While Republicans love to deny they’re engaged in a blatant war on women, their words and actions prove otherwise.
For example, the topic of healthcare, which has moved to the forefront of the national debate with the GOP trying desperately to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price appeared on CNN Wednesday evening for a town hall on healthcare, and one woman who had a question for Price came armed with facts. Katie Needle, who lives in New York, told the head of HHS:
“Planned Parenthood provides an array of health services for women, and the majority of their patients are on Medicaid. I am a Medicaid enrollee and I am a Planned Parenthood patient, and I would be absolutely devastated if Planned Parenthood were defunded.”
But Ms. Needle was far from finished, also informing Price:
“We’ve already seen in Texas that cutting access to Planned Parenthood means women have less access to health care. More women’s health centers didn’t just magically appear because Planned Parenthood was defunded. That just doesn’t happen.”
Finally, Needle asked a question of the HHS Secretary:
“My actual question is: How do you expect the millions of low-income women nationwide who depend on Planned Parenthood for these vital human services — basic needs — to access these things if Planned Parenthood is defunded?”
As you might expect, Price–who is also a doctor–didn’t have a viable response to the question, so he tried to drag out the lie that some Americans don’t want their tax dollars used for abortion services. But that’s just a red herring because of the following irrefutable facts:
- Planned Parenthood doesn’t use a dime of taxpayer money to fund abortions.
- Only 3 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides are related to abortion.
- Last time we checked, abortion was legal in all 50 states, as per Roe v. Wade.
It would be nice to think Price and others in the GOP would rely on facts instead of lies and fear to formulate their policies. But that’d be like asking a bear not to crap in the woods.
Featured Image Via CNN Screengrab
