As a few serious Senators were holding a serious hearing about Russian interference in our election, Republicans were busily working on the Senate floor to defund Planned Parenthood by amending Title X to allow the government to deny funds for any reason.
They deadlocked, after giving back their debate time because they didn't actually want to go on the record defending their actions.
Because Republicans can't actually govern by introducing positive legislation, they've fallen back on using the CRA to roll back existing regulations. If they can't actually do anything, then they just undo things. So it is with this vote, which would do the following, according to the National Women's Law Center:
Do not be mistaken—these attacks, including this vote, would likely result in individuals losing access to critical family planning and preventive care provided by Title X sites, including:
- Breast exams—which were provided to over 1 million women nationally at Title X sites in 2015;
- Other important confidential preventive care, including screenings for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/HIV, and health education; and
- Contraceptive care and counseling that helped women avoid 904,000 unintended pregnancies, which would have resulted in 439,000 unplanned births in 2014.
Yes, they deadlocked on that, and so they looked to Mike Pence, who must have been positively orgasmic at the prospect of casting the tie-breaking vote.
All that's left is Hair Trump's signature to screw women out of needed health care. But at least Mike Pence won't have to have dinner with any of them without his wife there to make sure he isn't overcome with passion and accidentally impregnates one.
(h/t Daily Kos)
