FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
06.05.19
Contact: Alexa Barrett, Communications Assistant
Email: alexa@equityfwd.org
Phone: (914) 602 - 3147
Equity Forward to HHS: Release the Audit
Group files FOIA request for alleged audit used to restrict funding for lifesaving research
New York, NY – Today, Equity Forward filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the audit the department claims “helped inform the policy process that led to the administration’s decision” to end as much as $100 million of federal funding used to research cures for diseases and conditions including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, HIV, Zika, and Autism. Equity Forward sent multiple requests to the HHS public affairs office for the audit cited in its release announcing the new policy.
Equity Forward Director Michelle Kuppersmith released the following statement:
“We shouldn’t have to force HHS and Secretary Alex Azar to release the document cited as justification for a decision that will affect the health and well-being of millions of women and families, but here we are.
“We know that this type of research is critical for developing lifesaving treatments and there is no scientific reason to end it. What we don’t know is how far HHS went to concoct a justification for this decision that puts so many people at risk just to please a handful of anti-abortion extremists.”
Click HERE for Equity Forward’s fact sheet on the benefits of fetal tissue research. For more information on HHS’ sabotage of lifesaving research, visit PutPeopleBeforePolitics.org.
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