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Floor Speech

Let's be clear. This bill would roll back the clock by 25 years. It limits access to a safe and effective medication that has been approved by the FDA since 2000. Hundreds of robust clinical trials have demonstrated mifepristone's safety. That is not political; that is science.

This bill would impose new requirements on prescribing healthcare providers, and it would restrict drug dispensing to in-person administration, specifically targeting women living in rural areas and women without access to a primary care doctor or OB/GYN.

For the past year, we have all watched as Secretary Kennedy and this administration have peddled conspiracy theories and junk science to dismantle public health structures in this country.

Just like with the pediatric vaccine schedule, changing the rules on FDA-approved drugs without specific scientific input, legitimate evidence on safety risk, or transparency will cause unnecessary fear for patients.

This bill undermines the critical role of the FDA in ensuring the safety and efficacy of medical products through a gold standard review and approval process. It overrides the FDA's oversight authority by prematurely banning approval to medications, even if they are safe and effective.

That is not gold standard science; it is an effort to control women's bodies and their healthcare decisions.

On the very anniversary of the Dobbs ruling, Senate Republicans are looking to continue to restrict access to care.

I want to remind my colleagues that mothers living in States with abortion bans are nearly twice as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth compared to those in States that allow women to access reproductive care. These tragedies happen when there are delays in miscarriage and emergencies because reproductive medicine is criminalized.

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Ms. ALSOBROOKS. As I just said, on the very anniversary of the Dobbs ruling, Senate Republicans are looking to continue to restrict access to care.

In stark contrast, Senate Democrats are working to expand access to healthcare for women. We are working to better support new and expecting mothers and babies. I introduced the Healthy MOM Act to do just that.

Uninsured pregnant women are more likely to miss critical prenatal care. These gaps in care lead to a 31 percent higher likelihood of adverse hospital and delivery outcomes. My bill would ensure that all women eligible for coverage through Affordable Care Act marketplaces and private insurance can access affordable health coverage throughout their pregnancies by establishing a special enrollment period for expectant mothers.

Right now, marriage, divorce, changing jobs, or having a baby are considered qualifying life events that trigger a special enrollment period, but becoming pregnant is not considered a qualifying life event. That is unless you live in a State like Maryland, which allows women to enroll in or change their health insurance plan outside of the standard open enrollment period after they learn they are pregnant.

If you want to protect moms and babies, you need to make sure that they have health insurance and access to the care they need. I ask unanimous consent to pass this commonsense legislation to close a senseless loophole and keep expecting mothers across the country healthy.

3274 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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