Davids Highlights Federal Threats to Reproductive Health Care at Planned Parenthood Press Conference

KANSAS CITY, KS - Today, Representative Sharice Davids joined Planned Parenthood Great Plains and local health care advocates to highlight ongoing federal efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care and underscore the real-world impact these extreme policies can have on Kansas families.

“In Kansas and across the country, extreme politicians are pushing policies that make it harder for people to get basic health care — from cancer screenings to birth control,” said Davids. “These efforts make it harder for providers to do their jobs and leave patients with nowhere to turn. I’ll keep fighting to make sure Kansans can access the care they need, when they need it, without unnecessary obstacles.”

During the press conference, Davids emphasized that recent actions in Congress and at the federal level threaten not only abortion access but also essential preventive services like cancer screenings, birth control, and STI testing that thousands of Kansans rely on every year.

Davids pointed to ongoing legal and legislative efforts targeting medication abortion, including proposals by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) to restrict access to mifepristone and limit telehealth and mail delivery options. She noted that these changes would increase delays, force patients to travel farther for care, and strain already limited health care resources.

She also raised concerns about broader federal funding threats, including a provision in last year’s House-passed budget that would block Medicaid patients from receiving care at Planned Parenthood health centers and similar providers — impacting access to a wide range of services beyond abortion care. While the policy is currently tied up in court, Davids is supporting a bill to overturn the policy permanently.

Additionally, Davids highlighted instability in the Title X family planning program, where delays and administrative challenges have already begun to disrupt care for low-income and uninsured patients nationwide. She recently joined House colleagues in urging the Department of Health and Human Services to extend funding for current providers to prevent gaps in care.

Read Davids’ full remarks below:

Hi everyone — thank you to Planned Parenthood Great Plains for hosting us and for the work you do every single day to make sure people can get the care they need.

I’m Representative Sharice Davids and want to start by being really clear about what’s happening right now. Across the country, we are seeing a coordinated effort to roll back access to reproductive health care — not just abortion care, but so many basic services that millions of people rely on. And a lot of these fights are happening at the federal level, which means they don’t stay in Washington — they show up in our communities, in our clinics, and in people’s lives. And one of the biggest areas under attack right now is medication abortion.

There are ongoing legal and political efforts to undermine access to mifepristone, including by Senator Josh Hawley on the other side of the state line in Missouri. This medication has been proven safe and effective for decades and is used not just for abortion care, but for miscarriage management as well. What we’re seeing are attempts to restrict how it can be prescribed and delivered — including limiting telehealth and access by mail. That might sound technical, but here’s what it means in practice:

It means more delays, longer travel times, and more barriers for people who are already trying to navigate a complicated and often stressful situation. And it puts additional strain on providers, forcing them to shift care into more limited settings — which can overwhelm clinics and reduce access for everyone.

At the same time, recent Medicaid cuts are also impacting reproductive health care. Last year, House Republicans passed an extreme budget law that included a provision blocking Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood and similar providers — not just for abortion care, but for all services. We’re talking about cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and other preventive care.

This provision is currently tied up in court, and I’m supporting legislation to reverse it, but their intent is clear: to cut off patients from the care they rely on. And the reality is, many of those patients don’t have another option. More than half of Planned Parenthood patients rely on Medicaid for their health coverage. And nearly one in five Medicaid enrollees who access contraceptive care do so at a Planned Parenthood health center. So, when politicians talk about “defunding” these providers, what they’re really doing is leaving patients with fewer places to go — or nowhere to go at all.

We’re seeing it in Title X, which is the only federal program dedicated solely to family planning. This year, the rollout of that program from the administration has been chaotic and deeply concerning — with delays, limited time for applications, and serious staffing issues that are already impacting providers’ ability to plan and deliver care.

That’s why I joined my colleagues in pushing the administration to extend currently awarded grants to prevent further disruptions. Because when we see this unpredictability, clinics are forced to make difficult decisions like cutting services, reducing hours, or turning patients away.

This stretches the entire health care system thinner and thinner. So, what we’re left with is a system where access becomes harder, wait times get longer, and people fall through the cracks.

That’s what’s at stake. This isn’t abstract. It’s about whether someone can get a cancer screening before it’s too late. It’s about whether they can access birth control or preventive care when they need it. It’s about whether people can make their own health care decisions without unnecessary barriers or politicians standing in the way.

I’ll continue fighting in Congress to protect access to care and make sure these decisions stay where they belong — with patients and their providers, not politicians in Washington who should be focused on anything else. Because at the end of the day, health care should be about supporting people, not putting up roadblocks.

Thank you.