Unlimited War Against Women Thread

[Adios]

Part of me is really happy I live in a state where this shit isn't going to fly.


...And part of is afraid to see what could happen on a national level.

Makes me wonder if birth control isn't next.

They're already starting to crack down on "preventative" care.

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=02&year=2011&base_name=republicans_war_on_women

Ex-post?  My nannywall blocks anything with "blog" in it.

Yesterday, news broke that the GOP-controlled Congress, rather than waste their time trying to keep Title X family-planning funds from going to Planned Parenthood, will go ahead and just eliminate family-planning funding across the board. In a draft of a continuing resolution to fund the government for the rest of fiscal year 2011, the House Appropriations Committee will suggest today cutting all money to Title X, which provides basic preventative care and education to millions of women in over 4,000 of clinics across the country.

First, this is really bad policy. They may save $327 million today, but taxpayers will lose much more than that in the long run because every dollar put into family-planning saves the country about $4 in expenses down the road (treating cancer that went undetected or medical care for a pregnancy that never would have happened are way more expensive than a breast exam and a condom). At the very least, this is what the government should do: Shore up the inequality in our society by making sure everyone receives basic care.

Mother Jones' Nick Baumann sees this as an attack on Planned Parenthood and abortion coverage in general. I think that's accurate, but it's not the whole story. There's a difference between Mike Pence's bill to stop Title X funding going to Planned Parenthood and eliminating Title X altogether. It's not a substantive difference, though; it's rhetorical. Pence defended his plan to defund Planned Parenthood by repeating how much he likes cancer screenings but hates abortions. As of today, Republicans have little interest in toeing that line. It's probably a more honest take anyway: We don't want the government to provide any care to poor women. They won't frame it quite like that, but if the Republican Party actually wanted to provide preventative care for women, this wouldn't be on the table.

The politics of this are pretty interesting. On the one hand, providing preventative care has enormous support in opinion polling, like this poll showing 86 percent of voters support Title X. Title X is also essential to the growing new base of the Democratic Party, unmarried women, young Americans, and minorities. An attack on family planning on poor women would not affect nearly the number of Republican voters as it would Democratic voters. If Democrats fight Republicans on family planning, Republicans can probably score points with their base by tying in the abortion issue. If Democrats don't put up a fight, then it's a double win for Republicans: Not only do they no longer have to help poor women, they also benefit from Democrats having alienated a large number of their base supporters.

I also think this is a trap, so that Democrats will bargain away family-planning funding to Planned Parenthood in an effort to save Title X. So rather than get Pence's bill through the Senate, a pretty impossible task, they distract Democrats by threatening to throw all poor women under the bus. It's a good strategy; Democrats will be so grateful to keep Title X, they'll be happy to cut off the millions of women who get basic care at Planned Parenthood every year.

As fellow TAPPED blogger Jamelle Bouie discussed yesterday, Democrats take the pro-choice vote for granted but give them little in return. For decades, they have decided to compromise and back down rather than fight back. It's not a history that inspires confidence that Democrats will stand up for women's health today. The effort itself speaks to just how far Democrats are willing to go to compromise on women's health, and Republicans sense it. From Republicans' perspective, it's worth a try. They may come across as monsters today, but if they are successful, the democrats and Obama will go down as monsters in the end.

[Adios]

It's pandering, and nothing more.  SCOTUS has already ruled on this, so amendment IX and article VI make the law worthless.  It'll cost the state a bundle in court, and lose.

Arizona is doing the same thing with other issues.  It's nothing more than Bobby Franklin establishing his "conservative credentials" at the cost of a few dozen millions of tax dollars, in a state already strapped by debt.

Read lines 63 through 97.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

It's pandering, and nothing more.  SCOTUS has already ruled on this, so amendment IX and article VI make the law worthless.  It'll cost the state a bundle in court, and lose.

Arizona is doing the same thing with other issues.  It's nothing more than Bobby Franklin establishing his "conservative credentials" at the cost of a few dozen millions of tax dollars, in a state already strapped by debt.

Read lines 63 through 97.

He knows damn well that it's a 9th amendment issue, and thus article VI applies.  Again, more grandstanding.  63-97 is there to make the hillbillies happy.

[Adios]

It's pandering, and nothing more.  SCOTUS has already ruled on this, so amendment IX and article VI make the law worthless.  It'll cost the state a bundle in court, and lose.

Arizona is doing the same thing with other issues.  It's nothing more than Bobby Franklin establishing his "conservative credentials" at the cost of a few dozen millions of tax dollars, in a state already strapped by debt.

Read lines 63 through 97.

He knows damn well that it's a 9th amendment issue, and thus article VI applies.  Again, more grandstanding.  63-97 is there to make the hillbillies happy.

It will have to be explained to them, I doubt if they will even read any of it.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

It's pandering, and nothing more.  SCOTUS has already ruled on this, so amendment IX and article VI make the law worthless.  It'll cost the state a bundle in court, and lose.

Arizona is doing the same thing with other issues.  It's nothing more than Bobby Franklin establishing his "conservative credentials" at the cost of a few dozen millions of tax dollars, in a state already strapped by debt.

Read lines 63 through 97.

He knows damn well that it's a 9th amendment issue, and thus article VI applies.  Again, more grandstanding.  63-97 is there to make the hillbillies happy.

It will have to be explained to them, I doubt if they will even read any of it.

That's what Hannity, Beck, and Limbaugh are for.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Rant suitable for mailing to democratic party congressmen to follow.   

[Suu]

Sorry for the double post. Didn't see that Charley got to it first.

[Jenne]

Next up:  after the side-by-side analysis of Talib vs. Conservative Values^TM legislative moves, we need to see, by statistics, how many Republican congresspeople have had abortions, paid for abortions and have girlfriends/wives/mistresses who've had abortions (paid for by said Republican Congresspeople).

You know, for the added lail.

[Cain]

Cram, we need some Adam Weishaupt action.

I want to draft up an article that says the Republicans want to pass a bill to end women's suffrage so they can't vote against their anti-abortion agendas.

Pretty sure Ann Coulter already argued that in her usual serious/professional troll manner.

What would be better would be to argue that current Republicans are actually radical feminists, in the vein of "Sarah Palin is a feminist" meme.  Use Insane Troll Logic to prove denying women a choice is in fact empowering them via self-responsibility or some shit.

[Jenne]

So where's the bastion of Old Guard GOP'ers that are usually talking out of the corners of their mouths like a la the 1960's Burgess Meredith rendition of The Penguin about the "rabble" that has run amok from the extreme Right Side of things?  I'm talking Cheney, Frome, and Will...where IS DEY?


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Demmed bad idea to let those dogs out of their cages!  weh weh weh weh

[Kai]

http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/georgia-rep-investigate-miscarriage/

The latest dipshit Republican.

Do we need to have a full investigation when a woman miscarries to ensure she did not actually purposefully induce an abortion?  If you're Bobby Franklin, a Georgia Representative, your answer would be "yes."

Via JoeMyGod:
Not only does whackadoodle Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin want abortion classified as murder, according to his latest bill, the police will have to investigate all miscarriages to ensure that they were "spontaneous." Here's the complete bill. Via Daily Kos:

Franklin wants to create a Uterus Police to investigate miscarriages, and requires that any time a miscarriage occurs, whether in a hospital or without medical assistance, it must be reported and a fetal death certificate issued. If the cause of death is unknown, it must be investigated. If the woman can't tell how it happened, than those Uterus Police can ask family members and friends how it happened. Hospitals are required to keep records of anyone who has a spontaneous abortion and report it. Yup, we've been waiting for someone to suggest this--and Franklin has. Needless to say, there are no exceptions allowed. Not for rape victims. Not for incest victims. Not to save the life and health of the mother (the fetus must get equal care).

One in three pregnancies end in miscarriage. As a woman who miscarried in the fall of 2009, I cannot tell you how utterly disgusted by the thought that someone would even consider proposing such a bill.  Many women after miscarriage already blame themselves, wondering if they had done something wrong that accidentally caused them to lose a very wanted child.  

This bill would treat every woman as a potential criminal at a time when they are already at their most emotionally vulnerable.  But that's just another day in the war against women for the country's Republican party.

Yes, yes we do. In ADDITION, we need a political investigation every time a man ejaculates. We need voyers in the bedroom of every couple calculating ovulation and sperm health, we need a camera in every mens bathroom making sure no masturbation and precious loss of life potentia occurs. After all, if we're ALL about equality of the sexes here, don't men deserve a bit more observation, I mean, aren't the preborn dependant on their imput as well? Isn't it just hypocritical to forget their contribution? That sperm doesn't belong to him, it belongs to AMERICA, and America's future workers. His testes belong to the Government, and as Government property we can deem him irresponsible and take them away.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/georgia-rep-investigate-miscarriage/

The latest dipshit Republican.

Do we need to have a full investigation when a woman miscarries to ensure she did not actually purposefully induce an abortion?  If you're Bobby Franklin, a Georgia Representative, your answer would be "yes."

Via JoeMyGod:
Not only does whackadoodle Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin want abortion classified as murder, according to his latest bill, the police will have to investigate all miscarriages to ensure that they were "spontaneous." Here's the complete bill. Via Daily Kos:

Franklin wants to create a Uterus Police to investigate miscarriages, and requires that any time a miscarriage occurs, whether in a hospital or without medical assistance, it must be reported and a fetal death certificate issued. If the cause of death is unknown, it must be investigated. If the woman can't tell how it happened, than those Uterus Police can ask family members and friends how it happened. Hospitals are required to keep records of anyone who has a spontaneous abortion and report it. Yup, we've been waiting for someone to suggest this--and Franklin has. Needless to say, there are no exceptions allowed. Not for rape victims. Not for incest victims. Not to save the life and health of the mother (the fetus must get equal care).

One in three pregnancies end in miscarriage. As a woman who miscarried in the fall of 2009, I cannot tell you how utterly disgusted by the thought that someone would even consider proposing such a bill.  Many women after miscarriage already blame themselves, wondering if they had done something wrong that accidentally caused them to lose a very wanted child.  

This bill would treat every woman as a potential criminal at a time when they are already at their most emotionally vulnerable.  But that's just another day in the war against women for the country's Republican party.

Yes, yes we do. In ADDITION, we need a political investigation every time a man ejaculates. We need voyers in the bedroom of every couple calculating ovulation and sperm health, we need a camera in every mens bathroom making sure no masturbation and precious loss of life potentia occurs. After all, if we're ALL about equality of the sexes here, don't men deserve a bit more observation, I mean, aren't the preborn dependant on their imput as well? Isn't it just hypocritical to forget their contribution? That sperm doesn't belong to him, it belongs to AMERICA, and America's future workers. His testes belong to the Government, and as Government property we can deem him irresponsible and take them away.

FUTURE SOLDIERS!  WASTED!

[Suu]

Gee whiz, I just crack myself up.

[Juana]

Did he really just blame women for steering a ship into the hands of pirates?

McCollum blasts GOP plan to defund women's health services

"Dumb." That's how Rep. Betty McCollum characterized proposed cuts to federal family planning funding and a Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood. At a St. Paul Planned Parenthood clinic Thursday, she also noted that Republicans refused to cut Pentagon funding for NASCAR, but remain adamant about cuts she says could have devastating effects for Minnesota women and children.

Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota president Sarah Stoesz introduced McCollum at the press event.

"It's a challenging time for women's health and for all of us who care about women in this country," she said. "We've been under quite an attack," referencing conservative bloggers' campaign against the health care nonprofit as well as congressional actions to bar federal funds from going to its clinics.

"We do provide abortion services — that's true we do — it's about 5 percent of what we do, but primarily what we do is protect the lives and health of women," she said.

To underscore that point, a clinic patient told the story of her sister, who lives in rural Minnesota near Mankato and whose life she says was saved by the health care group.

"Planned Parenthood is the reason my sister's cervical cancer was found early and treated successfully," she said. "My sister's story has a very happy ending because of Planned Parenthood."

GOP budget cuts in the U.S. House would eliminate federal Title X funding, a part of which helps support cancer screenings at clinics such as Planned Parenhood's.

"Who would have though that we would have to be concerned about women's reproductive rights, women's rights in 2011 in America," she said.

She said that the proposed cuts and calls to defund Planned Parenthood involve debates over abortion, but the services of Planned Parenthood are much broader.

"Yes, there are needed at times — it should be extremely rare and in a moment of difficult emotional crisis for women — to look at having an abortion, but that's 5 percent of what Planned Parenthood does," said McCollum.

"Ninety-five percent of what Planned Parenthood does is the first line of defense in women's reproductive health and total overall health," she added.

She continued, "We can make smart cuts or we can make dumb cuts — and cutting Title X is a dumb cut."

In the Republicans' proposed budget, Title X funding would be completely slashed from the federal budget, and those funds are used for health care screenings for women and birth control services. Under federal law, the funds cannot go to abortion services.

Republicans targeting WIC as well

The GOP is also proposing cuts to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program.

"We heard defense spending was off the table, that we could not cut defense spending, but what the House decided we needed were two different engines for one piece of military equipment and that we had to protect the military's ability to purchase decals for NASCARs," she said.

"I think there's room to cut in the Pentagon. There should be room for children, and women who are expecting, to have access to basic nutrition in the United States of America."

McCollum has been a major force in trying to cut NASCAR funding from the federal budget, a cause that resulted in death threats being sent to her office.

"And they are talking about more cuts," she continued, adding that a government shutdown is looming. "No more of these stupid, dumb cuts that are going to hurt women, hurt families, and hurt communities. It's so foolish to even talk about cutting nutrition for women who are either nursing or preparing to deliver a child."

McCollum, who recently visited Yemen where citizens are calling for Democratic reforms and more rights for women, said she spoke with people who were surprised by Republicans' plans to cut programs for women and children.

"When they pick up the paper and read that we are cutting it off, they said, 'This isn't the America we know,'" she said.

Ultimately, she said that the majority of Americans support Title X programs — even Republicans.

"There are a lot of Republicans and independents that support access to mammographies, cervical cancer screenings and ensuring families can plan by having access to birth control," she said.

"We can't let a small group of people hold us hostage on the way forward in the United States."

I'm starting to love this decade. And they're funding NASCAR? How the fuck did I miss this?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

They're cutting funding for WIC.