OBGYN Senator Marshall to Lead Senate Hearing on Abortion Laws Following Reversal of Roe vs Wade

(Overland Park, KS, July 11, 2022) – Today, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. – an OBGYN responsible for delivering more than 5,000 babies – released the following statement after it was announced he will serve as Ranking Member for a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing on abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning Roe v. Wade and returning the issue of abortion to state governments. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 13th at 10:00am ET and will be streamed online here: help.senate.gov.

“Overturning Roe vs Wade was a historic occasion that signaled a new beginning for millions of unborn children. Now, the future of saving lives rests with the American people and their elected officials in the states. But this work is not finished. Mothers must continue to have access to services that will support them and their baby throughout and after their pregnancy, and women need to understand the undeniable threats that are posed by abortion methods, especially if they are prescribed and used incorrectly,” said Senator Marshall. “I’m looking forward to informing the American public why the Supreme Court’s decision is a positive development for our country and setting the record straight in the face of radical pro-abortion fearmongering. I appreciate Ranking Member Burr for yielding me the opportunity to use my knowledge and background as an OBGYN who delivered more than 5,000 babies to lead this hearing.”

Earlier today, Republicans on the Senate HELP Committee announced Brandi Swindell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stanton Healthcare, will testify before the Committee about her work providing life-affirming maternal and infant health care for women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. Ms. Swindell will share the story of her organization’s success in providing alternatives to abortion and compassionate care to women across America.

WHAT: Senate HELP Committee Hearing

WHO: Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO, Stanton Healthcare

WHEN: Wednesday, July 13th at 10:00am ET

WHERE: Hart 216 or streaming online at help.senate.gov

Background:

Senator Marshall practiced medicine in Great Bend, KS for more than 25 years. As an OB/GYN, he delivered more than 5,000 babies, giving him a deep appreciation and passion for the sanctity of life and an intimate understanding of the healthcare system. During his time in medicine, Senator Marshall was more than a physician. For 25 years, he was a business owner who signed a paycheck every other week for a practice that grew from 5 people to eventually more than 300.

In April 2022, Senator Marshall questioned Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, about the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce safety protocols for chemical abortion drugs. You may click HERE for video of Senator Marshall’s questioning.

In June 2022, Senator Marshall offered an amendment to the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Landmark Advancements (FDASLA) Act that would require FDA-approved chemical abortion drugs to be prescribed only after a patient has been diagnosed using a medical imaging device. Senator Marshall’s amendment would have ensured appropriate use and informed consent before receiving abortion drugs. The amendment was modeled after Senator Marshall’s Ultrasound Informed Consent Act.

Upon entering the U.S. Senate in January 2021, Senator Marshall’s first bill was the Protecting Life in Crisis Act. This legislation would prohibit any funds that are authorized or appropriated for the purposes of preventing, preparing for, or responding to the COVID–19 pandemic, domestically and internationally, from going toward abortions or abortion coverage. Additionally, Senator Marshall is an original cosponsor of the following pro-life bills:

• Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act: This bill requires that appropriate care be given to any child who survives an attempted abortion. The bill also allows federal murder charges to be brought against anyone who intentionally kills such a born-alive child.
• Prohibiting Federal Emergencies for Abortion Act: The bill would prohibit the declaration of a Federal emergency relating to abortion.
• Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act: This bill would exclude elective abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from the Title X family planning program.
• Life at Conception Act: This bill ensures that current right to life protections granted by the 14th Amendment are truly guaranteed to all human beings, including unborn children at all stages of development. The Constitution already guarantees the right to life in the 14th Amendment, this bill simply enforces the law and ensures those same protections are extended to the most vulnerable members of our society.
• Defund Planned Parenthood Act: This bill would ensure that federal tax dollars are not going to Planned Parenthood or any other organizations that perform abortions. Funds for these services would continue to be provided to entities that are eligible and not performing abortions, such as community health centers.
• No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act: This bill would codify the Hyde Amendment, prohibiting Federal funding for elective abortion, as a permanent, government-wide prohibition. It also would restrict Obamacare’s premium tax credits from being used for elective abortion coverage on the exchanges.
• Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act: This bill prohibits abortions after 20-weeks, a point at which research has shown unborn children feel pain.
• Down Syndrome Protection Act: This bill prohibits the performance of an abortion being sought due to the unborn child having Down syndrome.
• Protecting Life and Integrity in Research Act: This bill would prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from conducting or supporting any research involving human fetal tissue that is obtained pursuant to an induced abortion.
• Support and Value Expectant (SAVE) Moms and Babies Act: This bill would prevent labeling changes for already approved abortion drugs; prevent providers from dispensing these drugs remotely, by mail, or via telemedicine; and prevent the FDA from approving any new chemical abortion drugs.
• Women’s Public Health and Safety Act: This bill clarifies the authority of states to exclude providers of elective abortion like Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid program. Planned Parenthood receives about half a billion dollars in tax-payer funding per year, most of which comes from Medicaid.
• Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA): Currently, only 11 states ban abortions that are sought on the basis of sex. PRENDA would combat the worrying trend of sex-selective abortion in America by making it a federal crime to abort a child based on his or her gender.
• Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act: This bill would require abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 15 miles of their practices.  The bill also requires abortion centers to meet state-mandated requirements for ambulatory surgery centers.
• Parental Notification and Intervention Act: This bill prohibits a person or organization from performing, facilitating, or assisting in the performance of an abortion on an un-emancipated minor without first complying with parental notification requirements.
• Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act: The bill would codify an expanded version of the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy, also known as the Mexico City Policy. Specifically, the bill would ensure that no funds be made available to foreign non-governmental organizations, multi-lateral nonprofits, and quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations that perform abortions, counsel for abortion, lobby for abortion policies or expanded access, or provide funding or resources for any entity, including domestic non-governmental organizations and non-profits, that perform abortions abroad.
• Prohibiting Federal Emergencies for Abortion Act: The bill would prohibit the declaration of a Federal emergency relating to abortion.

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