Sherrod Brown on Abortion Democratic Sr Senator; previously Representative (OH-13)

Trust women to make their own healthcare decisions

Sherrod Brown (D): Legal. "I will always trust Ohio women to make their health care decisions, plain & simple."

Jim Renacci (R): Ban. "I firmly believe in the sanctity of life. proud to have a 100 percent pro-life voting record since being elected to Congress."

Q: Allow employers to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if disagree with it morally?

Sherrod Brown (D): No. "Healthcare decisions should be between you & your doctor, not the government & your boss."

Jim Renacci (R): Likely yes. ObamaCare requirement for faith-affiliated employers like hospitals to provide contraceptive coverage was "an assault on religious freedom."

Q: Let Planned Parenthood receive public funds for non-abortion health care?

Sherrod Brown (D): Yes. They offer "lifesaving cancer screenings, HIV/AIDS prevention & contraception education."

Jim Renacci (R): No. Supported defunding.

Women should make their own health care decisions

Brown said, "I trust women to make their own health care decisions," and said Mandel also opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest.

Rated 100% by NARAL, indicating a pro-choice voting record.

For over thirty years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has been the political arm of the pro-choice movement and a strong advocate of reproductive freedom and choice. NARAL Pro-Choice America`s mission is to protect and preserve the right to choose while promoting policies and programs that improve women`s health and make abortion less necessary. NARAL Pro-Choice America works to educate Americans and officeholders about reproductive rights and health issues and elect pro-choice candidates at all levels of government. The NARAL ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization`s preferred position.

Rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance.

OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2006 NRLC scores as follows:

• 0% - 15%: pro-choice stance (approx. 174 members)
• 16%- 84%: mixed record on abortion (approx. 101 members)
• 85%-100%: pro-life stance (approx. 190 members)

The ultimate goal of the National Right to Life Committee is to restore legal protection to innocent human life. The primary interest of the National Right to Life Committee and its members has been the abortion controversy; however, it is also concerned with related matters of medical ethics which relate to the right to life issues of euthanasia and infanticide. The Committee does not have a position on issues such as contraception, sex education, capital punishment, and national defense. The National Right to Life Committee was founded in 1973 in response to the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, legalizing the practice of human abortion in all 50 states, throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.

The NRLC has been instrumental in achieving a number of legislative reforms at the national level, including a ban on non-therapeutic experimentation of unborn and newborn babies, a federal conscience clause guaranteeing medical personnel the right to refuse to participate in abortion procedures, and various amendments to appropriations bills which prohibit (or limit) the use of federal funds to subsidize or promote abortions in the United States and overseas.

In addition to maintaining a lobbying presence at the federal level, NRLC serves as a clearinghouse of information for its state affiliates and local chapters, its individual members, the press, and the public.

Expand contraceptive services for low-income women.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: Amends Medicaid to:

1. prohibit a state from providing for medical coverage unless it includes certain family planning services and supplies; and
2. include women who are not pregnant but who meet income eligibility standards in a mandatory `categorically needy` group for family planning services purposes.

EXCERPTS OF BILL:

Congress makes the following findings:
1. Rates of unintended pregnancy increased by nearly 30% among low-income women between 1994 and 2002, and a low-income woman today is 4 times as likely to have an unintended pregnancy as her higher income counterpart.
2. Abortion rates decreased among higher income women but increased among low income women in that period, and a low income woman is more than 4 times as likely to have an abortion as her higher income counterpart.
3. Contraceptive use reduces a woman`s probability of having an abortion by 85%.
4. Levels of contraceptive use among low-income women at risk of unintended pregnancy declined significantly, from 92% to 86%.
5. Publicly funded contraceptive services have been shown to prevent 1,300,000 unintended pregnancies each year, and in the absence of these services the abortion rate would likely be 40% higher than it is.
6. By helping couples avoid unintended pregnancy, Medicaid-funded contraceptive services are highly cost-effective, and every public dollar spent on family planning saves $3 in the cost of pregnancy-related care alone.The Social Security Act is amended by adding [to the Medicaid section] the following: COVERAGE OF FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES AND SUPPLIES -- a State may not provide for medical coverage unless that coverage includes family planning services and supplies.

   LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Referred to Senate Committee on Finance; never came to a vote.

   Source: Unintended Pregnancy Reduction Act (S.2916/H.R.5795) 06-S2916 on May 19, 2006

   Emergency contraception for rape victims at all hospitals.

   Brown co-sponsored for emergency contraception for rape victims

   OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: Prohibits any federal funds from being provided to a hospital unless the hospital provides to women who are victims of sexual assault:

   1. accurate and unbiased information about emergency contraception;
   2. emergency contraception on her request; and
   3. does not deny any such services because of the inability of the woman to pay.

   SPONSOR`S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Sen. CLINTON: This bill will help sexual assault survivors across the country get the medical care they need and deserve. It is hard to argue against this commonsense legislation. Rape--by definition--could never result in an intended pregnancy. Emergency contraception is a valuable tool that can prevent unintended pregnancy. This bill makes emergency contraception available for survivors of sexual assault at any hospital receiving public funds.

   Every 2 minutes, a woman is sexually assaulted in the US, and each year, 25,000 to 32,000 women become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. 50% of those pregnancies end in abortion.

   By providing access to emergency contraception, up to 95% of those unintended pregnancies could be prevented if emergency contraception is administered within the first 24 to 72 hours. In addition, emergency contraception could also give desperately needed peace of mind to women in crisis.

   The FDA recently made EC available over the counter for women 18 years of age and older. Despite the ideologically driven agenda against this drug, the research has been consistently clear--this drug is safe and effective for preventing pregnancy. Women deserve access to EC. For millions of women, it represents peace of mind. For survivors of rape and sexual assault, it offers hope for healing and a tomorrow free of painful reminders of the past.

   LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; never came to a vote.

   Source: Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act (S.3945) 06-S3945 on Sep 26, 2006

   Let military perform abortions in cases of rape or incest.

   Brown signed MARCH for Military Women Act

   Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health for Military Women Act or the MARCH for Military Women Act - Amends the prohibition on using funds available to the Department of Defense (DOD) to perform abortions by adding an exception for cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. (Current law provides an exception only where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.) Repeals a statutory restriction on using a medical treatment facility or other facility of the DOD to perform an abortion.

   [Explanatory note from campusprogress.org `Military Reproductive Rights Bill`, 7/5/11]:

   Currently, the health coverage U.S. servicewomen have doesn`t cover abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. U.S. servicewomen are also not permitted to use their own money to pay for an abortion at a military hospital. Military women stationed abroad are most affected by this regulation, as they would be forced to seek abortion services at foreign hospitals, which may be unsafe, or request permission from a supervisor to leave the country, which forces them to divulge that they are seeking an abortion. Most other American women who receive health care from the government but are not in the service can receive abortions in the case of rape, incest, or to the save the life of the mother. The MARCH for Military Women Act would give servicewomen coverage for abortion in the case of rape or incest and allow them to use their own funds for abortion at a U.S. military facility. NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood are among many organizations that support this legislation.

   Source: HR2085&S1214 11-S1214 on Jun 16, 2011

   Require pharmacies to fulfill contraceptive prescriptions.

   Brown signed Access to Birth Control Act
   Access to Birth Control Act: Amends the Public Health Service Act to require pharmacies to comply with certain rules related to contraceptives, including:
   1. providing a customer a contraceptive without delay if it is in stock;
   2. immediately informing a customer if the contraceptive is not in stock and either transferring the prescription to a pharmacy that has the contraceptive in stock or expediting the ordering of the contraceptive and notifying the customer when it arrives, based on customer preference, except for pharmacies that do not ordinarily stock contraceptives in the normal course of business; and
   3. ensuring that pharmacy employees do not take certain actions relating to a request for contraception, including intimidating, threatening, or harassing customers, interfering with or obstructing the delivery of services, intentionally misrepresenting or deceiving customers about the availability of contraception or its mechanism of action, breaching or threatening to breach medical confidentiality, or refusing to return a valid, lawful prescription.
   Provides that this Act does not preempt state law or any professional clinical judgment. Sets forth civil penalties and establishes a a private cause of action for violations of this Act. Source: HR2659&S1415 11-S1415 on Jul 26, 2011

   Ban anti-abortion limitations on abortion services.

   Brown co-sponsored Women's Health Protection Act

   Congressional summary:: Women`s Health Protection Act: makes the following limitations concerning abortion services unlawful and prohibits their imposition or application by any government:

   • a requirement that a medical professional perform specific tests, unless generally required in the case of medically comparable procedures;
   • a limitation on an abortion provider`s ability to delegate tasks;
   • a limitation on an abortion provider`s ability to prescribe or dispense drugs based on her or his good-faith medical judgment;
   • a requirement or limitation concerning the physical plant, equipment, staffing, or hospital transfer arrangements;
   • a requirement that, prior to obtaining an abortion, a woman make medically unnecessary visits to the provider of abortion services or to any individual or entity that does not provide such services;
   • a prohibition or ban prior to fetal viability

   Opponent`s argument against (Live Action News): This is Roe v. Wade on steroids. The bill is problematic from the very beginning. Its first finding addresses `women`s ability to participate equally`; many have rejected this claim that women need abortion in order to be equal to men, or that they need to be like men at all. The sponsors of this pro-abortion bill also seem to feel that pro-life bills have had their time in this country, and that we must now turn back to abortion. The bill also demonstrates that its proponents have likely not even bothered attempting to understand the laws they are seeking to undo, considering that such laws are in place to regulate abortion in order to make it safer. Those who feel that abortion is best left up for the states to decide will also find this bill problematic with its overreach. Sadly, the bill also uses the Fourteenth Amendment to justify abortion, as the Supreme Court did, even though in actuality it would make much more sense to protect the lives of unborn Americans.

   Source: H.R.3471 & S.1696 14-S1696 on Nov 13, 2013

   Access safe, legal abortion without restrictions.

   Brown co-sponsored S.217 & H.R.448

   Congressional Summary: Congress finds the following:

   Access to safe, legal abortion services has been hindered in various ways, including blockades of health care facilities; restrictions on insurance coverage; restrictions on minors` ability to obtain services; and requirements that single out abortion providers.
   • These restrictions harm women`s health by reducing access to the other essential health care services offered by the providers targeted by the restrictions, including contraceptive services.
   • The cumulative effect of these numerous restrictions has been that a woman`s ability to exercise her constitutional rights is dependent on the State in which she lives.
   • It is the purpose of this Act to protect women`s health by ensuring that abortion services will continue to be available and that abortion providers are not singled out for medically unwarranted restrictions

   Opponents reasons for voting NAY:(National Review, July 17, 2014): During hearings on S. 1696, Senators heard many myths from abortion proponents about the `need` for the bill`s evisceration of all life-affirming legislation.

   • Myth: Life-affirming laws are enacted `under the false pretext of health and safety.`
     Fact: Induced abortion is associated with significant risks and potential harms to women.
   • Myth: `Where abortion services are restricted and unavailable, abortions still occur and are mostly unsafe.`
     Fact: Where abortion is restricted, maternal mortality rates have decreased.
   • Myth: Admitting privileges laws are `not medically justified.`
     Fact: Women with abortion complications are told to go to an emergency department. This would constitute malpractice in any other scenario.
   • Myth: Ultrasounds and their descriptions are `cruel and inhumane.`
     Fact: Allowing women the opportunity to view their ultrasounds serves an important role in providing informed consent, enabling women to exercise true choice.
   Source: Women's Health Protection Act 15_S217 on Jan 21, 2015

   Keep federal funding for family planning clinics.

   Brown signed keeping federal funding for family planning clinics

   Excerpts from Letter to the Senate Majority Leader from 46 Senators: The recent vote in the House to overturn rules protecting Title X health centers would deny women access to care. In 2015, Title X provided basic primary and preventive health care services such as pap tests, breast exams, and HIV testing to more than four million low-income women and men at over 4,000 health centers. In large part due to this work, the US unintended pregnancy rate is at a 30-year low, and rates of teenage pregnancy are the lowest in our nation`s history. The success of the program is dependent on funding. Family planning services, like those provided at Planned Parenthood and other family planning centers, should be available to all women, no matter where they live or how much money they make.

   Opposing argument: (Heritage Foundation, `Disentangling the Data`): Planned Parenthood received approximately $60 million of taxpayer money under Title X, and $390 million through Medicaid. To ensure that taxpayers are not forced to subsidize America`s number one abortion provider, Congress should make Planned Parenthood affiliates ineligible to receive either Medicaid reimbursements or Title X grants if they continue to perform abortions. Taxpayer money from these programs should instead be redirected to the more than 9,000 federally qualified health center sites that provide comprehensive primary health care for those in need without entanglement in abortion.

   Supporting argument: (ACLU, `Urging Title X`): Title X services help women & men to plan the number and timing of their pregnancies, thereby helping to prevent approximately one million unintended pregnancies, nearly half of which would end in abortion. However, current funding is inadequate. Had Title X funding kept up with inflation it would now be funded at nearly $700 million. We ask that Title X be funded at $375 million, which is $92 million above its current funding level.

   Source: Letter to the Senate Majority Leader from 46 Senators 17LTR-TITX on Mar 1, 2017

   CC:Publicly fund abortions.

   Brown supports the CC survey question on funding abortion

   The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Public Funding of Abortions (Such as Govt. Health Benefits and Planned Parenthood)' Christian Coalition's self-description: "Christian Voter Guide is a clearing-house for traditional, pro-family voter guides. We do not create voter guides, nor do we interview or endorse candidates."

   Source: Christian Coalition Surve 18CC-1b on Jul 1, 2018

   Born-Alive Survivors bill tries to illegalize abortion.

   Brown voted NAY Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

   S.311/H.R.962: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act: Congress finds the following:

   • If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States, and entitled to all the protections of such laws.
   • (2) Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care.
   • In the case of an attempted abortion that results in a child born alive, any health care practitioner present at the time the child is born alive shall exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

   Opposing argument from Rewire.com, `Born Alive Propaganda,` by Calla Hales, 4/12/2019: From restrictive bans at various points of pregnancy to a proposed death penalty for seeking care, both federal and state legislators are taking aim at abortion rights. The goal? To make abortion illegal, criminalizing patients and providers in the process. One kind of bill making a recent resurgence is the `Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.` These bills aim to further the false narrative that abortions regularly occur immediately before or, according to the president, at the time of birth. Intentional action to end the life of an infant is already illegal. This is covered by federal and state infanticide laws. These bills do nothing but vilify physicians who provide reproductive health care.

   Legislative outcome Referred to Committee in House; Senate motion to proceed rejected, 56-41-3 (60 required).

   Source: Congressional vote 19-S0311 on Feb 5, 2019

   Ensure access to and funding for contraception.

   Brown co-sponsored ensuring access to and funding for contraception

   A bill to expand access to preventive health care services that help reduce unintended pregnancy, reduce abortions, and improve access to women`s health care. The Congress finds as follows:

   1. Healthy People 2010 sets forth a reduction of unintended pregnancies as an important health objective to achieve over the first decade of the new century.
   2. Although the CDC included family planning in its published list of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century, the US still has one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancies among industrialized nations.
   3. Each year, 3,000,000 pregnancies, nearly half of all pregnancies, in the US are unintended, and nearly half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
   4. In 2004, 34,400,000 women, half of all women of reproductive age, were in need of contraceptive services, and nearly half of those were in need of public support for such care.
   5. The US has the highest rate of infection with sexually transmitted diseases of any industrialized country. 19 million cases impose a tremendous economic burden, as high as $14 billion per year.
   6. Increasing access to family planning services will improve women`s health and reduce the rates of unintended pregnancy, abortion, and infection with sexually transmitted diseases. Contraceptive use saves public health dollars. For every dollar spent to increase funding for family planning programs, $3.80 is saved.
   7. Contraception is basic health care that improves the health of women and children by enabling women to plan and space births.
   8. Women experiencing unintended pregnancy are at greater risk for physical abuse and women having closely spaced births are at greater risk of maternal death.
   9. A child born from an unintended pregnancy is at greater risk of low birth weight, dying in the first year of life, being abused, and not receiving sufficient resources for healthy development.
   Source: Prevention First Act (S.21/H.R.819) 2007-HR819 on Feb 5, 2007

   Click here for definitions & background information on Abortion. Click here for a Wikipedia profile of Sherrod Brown. Click here for a Ballotpedia profile of Sherrod Brown. Click here for SenateMatch quiz answers by Sherrod Brown. Click here for a summary of Sherrod Brown's positions on all issues. Click here for issue positions of other OH politicians. Click here for issue statements from OH primary archives. Click here for issue statements from OH secondary archives.
   Other candidates on Abortion:		Sherrod Brown on other issues:
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