Deep thinker Mike Pence’s amendment banning federal funding for Planned Parenthood has passed the House, 245-180.
This cuts $363 million that would otherwise pay for the full range of family planning services Planned Parenthood provides.
That would be this operation:
Our skilled health care professionals are dedicated to offering men, women, and teens high-quality, affordable medical care. One in five American women has chosen Planned Parenthood for health care at least once in her life.
The heart of Planned Parenthood is in the local community. Our 85 unique, locally governed affiliates nationwide operate more than 820 health centers, which reflect the diverse needs of their communities.
These health centers provide a wide range of safe, reliable health care — and more than 90 percent is preventive, primary care, which helps prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers. Caring physicians, nurse practitioners, and other staff take time to talk with clients, encouraging them to ask questions in an environment that millions have grown to trust.
….
Planned Parenthood is a respected leader in educating Americans about reproductive and sexual health. We deliver comprehensive and medically accurate information that empowers women, men, teens, and families to make informed choices and lead healthy lives. Planned Parenthood is proud of its vital role in providing young people with honest sexuality and relationship information in classrooms and online to help reduce our nation’s alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. More than 1.2 million youths and adults participate in Planned Parenthood educational programs every year.
It is certainly true that Planned Parenthood provides abortion services, none of which are paid for by federal tax dollars.* Mostly, though, this is what it does:
In 2008, they reported that contraception constituted 35% of total services, STI/STD testing and treatment constituted 34%, cancer testing and screening constituted 17%; and other women’s health procedures, including pregnancy, prenatal, midlife, and infertility were 10%. According to Planned Parenthood less than 2% of visits involve abortions.
So, in essence, the House GOP has decided that in order to prevent federal tax dollars from paying for abortions they already don’t pay for, they are willing to see more — many more — Americans suffer sexually transmitted infections, die of cancer, endure untreated complications of pregnancy, menopause and the inability to bear longed-for children. Say that again: to prevent any federal dollar from passing in close proximity to a private one that paid for an abortion, GOP religious zealots are willing to make it harder for infertile couples to bear children.
Why, I ask, do the modern Republican party and all those self-styled “conservative” radicals hate women — and America — so very, very much.
*Except, possibly, in cases where the abortion is necessitated by an act of rape or incest.
Image: attributed to Albrecht Dürer, Syphilis, 1496.
MattR
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California during the debate over this:
(EDIT: Yet I am confident that Rep Smith feels absolutely no shame or remorse.)
sacman701
That provision probably won’t get through the Senate. I suspect that at least 4 Republican senators (Snowe, Collins, Brown, Murkowski) wouldn’t go for it, which would likely make up for any Democratic defections.
RalfW
Satanic possession. I didn’t believe, but now the 2011 GOP national and state legislative priorities pretty much confirm it.
kdaug
The same strain that burned them at the stake and practiced “dunking”.
Always been here.
Fail to learn from history, and all that.
Jules
I’m just so fucking tired of this shit.
Can’t these assholes just leave us alone?
And I’m not just talking about women. I’m talking about all of us who need affordable options for health care.
I understand that a lot of these bastards have never had to (or it has been a long, long time) worry about getting into a Doctor’s office let alone being able to afford the visit but the least they could do is just leave the options that are available to the rest of us alone.
I’m 48 and have used PP over the years for tons of reasons even when I’ve had insurance.
piratedan
so are we keeping score…..
first three bills out of the house, sham healthacre repeal, redundant abortion provision and son of redundant abortion provision for which there are still no federal monies for abortion, ad nauseum. Then we get Planned parenthood for wild horses, unplanned parenthood for women.
so much for the focus on jobs, jobs and jobs…
Pangloss
A pox on their house.
OG
The Wisconsin attack is more of the same. Teachers and social workers included. Cops and firemen are excluded.
The burden will fall more heavily on women.
The Dangerman
@piratedan:
Well, to be fair, there was that brief period of focusing on jobs during the Clinton era.
Tom Levenson
@piratedan: This. We need to keep hammering this home in our conversations with folks in the muddled middle.
I know that there is good reason to believe that the bad guys have politics and power sewn up…but the experience of the MA election last year, in which Deval Patrick was a goner until he was a solid victor, was based on a campaign that had lots of people talk directly to fellow voters. It made a huge difference; now we need to go national.
And the argument that the GOP is interested in everything but the economic needs — the desperate ones — of the overwhelming majority of Americans is one that works.
jharp
This really pissed me off. I have already phoned my Congressman.
So with our jobs crises, billion stolen by the banks and Wall Street, and $ 3 trillion pissed away in a war…
… the solution is to cut the funding for health care for poor people to save 363 million. Money spent on preventative care that will SAVE us money down the road.
Goddamn our fucking country is stupid. Americans are the dumbest fucking people on the planet.
Davis X. Machina
At this point, it’s not just indifference to strangers.
There are approximately 40 million voters in this country who don’t care if they’re unemployed.
They don’t care if they’re unensured. They don’t care if they’re killed on the way to work when a bridge collapses.
They don’t care if their e-coli ridden supper kills them or their family
They don’t care if their children go hungry.
We’ve reached the Masada stage of our cold Civil War 2.0.
If they do die, or members of their family die, hey, it’s better than living in our Islamo-Kenyan, socialist, baby-killing hell on earth, where even the freedom to burn incandescent light bulbs and worship as we wish have been taken from us.
Madness.
Violet
I want to propose than any man who votes on anything concerning women’s reproductive organs must be rendered sterile first. Preferably by castration. If that hasn’t happened, they don’t get a vote.
I suppose I’m not participating in the new civility.
Sly
@Jules:
No.
It all makes sense once you realize that every SoCon imagines themselves to be Lot on the night before God zaps Sodom and Gamorrah.
Lurker
I think part of the problem is misinformation on the part of voters. After seeing protests outside of Planned Parenthood clinics on the news in the 90’s, I came away with the mistaken impression that Planned Parenthood *only* provided abortion services. Years later a friend told me about Planned Parenthood’s OB-GYN/contraceptive services and how Planned Parenthood charged based on the patient’s income.
Years after that, I shared that information with a twentysomething friend. She was surprised, because she also thought Planned Parenthood only provided abortion services.
I think ignorance like this paints Planned Parenthood in voters’ minds as an abortion issue instead of a health service issue.
JCJ
When I was in medical school we could help at Planned Parenthood. Every case I saw was either health maintenance (pap smears, blood pressure checks) or birth control with appropriate counselling. These people (GOP) disgust me.
Silver Owl
Unless you’re a rich white conservative man wanting your dick sucked for money republicans hate you.
MattR
@Lurker:
For Republican politicians this is a highly sought after feature and not a bug.
Violet
@Lurker:
If that’s what you thought, then the wingnuts have done their job. They didn’t want you to know about Planned Parenthood’s other services. They wanted to associated Planned Parenthood and abortion in the minds of pretty much everyone so when we got to this point people would think “Planned Parenthood, abortion, shut them down”. Looks like that worked.
geg6
@Violet:
I’m with you, baby. In fact, I volunteer to be the mohel, so to speak. I promise, my knives are dull, dull, dull.
plus C
I’m not generally one to look on the bright side of things, but when they keep passing idiotic bills like this that won’t pass the Senate, they placate their base but don’t accomplish anything.
If they made any attempt at subtlety and tried to sneak in more and more red tape to defund them, they could get their bills through the Senate. But as much the Dems like to cave, they still won’t be voting for a “Beat up Democrats and take their lunch money” bill.
piratedan
@Tom Levenson: Hell Tom, I’d be happy to see ONE freaking national network focus on it outside of MSNBC. Why in the hell is the national media completely ignoring what is happening in the House? They were trailing along like puppies noting the campaign promises weren’t they? Big emphasis on Republicans were gonna change their ways, yada yada yada…If the President had been this “off message” Rush Limbaugh would have exploded and Sean Hannity would have been hospitalized due to excessive smirkiness. ABC, CNN, CBS, and NBC, fucking crickets chirping.
paradox
@The Dangerman: Thank you. Obama sat on his ass for a 9% unemployment rate and we got the shit beat out of us.
Jobs, jobs, jobs. That North Korean free trade agreement will create so many, I’m sure.
beltane
@RalfW: Maybe it’s not Satanic possession. Maybe it’s just that congenital syphilis has embedded itself in the Republican DNA.
Tom Levenson
@piratedan: Me too. But the fact remains that especially with the increase in media noise, the single most effective voter contact is face to face by a neighbor/peer. The more we can do, the better off we are.
El Cid
Why are the Taliban our enemies?
kdaug
@Tom Levenson:
The second-most, apparently, is to refer them to the Balloon Juice comment section.
Tom Levenson
@kdaug: Softly, softly there. After all, we are a snarling mass of vitriolic jackals, are we not?
David Hunt
I think the answer is the similar for both groups. They’re getting “uppity” and starting to operate under the illusion that they can stand up their their betters.
There is, however, a caveat. They don’t hate all women or all Americans. They don’t hate the rich white Christian ones from either group.
kdaug
@Tom Levenson: Guilty as charged. But sometimes the ones thrown to the lions deserve it.
Syphon
This isn’t a war on women or families any longer.
This is now a full-fledged war on America.
cat48
Defunded Healthcare & stripped EPA of regulating powers, too, per HuffHo, the new Rethuglican rag.
Lolis
over at blackwaterdog there is some good news for women’s reproductive rights
bemused
Stupid white guys who don’t have a clue how their own bodies function have the audacity to tell us women how to manage ours. There are many, many men, not all but some of the smartest guys I know who really don’t pay attention to their bodies, health-wise and tend to avoid going to see a doctor until they finally have a health issue they have to address. And these boneheads want to be in charge of our lives! It’s the ultimate insult.
The legislators who are doctors and should know better are just evil pricks.
Splitting Image
So abortion is the new foreign aid?
Or is foreign aid the new abortion?
Violet
@geg6:
Perhaps we could start a trend/theme? “You can vote on my reproductive organs when I get to vote on yours.” I’ve got a couple of dull knives in my kitchen. I’ll bring those along.
Maude
This sets the table to shut down the government. The Repubs know this budget won’t make it.
Yutsano
@Maude: In other words WAI. And they’ll find a way to blame it all on the Democrats. Watch and see if a continuing resolution makes it out of the House. That will be the big tell if Boehner is bluffing.
Silver Owl
@bemused:
Yeah, I’m not too keen on listening to men who refuse to take care of themselves. Suicide is manly in their eyes.
What also bothers me is if you don’t want even want to hear or know about a woman’s monthly cycle you’re too ignorant to even be involved in any health issue that impacts women.
Fitzwili
This should put rest to the notion that there is no difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. Democrats aren’t perfect but most of them are not resolutely determined, come hell or high water, to inflict as much harm on the poor, women, the middle class and minorities as possible.
Dave
One day we can all tell our grandkids about the Great Government Shutdown of 2011 and how it happened because a bunch of white men were scared of women making their own decision when it came to their vagina.
Fuck the GOP. And Heath Schuler, that noodle-armed stiff.
PurpleGirl
@Lurker: The rethugs don’t care about the health issues… they have their health care and their women do too, so who cares about poor and working class women.
RedKitten
That would make a VERY nifty bumper sticker.
Martin
Well, I’m of mixed opinion in this specific situation. Planned Parenthood is a fantastic organization, but the balkanization of the health care budget is part of why health care costs are high. PPACA provides for funding for clinics that should be able to replace these services, which would be a reasonable trade-off if it wasn’t for the fact that the GOP wants to defund those as well. Their position would be tolerable if they were simply indicating a shift of funding from PP to PPACA clinics, but they seem to want to kill everything off, which from a cost perspective is going to massively backfire.
jamey
But…but, the Bible already does all of that for free.
PurpleGirl
@RedKitten: Hey, long time no comment. How are you? How’s Sam Kitten? Any new pictures of his cuteness?
South of I-10
I went to Planned Parenthood when I was in college for my cheap birth control. If they really gave a crap about abortion they would double Planned Parenthood’s funding.
shortstop
@sacman701: And you know what? They’ll get a lot of praise for their “moderate” stance, but screw Collins, Snowe and Murkowski. They can’t vote for any goddamned policy that they can’t connect to their own lives with a bright line visible from space. It would be nice if Snowe, Collins and Murkowski supported not just choice, but also the basic rights, dignity and minimal welfare of all Americans, including people who have had and are having horrific experiences with which these three cannot personally identify.
I am so, so, so sick of the GOP’s inability to ever step outside of its own overvalued shoes.
MagicPanda
Remember that the far, far right doesn’t like contraception either.
Abstinence only, baby!
shortstop
@RedKitten: Absolutely.
shortstop
@MagicPanda: More like “‘Abstinence’ only = baby.”
BDeevDad
More continuation of Republicans caring about thoughts more than reality with Bachmann and Palin going after Michele Obama for promoting breast feeding and making breast pumps tax deductible medical equipment.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@piratedan:
It’s a feature, not bug. No failure or insanity of any kind coming out of the GOP controlled House will be reported in the national news. Zilch, nothing, nada. And as a bonus, after two years of reporting every cloture vote in the Senate as “Dems fail to pass bill X” (footnote: by a 58 to 42 margin), the news media will now report every bill in the Senate as “blocked by the Dems” or, “Dems vote down the Sunshine and Puppies Act”. Republican failure to obtain cloture, much less a majority of votes, will never be mentioned. Because the GOP can never fail, they can only be failed.
Face it: from now thru 2012 (and most likely beyond) everything good that happens in America will be due to GOP control of the House, and everything bad that happens will be the fault of Obama and the Dems in the Senate. Period, end of story.
Dave
@BDeevDad: It wasn’t even that. It was Michelle reminding women that breast pumps already ARE tax-deductible medical equipment. Palin and Bachmann came out against Michelle Obama for promoting a tax deduction. That’s how fucked up the GOP is.
Karen
Why don’t all these Republicans just make it against the law to be poor or be women or be in a union or being connected to the medical community in any way or not be white and Christian and impose the death penalty on all of them? It would be so much easier and even kinder than this little death that’s being imposed,piece by piece.
The only reason I didn’t include it being illegal to not be straight in that suggestion is because the Republicans have already done it. >_<
burnspbesq
@violet:
“I want to propose than any man who votes on anything concerning women’s reproductive organs must be rendered sterile first. Preferably by castration. If that hasn’t happened, they don’t get a vote.”
Sorry, but NFW. Which part of “if I pay taxes, I get to participate in the discussion about how my money is spent” are you struggling to understand?
Maude
@Yutsano:
Let’s watch this and see if the Republicans stay together on this. Boehner hasn’t been a Speaker to write home about.
BDeevDad
@Dave: They were only ruled tax deductible last week, but your point stands, they’re fucked up.
MagicPanda
@shortstop: Ha ha!
Violet
@burnspbesq:
Are you an elected official? If not, then you’re not voting on something concerning women’s reproductive organs. You may be voting for people who do vote on that issue, but you’re not voting on it yourself.
shortstop
@burnspbesq: I’m down with that.
Now, why don’t you tell us whether you think your taxes shouldn’t be going to support contraception, STD treatment and help with infertility?
shortstop
@MagicPanda: And the oldie but goodie:
Q: What do you call people who practice the rhythm method?
A: Parents.
Less apropos nowadays since technology ironically makes it easier to monitor ovulation (which certainly violates the spirit if not the letter of eschewing contraception), but still funny.
RedKitten
@PurpleGirl: SamKitten is delightful as always. Yesterday we had a very brief respite from the snow and cold, so I took him outside to teach him how to stomp in puddles. He was delighted — he looked like a tiny James Brown, stamping and spinning around. He’s sprouting 4 brand-new teeth, so we’ve just come off of a period of sleeping hell, but all seems to have settled back to normal in the last few days.
No extremely recent photos, but this one was taken around Christmastime, so it gives you an idea as to how much he’s grown.
shortstop
@RedKitten: I don’t know you or Sam, RK, so my opinion that that is one of the cutest kids of all time is totally unbiased.
trollhattan
@MattR:
Anybody looking for a political hero need look no further than Rep. Speier. An exceptionally gutsy lady.
As to the current Republican rabble, you’re in the process of losing yet another sentient generation of voters. Stoopid begets stoopid.
Fuck U III: The Duck Fucks Back
No dice, ladies as a an entitled, ivy-trained, white, male, catholic 2-percenter, Burns knows better than you about everything, including how great pedophiles are.
Yutsano
@trollhattan: They’re just getting what they voted for, and they’re getting it good and hard. The best part is Walker and Christie and their ilk are just getting started.
piratedan
@MagicPanda: well excepting married Republican Senators, then it’s Thundercats Are Go!
Just Some Fuckhead
There once was millions of dollars
Denied to abortion providers
When asked of this deed
Republicans dismissed the need:
Asking, how much can one coathanger cost her?
burnspbesq
@shortstop:
Gratuitously insulting people who are on your side generally doesn’t help advance your cause.
If you knew where over $30K of my billable hours have gone, pro bono, in the last month, you wouldn’t be asking that question. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you where, because of attorney-client privilege.
Does that tell you what you need to know, or do I have to dumb it down?
burnspbesq
@Fuck U III: The Duck Fucks Back:
Someday you’ll say something intelligent on this blog. Alas, today is not that day.
suzanne
@RedKitten: Oh my God, he is so insanely gorgeous.
There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said already, and, quite frankly, I’m a bit too emotionally tired today to deal with this, but fuck these people. All of them. With a sharp and germ-ridden implement.
Yutsano
@RedKitten: I’m telling you, start blegging for the hockey equipment expenses now. By the time he’s 5 his generous American (and other nationalities) aunts and uncles will have him in the finest gear this side of Gretzkyville.
shortstop
@burnspbesq: Dude, you protest too much. Having seen more than a few of your religious snits around here, I really had no idea whether you support contraception or artificially assisted infertility. You could have just told me to mind my own business (I would’ve), but I figured you’d snap at the chance to take dramatic umbrage and huffily toot your own horn.
(Now that was insulting you. You never pick your battles.)
shortstop
@Fuck U III: The Duck Fucks Back: Out of bounds on the “how great pedophiles are” bit. More accurate to say he hysterically attempts a redirect whenever the topic of priestly sexual abuse comes up.
Other than that, your list is pretty complete, but you forgot “long in the tooth.” Besides his style of expression, the handy giveaway is that he furiously denounces prejudice against older people. He simply doesn’t do that for any group or demographic of which he’s not a member.
Svensker
@burnspbesq:
Burns, your snarkasm radar is way off and your skin is thin — been using cortisone, or summpin? Relax, already.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Karen:
Because they enjoy demonizing these people and killing them would deprive them of their right to get their hate on. That and they need them as low-cost, low-paid laborers to mow their yards, fix their cars, build their mansions, clean their mansions. That’s why they want to stop all abortion.
So they will have an endless supply of people who they can hate, despise, oppress, scapegoat and clean their toilets.
PurpleGirl
@RedKitten: Oh my, yes, he’s getting big. Still cute. It sounds like he had a lot fun.
Jay C
@burnspbesq:
Nice sentiments, burns; but in fact you aren’t “participat[ing] in the discussion” with comments like this, but are, AFAICT, deflecting the “discussion” off the subject (which is whether or not, and/or to what level, the Federal Government ought to support Planned Parenthood) in favor of flaming other posters, and topping it off with self-satisfied crowing about your pro bono work; conveniently “privileged” so the rest of have no idea whatsoever what is is you may be doing. If said work IS based on ideological or issue-related convictions (of any sort), then make an argument on those grounds – otherwise you’re just trolling.
RedKitten
@Yutsano:
They’ll probably revoke my citizenship for saying this, but I’m actually hoping that he doesn’t wind up being super-keen on hockey. I have no problems with him having enough gear and skills for some pickup games at the local rink, but one of my husband’s coworkers has two kids in organized hockey, and they are just run ragged (and broke) by the relentless schedule of practices, games and tournaments.
Blegging for his college fund, on the other hand… ;)
MattR
@RedKitten: When exactly was he born? According to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, the closer his birth date is to the start of the year the better his chances to be selected for the various all-star/travelling teams.
EDIT: Although looking at how big he has gotten, he might be the exception to the rule :)
RedKitten
He was an August baby, so yeah, we might be looking at exceptions. And yes, he is huge. Not fat, just built like the proverbial brick shithouse. I think he’s going to be a large lad, when all is said and done. He’s already just a couple of inches shy of three feet tall, and is only 18 months old.
Just Some Fuckhead
We had to take the girl to a school function this evening and I asked her, Why can’t you be more like me and your mother were and never ever participate in any school-related activities?
She rolled her eyes at me and said, you mean all the stuff you guys are pushing me into, like the languages academy and track and stuff?
Two more months until she can drive herself to the stuff we make her do..
asiangrrlMN
@Violet: I said this awhile back, and I doubly enforce it now. “You can vote on my reproductive choices when I can vote on yours.” I will bring my trusty rusty pitchfork along as we go to Washington. I am so goddamn fucking sick of this bullshit.
@burnspbesq: It’s not always about you, Burns, and this isn’t. Fucking save your high dudgeon for when it is about you.
LosGatosCA
I don’t think Republicans despise women. They hate pretty much everyone who is not them, their immediate family or very close friends.
And the hating, for them, feels good. Nothing like being nasty to make small people feel big.
mclaren
Of course the GOP’s assault on women is frenzied and relentless, but then again, remember: 9 out of 10 participants in gang rape enjoy the experience.
An object lesson in why “majority rule” is not necessarily always the best policy.
Tehanu
@burnspbesq:
Which part of “if I pay taxes, I get to participate in the discussion about how my money is spent” are you struggling to understand?
You’re on our side? You think you shouldn’t have to pay taxes for things you don’t like, like women’s health care, and that somehow puts you on our side? If your “pro bono” work had anything at all to do with women, abortion, contraceptives, free Pap smears, or STD screening, I’ll fall over dead with shock. I don’t want to pay taxes for jerks like you to use the public airwaves or roads, and yet somehow I keep right on letting the government take the money out of my paycheck. At the very least, Mr. Big-Shot Mouthpiece, explain to us lesser beings exactly how you validate your self-righteous belief that you have an absolute right to your money — a social construct totally dependent on the existence of a whole society agreeing that “money” is actually worth something — but women don’t have an absolute right to their own bodies. Crickets, anyone?
Matt
Don’t mourn. Organize. http://www.IStandWithPlannedParenthood.org .
(and give)