Trump appoints pro-life leader Charmaine Yoest to top HHS post

President Donald Trump has picked Dr. Charmaine Yoest, the former CEO of Americans United for Life, to a senior role in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Yoest, who actively supported Trump during his campaign, has been appointed to be the Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs at the HHS.

She will be replacing Kevin Griffis, who is now serving as the vice president of Communications at Planned Parenthood, Life Site News reported.

Pro-abortion groups have decried Yoest's appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation.

"Charmaine Yoest has spent her whole professional life opposing access to birth control and a woman's right to a safe, legal abortion," said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood, according to NBC News.

"While President Trump claims to empower women, he is appointing government officials who believe just the opposite," she added.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, described Yoest as "one of the pro-life movement's most articulate and powerful communicators."

Yoest, who began her career serving under Ronald Reagan in the Office of Presidential Personnel, has been vocally opposed to the HHS mandate that required religious employers like the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide for their employees' contraception.

She has also frequently spoken out against Planned Parenthood and has urged Congress to defund the abortion provider.

"Planned Parenthood deceptively holds itself out as protecting women's health, as it cuts legitimate health care in favor of abortion sales, while lobbying for more taxpayer largesse," Yoest said in 2015.

"The time is now for Congress to defund Planned Parenthood and invest taxpayers' hard-earned money in real healthcare that saves lives and safeguards women's health," she added.

According to Yahoo News contributing writer Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy, Yoest is also closely linked with the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), which released the undercover videos that purportedly show Planned Parenthood executives participating in the sales of aborted baby body parts.

Under Yoest's leadership, Americans United for Life backed many pro-life state bills, including a measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and a bill that would require women seeking abortions to undergo a sonogram.

Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) said that Yoest's appointment demonstrates the Trump administration's dedication to the pro-life cause.

Yoest said in a tweet that she is honored to serve Trump and HHS Secretary Tom Price in her role as the department's new assistant secretary of public affairs.