BREAKING: Senate Confirms Dr. Oz as Head of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Jeopardizing Millions of Americans’ Access to Care, Including Lifesaving Abortion Care
For Immediate Release
April 3, 2025
Contact: Kelly Rimar kelly@freeandjust.us
BREAKING: Senate Confirms Dr. Oz as Head of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Jeopardizing Millions of Americans’ Access to Care, Including Lifesaving Abortion Care
Abortion bans are killing women. President Trump just added another anti-abortion extremist to his cabinet.
WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, the Senate confirmed radical anti-abortion extremist Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), one of the largest federal agencies that administers health care to more than 160 million Americans. Dr. Oz’s confirmation puts millions of Americans at risk of losing access to health care, including lifesaving emergency care.
Nearly 17 million women of reproductive age receive health coverage through Medicaid, and more than 40% of births in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid. As CMS administrator, Dr. Oz can limit access to prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care, as well as access to birth control and other reproductive health care for women across the country.
As CMS administrator, Oz will also be responsible for overseeing investigations into alleged violations of federal law that requires hospitals to provide lifesaving emergency abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).
Abortion bans are killing women across the country, and instead of pledging to protect access to lifesaving abortion care, Dr. Oz, who has claimed that ending a pregnancy at any stage is “murder,” confirmed in March that he remains in lock-step with the Trump administration, which is committed to banning abortion nationwide – even though it means more women will die.
Following his confirmation, Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just released the following statement:
“Dr. Oz is a radical extremist and celebrity personality who has no business intervening in the health care of women across the country. The Trump administration is working to roll back access to everything from birth control to lifesaving abortion care, and the last thing Americans want or need is another extremist creating barriers to accessing care. Now more than ever, we must amplify the stories of people affected by these attacks and be clear about the deadly consequences of attacks on reproductive freedom.”
If you are interested in learning more about the extremists in Trump’s cabinet, what’s at stake for abortion access, and how the Trump administration is working to ban abortion nationwide, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us.
Free & Just is committed to fighting for reproductive freedom. Join us in sharing stories, raising voices, and securing our future.
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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.