche of protection laws designed to accomplish what could not be accomplished through force providing reproductive health care to women of this country and at an alarming rate passing laws singling providers with those designed to regulate out of practice under the pretense of health and safety. as enacting such of of the state senator put it plainly there is only one abortion clinic in mississippi i hope this measure shots that down. right now mississippis seoul clinic is holding on by a virtue of a temporary court order. the true purpose is evident abortion is one of the

safest medical procedures and singled out for a burdensome restriction not placed on comparable medical procedures. for example, obstetricians' to perform mr. carriage completions are not subject to these requirements despite the fact they are performing virtually the same medical procedure as day abortion provider. the ama and american college of obstetricians and gynecologists have gone on record with these laws it you have testimony before you today courts have found standards that serve no purpose other than to end a pregnancy when year ago texas past us sweeping set of restrictions that at least one-third of the clinics have been forced to stop providing abortion care

there is no clinical left in the rio grande valley the impoverished area with over 1.3 million residents. of the final requirements is allowed to go into effect in september the number of climate -- clinics will plummet to less than 10 to serve a sprawling state of 260,000 square miles. even before this lot a study shows the 7 percent of women reported attempts to self aboard before seeking medical care now going into mexico to buy the miscarriage inducing drugs off the shelf and needing emergency care back in texas. i come to the issue of abortion rights with my own set of life experiences and personal commitments and religious beliefs progress the supreme court noted 20 years ago men and women of

good conscience can disagree and probably always will of the implications of ending a pregnancy. so as to reaffirm the basic tenets of roe v wade that core reminded us of is the promise of the constitution there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter. the most fundamental decisions about our reproductive health and lives are to make and not the government. one of three women make that decision at some point in her life to end a pregnancy has the right choice for her. that decision is based on individual circumstances circumstances, health and life. none of us walked in her shoes are no the factors that lead to her decision and when a woman makes that decision she needs good save reliable care from a provider she stressed the or the committee that she calls

home but today the ability to do so depends on the state in which she happens to live like 20 years ago congress needs to take action to assure the constitutional rights and the ability is not taken from them. thank you. >> it is an honor which -- to be here today senator. i am on the faculty of the duke university medical school also a clinical researcher practicing gynecologist and obstetrician and the law could be interpreted any laws that put restrictions on regulations of the abortion headed major health care providers to prohibit the future enactment by such laws and the purpose is to

protect women's health by ensuring services will continue to be available. but with the stated purpose of of bill but their assumptions that abortion is good and safe for women and the restrictions are medically unwarranted and number three access to abortions are important to women's health than the state has an interest to protect them and i will address each of these. the cdc says it is performed by license condition intended to do terminate the suspected pregnancy to give a nonviable fetus said any gestational age and the supreme court said it is different from other procedures because no other procedure and a life and the

abortion decision has implications far brighter than those associated with other medical treatments. assumption number one with though ditcher that indicates induced abortion gives the harm to women is very safe as early gestational ages but a steady from finland 42,000 women of mortality rate was 14.1 but approximate 20% of the women in this study underwent a severe adverse events such as coverage or infection and then others were done for these women. the statistics if they were extrapolated to the united states as 250,000 adverse events per year. further research has demonstrated the proportion

graded -- reform great then 21 weeks is greater than lower gestational ages. however because of problems with the denominator of the study the results cannot be easily extrapolated but the point is laid abortion carries 77 times increased risk for mortality compared to earlier abortion and that is a significant issue it is mortality not morbidity. it is death. and as we have heard earlier it also increases the risk of preterm births also mental health problems following. these include anxiety and depression. assumption of virtue is restrictions are medically unwarranted. states have a compelling

interest to protect the health of their citizens and have the authority to do so within their regulatory framework with the medical boards and departments of health they have regulated procedures by regulating standards for training to protect patients from injury and death the fact is the patient interaction does not occur within a fact him the issue if they have access is a two sided issue because access to care can be inadequate to or performed by incompetent practitioners or have access to good care. ninnies of codes patients have access that is inadequate to endanger their health. of this bill would not protect the rights of patients because it regulates the practice of medicine. in addition the scope of

practice is carefully defined. recently there have been a tense by mid-level practitioners in several states to assume the role to provide abortions but again with the ability of states to monitor and supervise medicine through abortion. one of the questions that comes up with these discussions with improved regulation including a the monitoring of that access to clinics sova personnel can enter buildings is the fear from complying with the of lot as to protect the health of patients in the health with practitioners as well

to provide a deeper preconditions what is the biggest fear in this circumstance? what extent are we willing to surrender state's ability to regulate? . .

this bill does not take into account these scientific advances because it removes the abortions in the stations. 1696 as a measure that seeks to restrictions on abortion in the courts and ignores only the widely supported policies that scientific evidence and prior supreme court rulings pregnant women and their unborn children. all access is not equal into zip codes do matter because we want patients zip codes to provide.

my name is doctor willie parker and i'm here to offer testimony in support of the women's health protection act. i've devoted my whole career helping women have the families they want by providing them with prenatal care and delivery of babies as well as providing them with sex education, contraception and with the need. the wall that is medically unnecessary they would deny

women access to abortion. on top of this the state also has mandated the delay is that of a constantly to the women seeking this care. the thing that should determine the care of the woman conceives should be determined by medical evidence and monthly herseth code. there are far too many that are far to many as the city and abject poverty. these realities conference everyone whether she has a undesired pregnancy or want to believe that we flawed one.

i knew i consider to be the decision to provide abortion care in this state. now invariably given the climate around a portion of the country for the people regarding the decision and most frequently asked question is why do we do this. the short answer is because if i don't, who is going to do it? if women in mississippi and the states surrounding can find a way to travel in rural areas under hostile circumstances. as i think that the work i do one of the first patients i took care of who is a 35-year-old pregnant woman the youngest of

whom had died the year before with cancer. this woman found herself with an unplanned pregnancy and confided at this point in her life she couldn't care for another title economically or emotionally. she already traveled in extensive distance to come to the mandated counseling that she was to receive and while she was completely resolute when she walked in the door and do what was best for her family she was required to be the lead in her decision for political reasons that have nothing to do with her or her medical care. other women i saw were returning for their procedure after having made the mandated way. other women faced this as they endure i defined the dilemma in

the situation one has to make a decision between the undesirable outcomes were they all have in common is that for them is an increasingly difficult for them to access a portion. as i said earlier people ask me why do we do it. i want this to contribute in a matter of best can. it should be the same number or

where they live because the ability to live the life you imagine should not be limited by this it could. thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify. i'm the president of the national right to life committee. we are a nationwide federation of 50 state affiliate right to life organizations. we are the nations oldest and largest pro-life organization. we find the formal title of the marketing label to be highly misleading. the bill is about one thing, stripping away from elected lawmakers, the ability to provide even the most minimal protections for children at any stage of their development. the proposal is so sweeping and extreme that it would be difficult to capture its full scope in any short title. calling it the abortion without limit until the act.

in its 198 1980 ruling in harrid mccray of holding the amendment the supreme court said abortion is inherently different because no other procedure involves the purposeful termination of a potential life. they struggle with the issue because they see it as a conflict involving life itself. while not fully sharing our view that the unborn child should be protected in law nevertheless support the kind of small this bill would strike down. the laws that take into account what most americans recognize as a life or death decision. in contrast to the drafters of a 1696 apparently believe that any woman considering abortion must be shielded from any information

that may cause her to change her mind. under a 1696 elected abortion would become the procedure that must always be facilitated, never delay the coming of her and he did it to the slightest degree. what type of the bill and validate? the list includes limits on abortions after 26 weeks past the point at which unborn shoulder and can experience pain which are supported by sizable majorities nationwide. limiting abortion after viability among walls protecting individuals or private medical institutions from being forced to participate in abortion which about three fourths of the people support in which the great majority of the states have enacted. the law requiring that information be provided regarding alternatives to abortion which 88% of the public supported in the gallup poll. the wall providing the periods for reflection and prohibiting abortion because of the child

sex which over 85% support all of these would be invalid. having failed in many cases to persuade the federal courts to strike down the law they dislike the extreme abortion advocates come to congress and demand the federal proportion statutory bulldozer be unleashed to scrape everything flat. the bill would subject any more government policy that affects the practice of abortion indirectly to an array of sweeping legal tests designed to guarantee that almost none will survive. the general rule would be any law that specifically regulates abortion would be presumptively invalid. any law that isn't abortion specific that has the effect of the claimed effect of reducing access to the code access to abortion. it is apparent to those that crafted the bill believe where abortion is involved in media

access at any stage of pregnancy is the only thing that matters. mr. chun and in a november interview with the newspaper you said as the election approaches i think the voters are going to want to know where the legislators stand on these issues but to know where every senator stands on s. 1696 would require a vote by the full senate by all means let's see where they stand but in the spirit of pro-choice how about giving the senate each base as well. may 13 senator graham proposed an amendment under which 1695 but has 35 cosponsors would receive a vote of the full senate along with a separate vote on the capable act as 1670 which has 41 cosponsors. the unborn child protection act would protect unborn children in the six months and later with narrow exceptions. by this stag stage of developmef not sooner is abundant evidence

of unborn babies will experience great pain as their arms and legs are wrenched off by force in the common second trimester dismemberment procedure known as dnc. you made it clear your opposition to the bill but you went on to say, and i quote, i am more than happy to cast a vote along with the women's health protection act and i hope it will be considered. this issue reserves to be before this body. we agree. we challenge you and the leadership of the party to allow the american people to see where every senator stands on both of these major bills. let the american people see which bill reflects the values of each member of the united states senate. life or death for unborn children. thank you.

>> thank you so much. my name is chris taylor and i'm a representative from the great state of wisconsin representing the assembly district. i appreciate the opportunity chairman blumenthal to testify strong support of the women's health protection act and i think the ranking member grassley and committee members for this opportunity today and i also want to thank my senator. i'm also the former public policy director for planned parenthood of wisconsin. i have over a decade of monitoring come at skating for and attempting to get past good public policy on reproductive health care. there'there is a consensus in wisconsin about what wisconsin wantwisconsinonce the legislatun and it isn't abortion restrictions, it is on the critical economic issues that face our state. we have a stagnant economy in

wisconsin and stagnant wages. working families are struggling. those are the issues. we have over a dozen abortion restrictions which have nothing to do with health and safety of women and everything to do with politics. wisconsin is on the verge of becoming a state like mississippi where abortion is simply not accessible. a woman's ability to access legal abortion shouldn't be dependent on where she lives were subject to the political when of her state legislature and that's why i'm urging you to pass the women's health protection act. since we have seen a proliferation of abortion restrictions in wisconsin including restrictions on medication abortion and banning

the telemedicine and requiring physicians to perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of practices and we also have the forced ultrasound bill. it's only impose on the physicians that provide abortions. i am very fortunate to serve on the host committee in the state assembly. there was no evidence or testimony presented that the status of the women's abortion provider in any wa way enhancese health and safety of women who have abortions. there was no organization that advocated for this bill at all. the medical community vocally oppose this mandate including the economy of family physicians into the hospital association that was wisconsin association into the medical society that stated, quote, this requirement interferes with the patient physician relationship and

places an unprecedented burden on the wisconsin physicians and women. the effect of the hospital admitting privileges law is going to be to shut down one of the four centers that provides abortion because the physicians at the center are ineligible for these requirements. one third of the women to seek abortions are going to have to go elsewhere. the effect is to increase waiting times at the three remaining health-care centers. currently there are delay is to obtain an abortion in wisconsin with a closure of the clinic those would be extended eight to ten weeks. they will have to go elsewhere. a delay of the magnitude impacts all wisconsin women seeking abortion care. they relied on public transportation and cannot afford

tthe uncompensated work time and travel costs. it also forces a woman seeking abortion to undergo an ultrasound 24 hours before. they describe and display the image to a woman. this is the most humiliating law that i have seen in wisconsin. it is certainly the government at its thickest and most intrusive. women are not able to refuse in most cases what is an invasive vaginal sound. they have no ability to tailor their medical care to the unique situation of each woman or adopt the best standard of care. the medical community and wisconsin also vocally opposed this restriction. they said the mandatory performance of an ultrasound before an abortion is not an accepted medical practice the standard of care. the practice doesn't added to the quality or safety of the medical care being provided.

simply put ultrasound for being used in wisconsin as political bludgeons. unfortunately my colleagues didn't listen to the wisconsin medical community. they didn't listen to their own democratic colleagues. we have a team of women in my democratic caucus. as we talked about this issue we realized we all have our own experiences that caused us to make very personal decisions about reproductive healthcare. we have members that experienced miscarriage, stillbirths, high-risk pregnancies and sexual assault. we are just a microcosm of all of the women in wisconsin that we represent. we decided that though we might be ignored by the colleagues on the other side of the aisle we would never be silent and we decided to tell our own personal stories about why they are harmful and have nothing to do with the reality of the women's lives and experiences. it isn't my role as a legislator to dictate the decisions of my

constituents. i have no business as a legislator on the medical practices to the physician who is ethically obligated to provide the best care for women and patients but i'm in the business of ensuring the people in my district of the people they represent are able to exercise the most fundamental personal decisions about their lives. as it stands with states legislating those rights we need the wisconsin women's health protection act more than ever. wisconsin women and women throughout the country simply cannot wait. thank you. >> i'm going to ask without objection all of your statements be entered in the record along with a statement from our colleague. to begin the questioning, we have a number of our colleagues so we will try to move along as quickly as we can.

ms. northrop, there've been some very dismaying claims about the brat of this proposed legislation referred to as the abortion without limits act. in fact it is never only targeted to certain kinds of bogus legislation that masquerades as health protection that is designed to prevent access to abortion services that are constitutionally protected. so i wonder if you could speak a little bit to the limited nature of this legislation and the fact it specifically prohibits restructurings, and i'm quoting from the act they are more burdensome than those imposed on the medically comparable procedures. in other words it is medically comparable procedures as the criteria for preventing certain kinds to access.

can you speak to that issue? >> thank you for that question because i think we did hear a lot this morning about the budget sweep of the law but in fact it is very targeted to what is happening right now in the country. it's very targeted to this new tactic of the last several years in which the state legislatures have been passing laws that prefer to be about health and safety but are not and that has been shown to be decided in many ways. i would commend to everyone's reading the testimonies and for the record for today's hearing from the executive vice president and ceo of the college of obstetricians and gynecologists and of course that is the will of respect organizations to which the vast majority of ob/gyn .. in this country and in that testimony, they make quite clear and i'm quoting the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists

strongly support the women's health protection act and they do so because from a scientific and medical perspective they are not warranted and i think what's really critical of the bill you pointed out is right from the start if this is something that is treating medically similar practices and procedures and services the same there is no objection so that's the starting point. a second if there is a substantial safety basis for the regulations then it's not a law that is unwarranted. so if it is treating some of the medical procedures into similarly if it actually advances a safety basis then that school is going to stand and there are factors that courts would look at but that is what is critical if it is a true safety law and if it is not about singling out abortion provisions for the motive of

shutting down the clinics then it stands. >> a member of the supposedly gave -- regulations the act specifically says what not to be affected. for example, funding or insurance or parental consent. other kinds of regulations that are now in the books. let me ask you in terms of these regulations many have been struck down by the courts. many have been found to be unconstitutional. why a federal act that prevents the wall from being passed as a matter of statute as opposed to simply having the jurisprudential worked its way? >> we are here today because 200

of these underhanded laws have been passed and it isn't right that women should have to go to court here after year after year to get the medical services that the constitution guarantees th them. as i said at the medical association on record in many of these laws th and courts finding many of these unconstitutional it shouldn't be a charade every year where women are under the threat of losing access to services and we need to make sure we have strong protections because what is happening right now, we talked about texas which will go down to ten clinics in september if it goes into effect. we talked about mississippi. we talked about the practice is hanging on by the court order and in the fairness of the law in mississippi the hospitals would not consider giving admitting privileges based on the medical competency and based on the opposition.

or other reasons that have nothing to do with the competency of the doctors. so we need to make sure that there are strong protections we don't have this every yea year d women can binthe women can be at wherever they live that there personal prejudices and is going to be respected. >> while they are on the books they have a very practical impact on women's lives and a very restrictive impact on the people rights and very evasive and intrusive consequence for their exercise of personal choice is the correct? >> that is absolutely correct. correct. >> let me ask you finally come on this round of questioning, the issue of admitting privileges. why are admitting privileges unnecessarily rubber lens and in many cases found to be unconstitutional? >> that is a very important question because that is one of

the tactics that has been sweeping the nation and again i would commend the testimony that has been filed by the college of substitutions and gynecologists where they oppose those and it's also the case that the american medical association in a brief in the fifth circuit is one example went on the record to talk about how there is no medically bound to beat sound basis and what is i think in person to keep in mind is -- and they talk about this in the brief -- abortion is one of the safest procedures and an example of how this underhanded tactic has closed a clinic in el paso texas, not open now because of it for 17,000 patients were seen in a clinic in te the clinic ind not one of those have to be taken to a hospital or transferred by the clinic. so these laws are unwarranted and they are unfair.

and i know that many of us here disagree about the constitutional issues about abortion and the moral issues around it come about i would hope that we can agree that state which is teachers should be transparent in their laws, they shouldn't be pretending to be about one thing when they are actually about another because to do so, undermines our faith in what was law. it'it's an affair and unfair ans undemocratic and it's unconstitutional. >> thank you very much. my time is expired. alhas expired.all of the documea reference will be made a part of the record. >> you heard me mention kermit in my statement and how he had been engaged in the enterprise to kill babies and violate the law and i think obviously violating the trust of these patients. the state laws were in place in

that state but as the grand jury report says authorities didn't do inspections for the fear that it would be seen as putting barriers up to women. so my question whether this particular piece of legislation make it easier for these types of individuals to continue to operate with impunity? >> this legislation would make it easier for them to operate. the law actually says, this legislation actually says is a provision woulif aprovision wout abortion, it would be invalid or if it would indeed access to abortion and one of the factors to help determine whether it impedes access to abortion is allowing the provider to determine and whether or not the new law were unable with impeding his ability to