Planned Excuses

The Republicans in the Senate are trying to remove all federal funding from Planned Parenthood, again. That's right, again. Planned Parenthood is a favorite hobby horse of Congressional Republicans and they've gone after them many times. They claim it's about these "hidden camera videos" that are currently being circulated concerning the use of fetal tissue.

Planned Parenthood is far more than a clinic for abortions. They provide low cost medical care on a wide range of women's health needs and help in actual family planning for low-income families who have no other access.

Planned Parenthood can speak for itself and this commentary is not about defending them, it's about defending the facts. Under the Hyde Amendment it is illegal to use federal funds for abortions, end of story. Those currently working on defunding say they would shift the tax dollars to other family clinics. History demonstrates this is untrue, the goal is to remove all federal funding for anything that involves family planning or services the needs of low income families but particularly for women.

I personally think that abortion is a bad idea but outlawing it, which is exactly what many of these political players want to achieve, will not eliminate it. It will only force women facing an unwanted pregnancy into the nightmarish backalleys of pre Roe vs. Wade. I am a man and will never face this situation and no woman should be told what to do with her own body. If she is a victim of rape or incest who can possibly assert that they have the right to deny her an abortion. The psychological impact of being forced to give birth in those circumstances could be completely destructive.

Most unwanted pregnancies are because no contraception was used. Do you really want to make abortion virtually non-existent? Face the fact that people have sex, they will not be abstinent. Unfortunately this is where the train comes off the tracks because government and religion don't want to address this. There is no excuse in an unwanted pregnancy from consensual sex in the 21st Century.

I would encourage having the baby if you can and giving it up for adoption if you're not ready to be a parent. What really outrages me is the people, particularly the politician, who uses this issue for divisiveness are disingenuous about their belief in the sanctity of life. They would force a woman by fiat to have the baby but what happens after that is not their concern. They don't care about that new life's welfare, education and healthcare let alone the economic plight of that child. These are the same people that want to gut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and general welfare programs including the ability to eat. These political manipulators would have more credibility if they backed up their rhetoric with proof that they really believe that all life is precious from birth to death and everything that occurs in between.