“We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women’s health, and reproductive health includes access to abortion that I believe should be safe, legal, and rare. I’ve spent a lot of my time trying to bring down the rate of abortion and it has been my experience that good family planning and good medical care brings down the rate of abortion. Keeping women and men in ignorance and denying them access to services actually increases the rate of abortion. During my time as First Lady I helped to create the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancy, and while we were working to provide good information, access to contraception, and good decision making that would enable young women to protect themselves and say no, the rate of teen pregnancy went down. I’m sad to report that after an administration of 8 years that undid so much of that good work, the rate of teenage pregnancy is going up. So we disagree, and we are now an administration that will protect the rights of women including their rights to reproductive health care.”

—Hillary Clinton, in response to Rep. Christopher Smith’s question, “Does the United States’ definition of the term ‘reproductive health’ or ‘reproductive services’ or ‘reproductive rights’ include abortion?” (via soupsoup)