Newark — The House Republicans’ proposed health care plan, embraced by President Trump, declares war on women’s health by removing coverage for critical family planning services, Phil Murphy said today. He noted the irony of the GOP plan being unveiled the week of International Women’s Day, a recognition of the advances women have made in society and the workplace.

“International Women’s Day is an offensive time for Donald Trump and the House Republicans to try to strip away the right of millions of women to control their own health care,” said Murphy. “The more we learn about the GOP’s plan, the more it becomes clear that ‘repeal and replace’ means repealing health care for countless women and replacing it with politically motivated government inference. As governor, I will make sure New Jersey’s women have secure and unfettered access to the health care and services they need.”

The GOP bill would specifically prohibit any insurance plans that offer abortion coverage from receiving federal tax credits and would ban all Medicaid reimbursements for any health care providers that provide abortions — formally defunding Planned Parenthood, which also provides contraception and cancer screenings for low-income women.

Murphy has pledged, as governor, to restore full state funding of Planned Parenthood and ensure affordable access to contraception for all women.