Thursday, October 1, 2015
Posted in
Health
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Life
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Politics
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As I write this, Republicans in the House of Representatives are in a lather about Planned Parenthood, the organization that gives family-planning advice and medical assistance to the poor, and which also provides abortions. They want to defund Planned Parenthood because some anti-abortion activists caught Planned Parenthood officials on a video discussing the use of fetal body parts, and doing so in a way that was businesslike and cold.
Whether or not we like abortion, this effort to defund Planned Parenthood reveals the craziness of the GOP. Their position is irrational on so many levels that it will be easier to make a list:
* Only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services are related to abortions. The remaining 97% consists of family planning advice, free birth control, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and treatment of other women's health problems (men also benefit from their services).
* None of the abortions that Planned Parenthood performs are paid for with federal funds. It has been illegal for the federal government to pay for abortions for about 40 years.
* Since no abortions are paid for with public funds, any vote by Congress to defund Planned Parenthood would be a symbolic vote against abortion. This is especially true since President Obama would veto any bill that defunded Planned Parenthood.
* Since no abortions are paid for with public funds, defunding Planned Parenthood means that the 97% of other services that they provide would be defunded. Some poor people who depend on Planned Parenthood may be able to find other medical providers, but many will not.
* Defunding Planned Parenthood's contraceptive services would result in an increase in pregnancies. That, in turn, would most likely result in an increase in abortions, which is precisely what the Republicans say they don't want.
* Defunding Planned Parenthood's medical services would result in an increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the general population, which would be bad for everyone.
* Any law that defunded Planned Parenthood would most likely be unconstitutional. Planned Parenthood is funded primarily by reimbursements for medical procedures by Medicaid. Since Planned Parenthood is not doing anything illegal, singling them out for discrimination by the government would be a violation of the "equal protection" clause of the Constitution.
* From a political standpoint, defunding Planned Parenthood would add to the GOP's reputation for being anti-women. The Democrats are already accusing the Republicans of waging a "war on women", and defunding a medical organization that treats primarily women would give credence to that idea.
* Opinion polls consistently show that a majority of Americans want Planned Parenthood to receive federal funding, so the Republicans are not doing the will of the American people. The Republicans keep claiming that they are doing the will of the people, but in actual fact the people agree with the Democrats on most issues.
It's possible to have some sympathy for the Republican view that abortion is murder, but it isn't possible to have sympathy for the insane way that the Republican party goes about fighting its fights. Shutting down the government, symbolic votes, defunding good organizations, refusing to compromise with the Democrats, ignoring the will of the people -- all of this is crazy behavior. If the day ever comes that the Republicans control all branches of government, the country will be in serious trouble. Such obsessed and immature people would make a mess of everything.
Whether or not we like abortion, this effort to defund Planned Parenthood reveals the craziness of the GOP. Their position is irrational on so many levels that it will be easier to make a list:
* Only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services are related to abortions. The remaining 97% consists of family planning advice, free birth control, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and treatment of other women's health problems (men also benefit from their services).
* None of the abortions that Planned Parenthood performs are paid for with federal funds. It has been illegal for the federal government to pay for abortions for about 40 years.
* Since no abortions are paid for with public funds, any vote by Congress to defund Planned Parenthood would be a symbolic vote against abortion. This is especially true since President Obama would veto any bill that defunded Planned Parenthood.
* Since no abortions are paid for with public funds, defunding Planned Parenthood means that the 97% of other services that they provide would be defunded. Some poor people who depend on Planned Parenthood may be able to find other medical providers, but many will not.
* Defunding Planned Parenthood's contraceptive services would result in an increase in pregnancies. That, in turn, would most likely result in an increase in abortions, which is precisely what the Republicans say they don't want.
* Defunding Planned Parenthood's medical services would result in an increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the general population, which would be bad for everyone.
* Any law that defunded Planned Parenthood would most likely be unconstitutional. Planned Parenthood is funded primarily by reimbursements for medical procedures by Medicaid. Since Planned Parenthood is not doing anything illegal, singling them out for discrimination by the government would be a violation of the "equal protection" clause of the Constitution.
* From a political standpoint, defunding Planned Parenthood would add to the GOP's reputation for being anti-women. The Democrats are already accusing the Republicans of waging a "war on women", and defunding a medical organization that treats primarily women would give credence to that idea.
* Opinion polls consistently show that a majority of Americans want Planned Parenthood to receive federal funding, so the Republicans are not doing the will of the American people. The Republicans keep claiming that they are doing the will of the people, but in actual fact the people agree with the Democrats on most issues.
It's possible to have some sympathy for the Republican view that abortion is murder, but it isn't possible to have sympathy for the insane way that the Republican party goes about fighting its fights. Shutting down the government, symbolic votes, defunding good organizations, refusing to compromise with the Democrats, ignoring the will of the people -- all of this is crazy behavior. If the day ever comes that the Republicans control all branches of government, the country will be in serious trouble. Such obsessed and immature people would make a mess of everything.
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