I never really expected to spend an inordinate amount of time writing about abortion, but I also never expected the Republicans to rush to focus on punitive, odious, and regressive reproductive rights policies right out of the midterms. You know, since there are a number of other pressing issues facing our nation, primarily among them, the ones economic in nature. But you've got to have priorities!
First there was the Rape Babies Are A Blessing From Jebus Act, then came the Protect Life By Letting Women Die Act, and the Georgia state Rape Victims Are Dirty Liar Pirate Hookers Until Proven Otherwise legislation. That's an exhausting list as it is, but not to be outdone, the GOP vagina police have now introduced the Back Alley Coat Hangar Abortions Are Totally Awesome Act, which essentially seeks to defund Planned Parenthood.
One thing I did not mention previously about HR 3 (Rape Babies Are A Blessing from Jebus), and I'm not sure if this was in the original language of the bill or added later, but it goes far beyond seeking to distinguish between rape and 'forcible rape.' It actually would deny federal funding, to include tax breaks, from ANY health plan that provides for abortions. Given that the current employer-sponsored health care system relies heavily on tax incentives in order to provide affordable premiums, this is kind of a big deal (or a big fucking deal, to keep it Biden in this context). As the link later in the HuffPost piece later in this post states, at least 87% of employer-sponsored health plans cover abortion.
Remember the 18 months of the Affordable Care Act debate, in which the Republicans had apoplexy whining and screaming about government over reach and power grabs and leaving private decisions about healthcare to private individuals? Turns out that only applies when the Democrats are proposing, by most standards, modest healthcare legislation, because they are perfectly happy in denying care and tax incentives when it comes to forcing their own moral and social agenda on others, regardless of the consequences.
So in this sea of regressive bull shit, it's good to know that our former Speaker isn't going to take it:
Women's reproductive rights are being seriously threatened by the Republican Party, according to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said she is worried that many women are complacent about the possibility that they will lose access to abortions.
"They're advancing extreme legislation," Pelosi said Thursday during a conference call with reporters. "It's dangerous to women's health, disrespects the judgment of American women -- I don't know if they even gave that a thought -- and it's the most comprehensive and radical assault on women's health in our lifetime. It's that bad." [...]
"We have to make this issue too hot to handle," said Pelosi, adding, "I would like to make the fight in the House and see where some of these Republicans are -- maybe we could win it on Title X. I can't believe that everybody who is anti a woman's right to choose is anti-birth control and contraception and family planning. But we don't know that, and we don't have any idea -- or I don't, anyway -- where the Tea Party people come down in all of this."
If the Democrats don't smell blood in the water, they ought to. Americans are overwhelmingly concerned about the economy and unemployment right now, and the GOP is preoccupied pushing a pathetic social agenda to appease their radicalized, fringe base. They need to fight these odious bills until the very end, and in the meantime, they ought to be hammering the GOP in every major media outlet for focusing on rolling back women's rights over economic relief and progress.
I am going to need a new tag for these posts at this rate.
(via Washington Monthly)
No comments:
Post a Comment