Wednesday in New York during a speech to the Gates Foundation, former President Barack Obama said it is “aggravating” the Republican Party is seeking to inflict “real human suffering” with their attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Obama said, “But it was better, so when I see people trying to undo that hard-won progress for the 50th or 60th time with bills that would raise costs or reduce coverage or roll back protections for older Americans or people with pre-existing conditions, the cancer survivor or the expecting mom or child with autism or asthma, for whom coverage would once again be untenable, it is aggravating. And all of this being done without any demonstrable economic or actuarial or plain common sense rationale. It frustrates—and it is certainly frustrating to have to mobilize every couple months to keep our leaders from inflicting real human suffering on our constituents.”

He added, “But typically, that’s how progress is won and how progress is maintained on every issue. We have to stand up for each other, recognize that progress is never inevitable.”

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