--- title: Handmaid's Tale Costumes Used to Protest Health Care Bill description: The garb mimicked that of the "Handmaid's Tale" a television show on Hulu based on a 1985 dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood canonical: https://time.com/4835960/health-care-handmaids-tale-costumes-protest/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-27T22:52:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:45.622Z og:title: Demonstrators Dress in 'Handmaid's Tale' Costumes to Protest Health Care Bill og:description: The GOP bill would prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year og:url: https://time.com/4835960/health-care-handmaids-tale-costumes-protest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5cbfd63ec4c2faf/6988d39e86f68ef09d6e55a0/planned-parenthood-handmaids-tale.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4932 og:image:height: 2774 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-HEALTHCARE-PROTEST og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Demonstrators Dress in 'Handmaid's Tale' Costumes to Protest Health Care Bill twitter:description: The GOP bill would prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5cbfd63ec4c2faf/6988d39e86f68ef09d6e55a0/planned-parenthood-handmaids-tale.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Demonstrators Dress in _Handmaid's Tale_ Costumes to Protest GOP Health Care Bill > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ccd27d16-98e1-44fe-a149-e97b1286caa3&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 27, 2017 10:52 PM UTC  Supporters of Planned Parenthood dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," hold a rally as they protest the US Senate Republicans' healthcare bill outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, June 27, 2017\. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Supporters of Planned Parenthood dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," hold a rally as they protest the US Senate Republicans' healthcare bill outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, June 27, 2017\. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 27, 2017 10:52 PM UTC Protesters descended on Washington D.C. Tuesday dressed in long red robes and heads covered in white — costumes inspired by the dystopia of [_The Handmaid’s Tale_](http://time.com/4815007/handmaids-tale-season-finale-review/) _—_ to protest the Senate’s version of the [Obamacare repeal bill.](http://time.com/4827805/senate-republican-health-care-obamacare-ahca-draft/) The garb, which mimicked that of the Hulu show based on a 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, was meant to invoke the fictional world where women have been stripped of virtually all of their basic rights. The protesters believe the GOP health care bill will severely impede women’s care. > [](https://twitter.com/TaylorLorenz/status/879762656432992256) > [](https://twitter.com/lovebscott/status/879820999327227904) > [](https://twitter.com/PPMHVAction/status/879762070333468673) The Senate’s bill would prohibit federal funding for [Planned Parenthood](http://time.com/money/4828207/new-senate-health-care-bill-defunds-planned-parenthood/) for one year. A majority of the organization’s federal funding comes in the form of [Medicaid reimbursements](https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/how-federal-funding-works-at-planned-parenthood), which means that patients on Medicaid would effectively be barred from using their coverage on Planned Parenthood services should the provision pass. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in its report Monday that halting the funding would impact pregnancy prevention services, and would have the biggest impact in low-income areas or locations where there are few other medical options. Planned Parenthood says 54% of its clinics are in these types of locations. The Senate hoped to vote on the bill before the July 4th recess but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday the vote will be delayed. Some Republican Senators, like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have expressed opposition to the provision that defunds Planned Parenthood. “There already is a ban on the use of federal funds for abortions,” Collins said after the initial legislation was unveiled. “That already exists and to single out Planned Parenthood, which provides services to so many low-income women for family planning and woman care, is just wrong and not logical.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4835960/health-care-handmaids-tale-costumes-protest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4835960/health-care-handmaids-tale-costumes-protest/"},"headline":"Demonstrators Dress in Handmaid's Tale Costumes to Protest GOP Health Care Bill","datePublished":"2017-06-27T22:52:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:45.622Z","description":"The Senate's bill would prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year","url":"https://time.com/4835960/health-care-handmaids-tale-costumes-protest/","keywords":["motto","Health Care","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5cbfd63ec4c2faf/6988d39e86f68ef09d6e55a0/planned-parenthood-handmaids-tale.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5cbfd63ec4c2faf/6988d39e86f68ef09d6e55a0/planned-parenthood-handmaids-tale.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-HEALTHCARE-PROTEST","caption":"US-POLITICS-HEALTHCARE-PROTEST","creditText":"SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4835960/health-care-handmaids-tale-costumes-protest/","name":"Demonstrators Dress in Handmaid's Tale Costumes to Protest GOP Health Care Bill"}}]}] ```