How Republicans are using the threat of a shutdown in their war against women.
By Dahlia Lithwick
As this fight goes down to the wire, even Republicans appear confused about whether they are holding out over a rider that would defund Planned Parenthood or over some magical dollar amount that needs to be cut from the budget (it amounts to about 0.3 percent of the budget, or as Amanda Marcotte says, “the stuff in the couch cushions.”) Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who spearheaded the move to zero out Planned Parenthood, said on Morning Joe this week that he would certainly shut down the federal government if it meant de-funding “the largest abortion provider in the country.” He seems not to be retreating from that stance as the day ticks on, although some of his colleagues are jumping ship.
As the midnight hour nears, the fabrications continue to trip off the tongues of GOP leadership: Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., repeated on Friday the GOP fiction that abortions are “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.” (He later issued one of the all-time great clarifications, saying his remark was “not intended to be a factual statement.” ) Here is Ezra Klein on the actual breakout of Planned Parenthood numbers: “Abortion services account for about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s activities. That’s less than cancer screening and prevention (16 percent), STD testing for both men and women (35 percent), and contraception (also 35 percent). About 80 percent of Planned Parenthood’s users are over age 20, and 75 percent have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line. Planned Parenthood itself estimates it prevents more than 620,000 unintended pregnancies each year, and 220,000 abortions.”
For many American women, these are not health services that are readily available elsewhereThis is basic preventive care for the poorest and most vulnerable women in America.
