Abortion has been legal for 42 years and isn’t funded by federal dollars, so WTF Republican Congress?
Ah yes, the old, tired “do what I want or I’ll shut the government down” strategy from the Republican party that gets aired out during budget time has reared its ugly head just in time for this year’s budget talks.
Sen. Ted Cruz is on another mission to destroy Planned Parenthood, and if Senate Democrats don’t agree to a budget that defunds the women’s health care clinic, he plans another showdown where he and his goons hold the government hostage to force the Senate’s hand. What is even more stupid, Obama would never sign off on a budget that strips funding for Planned Parenthood, so WTF?
Cruz’s petition says:
The news Planned Parenthood is possibly selling the body parts of the babies it has aborted is sickening.
Congress should renew efforts to fully defund Planned Parenthood to ensure its morally bankrupt business receives not one penny of taxpayer money.
In 2013, Texas Senator Ted Cruz shut down the government trying to defund Obamacare, and obviously that was unsuccessful. In 2014, Homeland Security funding was held hostage, and didn’t lead to a shut down, but was threatened by Republican Congress over disagreements on new Immigration policy from the Obama administration.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) is not having it.
In fact, Senator Warren traveled all the way from the east coast to Texas just to deliver this message:
We will not let Ted Cruz shut down this government over Planned Parenthood! He wants a fight over Planned Parenthood? My answer is, ‘Bring it on, Ted!’
It’s another fool move by Sen. Cruz and Senate Republicans. A poll by CNN/ORC found that seven out of 10 Americans would prefer a budget agreement rather than a government shutdown and 22 percent of people who would like to see Planned Parenthood stripped of its funding. Some people just like to watch the world burn.
Destroying Planned Parenthood is the trendy pole star for Republicans after videos released by an anti-choice group showed Planned Parenthood bigwigs speaking frankly about fetal tissue donation, as well as several videos showing in graphic detail what happens to a fetus when its aborted. The right-wing voter base, outraged by the heavily edited, graphic videos, are calling on their politicians to end Planned Parenthood once and for all. Republican candidates running for President have been criticizing the women’s clinic nearly non-stop since the videos were released.
Considering only three percent of Planned Parenthood’s services are abortion-related, the other 97 percent of their budget goes towards women’s health care, as well as STD screening for men. Also important to note, it has been illegal to spend federal dollars on abortion since 1976 per the Hyde Amendment, Republicans are really only limiting funding to low-income women for services like breast cancer screening, pap smears and contraceptive education, forgetting once again, that WOMEN VOTE TOO.
But if Sen. Warren has anything to say about it, holding the government hostage to screw women over isn’t going to fly and it’s something women will remember come election time.
Featured Image via Flickr/Tim Pierce
