Vice President Pence Slammed for Sharing Photo of Health Care Meeting That Didn’t Include Women

Vice President Mike Pence got called out on social media for sharing a photo of lawmakers discussing the Republicans’ health care proposal — without a single woman pictured.

President Donald Trump and Pence met with the conservative House Freedom Caucus on Thursday to discuss the GOP proposal to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act on Thursday. Pence later shared a picture of the meeting on Twitter, and no women appeared in the photograph. The group was discussing whether to get rid of Affordable Care Act’s Essential Health Benefits, which requires all insurers to provide certain health services — including pregnancy and maternity care.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington retweeted Pence with the sardonic caption: “A rare look inside the GOP women’s health caucus.” Others also noted the lack of diversity overall in the meeting.

The meeting took place the same day that Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas apologized for making a joke about losing mammogram benefits after a reporter asked him if he supported the proposal to get rid of the Essential Health Benefits, which also includes preventive services like mammograms.

[CNN]