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Tom Reed voted today for two bills which protect the unborn while ensuring access to healthcare for rural women. The first piece of legislation will temporarily suspend federal funding to Planned Parenthood, and divert this funding to other Federal Qualified Health Care Centers, preserving access to women's healthcare throughout the region. The second piece of legislation extends additional rights to children born as a result of a failed abortion and requires medical personnel involved in the procedure to do make every effort to save the life of the child.

"I care about ensuring access to healthcare for women and appreciate the services such as cancer screening and support for sexual assault victims that Planned Parenthood offers," said Reed. "That is why I am pleased that this bill diverts the funding for these services to other health centers to protect access to them. That is critically important to rural areas such as ours. However, in light of the recent appalling revelations regarding the organization selling the body parts of aborted babies, it's only right to ensure that nothing illegal occurred and that no taxpayer dollars are actually being used to support this callous disregard for the value of human life."

The vote to suspend funding comes amid allegations the organization has been selling fetal tissue, including organs of aborted children, without the consent of patients, following abortion procedures.

The temporary funding suspension will be for one year providing the House Judiciary Committee with enough time to conclude its ongoing investigation into the alleged conduct.

Reed also reiterated his position on abortion saying, "I am unapologetically pro-life. I have never supported taxpayer funding for abortion."

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