BREAKING: Alex Azar Publicly Revealed as “Pro-life Advocate” During Surprise Appearance With Right-Wing Group
Azar’s appearance at Family Research Council event in conjunction with March for Life is an endorsement of organization’s radical anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ views
01.18.19 – Today, on the day of the March for Life, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar revealed his true colors as a “pro-life advocate” during a surprise appearance at the right-wing, anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion hate group Family Research Council.
“Alex Azar’s bombshell appearance today made clear that he will go beyond simply tolerating radical anti-reproductive health and anti-LGBT views and is proud to actively advance these extreme positions as HHS Secretary,” said Mary Alice Carter, Executive Director of Equity Forward.
“Until this morning, Azar remained under the radar with regard to his views. Now, we no longer need to guess what the Secretary is thinking. He aligned himself with anti-abortion hardliners, including calling Vice President Mike Pence his ‘mentor,’ leaving no doubt that the Trump administration appointed a politically motivated ideologue to run HHS.”
In his remarks to the Family Research Council, Azar also explicitly connected his out-of-touch anti-abortion views with the recent far rightward shift of the Title X national family planning program’s guidelines. Title X, at its core, is a program to provide birth control and family planning support. Azar has notably directed HHS to reject the importance of birth control in family planning decisions.
Yesterday, Equity Forward released research proving that despite efforts to rebrand its extreme and out-of-touch anti-abortion agenda as “pro-science,” supporters of March for Life hold views and advocate for policies that fly in the face of medical and scientific experts.
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Washington Post: The Health 202
By Paige Winfield Cunningham, 01.18.19 at 8:11 AM
Abortion protesters are set to gather today for their annual March for Life, buoyed by a slew of regulations the Trump administration is advancing to restrict federal funding for abortion and expanding protections for those who are morally opposed to providing or buying specific services
They’re eager for more such announcements — perhaps during today's protest — from the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is expected to soon release a final regulation strengthening enforcement of 25 existing health-related religious freedom laws and another rule banning abortions from being provided at the same location where Title X family planning services are offered.
"HHS looks forward to issuing the final rule promptly," spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley wrote me, referring to the proposed Title X changes, although she didn't confirm whether they'll be released today. Oakley said HHS Secretary Alex Azar will be speaking this morning at a pre-march conference hosted by the Family Research Council and confirmed that Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan will be attending the march.