As most people have heard by now, in an interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said women who undergo an abortion should receive "some sort of punishment," before later recanting that statement. While I was unsurprised by Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders criticizing Trump for his comments, I found it quite humorous to hear GOP candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich do so, as they responded with the following quotes:
- "Once again Donald Trump has demonstrated that he hasn't seriously thought through the issues, and he'll say anything just to get attention. On the important issue of the sanctity of life, what's far too often neglected is that being pro-life is not simply about the unborn child; it's also about the mother - and creating a culture that respects her and embraces life. Of course we shouldn't be talking about punishing women; we should affirm their dignity and the incredible gift they have to bring life into the world." - Ted Cruz
- "Of course, women shouldn't be punished. ... It's like a panoply of mistakes and outrageous statements. You know what it is with Donald? It's just a stream of consciousness ... you can't operate like this." - John Kasich
Seriously, fellas? The mainstream media isn't helping in this narrative either, but as I've said all along, Donald Trump is like a caricature of the modern-day GOP. From an optics standpoint, the man may appear to be an outlier in the Republican Party, yet this exaggeration unintentionally provides a fairly clear reflection of today's GOP, and in an almost comical manner at that. So why is it that a large majority of the Republican Party has for years attempted to punish women through legislation for having vaginas with seemingly little backlash from others in the party or the media, yet when Donald Trump simply says the words "some sort of punishment," they all flip out? I'm not defending Trump's stance on the issue in any way, shape, or form. I'm simply saying the man's words aren't an aberration; they fall right in line with the modern-day GOP's actions.
What has the modern-day GOP continuously tried to do?
- Defund Planned Parenthood facilities
- Close down abortion clinics
- Require more hoops to jump through in order to have an abortion
- Provide companies with the option of not covering contraception on women's employer-based healthcare plans
- Overturn Roe v. Wade
- Discredit women's health organizations through heavily edited videos
- Shame and condemn women
Not only that, but hear what the two other GOP candidates have specifically had to say about issues surrounding women's reproductive rights in the past:
Ted Cruz
- "The Planned Parenthood videos are horrifying. I encourage every American to watch them. Seeing Planned Parenthood heartlessly bartering and selling the body parts of human beings, and then ask yourself, 'Are these my values?' Planned Parenthood essentially confesses to multiple felonies. It is a felony with ten years' jail term to sell the body parts of unborn children for profit. That's what these videos. We shouldn't send $500 million of taxpayer money to fund an ongoing criminal enterprise."
- "...The next thing I intend to do (if elected president) is instruct the Department of Justice to open an investigation into these videos and to prosecute Planned Parenthood for any criminal violations."
- He's also fought to: Ban partial-birth abortion, require parental consent, prohibit state funds from going to abortion, and give companies the option of denying women birth-control coverage, among other things.
John Kasich
- "Well, I agree that we should defund Planned Parenthood. I don't know many people in America who don't think that we should, and in my state, we're trying to figure out how to get it done (they did), because we are threatened with the federal government taking all of our Medicaid money away. I think there is a way to get this done by giving governors the ability to be able to act to defund Planned Parenthood. But when it comes to closing down the federal government, you gotta be careful about that. I was in the Congress for 18 years; there are ways to do it without having to shut the government down, but I'm sympathetic to the fact that we don't want this organization to get funding, and the money ought to be reprogrammed for family planning in other organizations that don't support this tactic."
- He also voted yes to banning partial-birth abortions and barring the transportation of minors to get an abortion, not to mention opposes the federal funding of abortion.
Now let's look at some facts:
- The Planned Parenthood videos in question were found to be heavily edited and the creators of the videos are now facing lawsuits.
- No evidence of crimes were found in the ensuing investigations over the Planned Parenthood videos
- Planned Parenthood cannot legally use federal government funds for abortions
- Abortions comprise only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services, compared to: 35% for sexually transmitted diseases/infections testing and treatment, 35% for contraception, 16% for cancer screenings and prevention, 10% for other women's health services, and 1% for other services.
- Polls show a majority of people support Planned Parenthood in this country, 59%, compared to 37% who don't (net +22%).
- Other polls show the public continues to favor the federal funding of Planned Parenthood, 58%, compared to 33% who don't (net +25%).
- There are several other uses for women's birth-control pills than pregnancy prevention, and some polls show that as many as 50%+ women use birth-control for other reasons.
- Studies show that companies who cover women's contraception in their employer-based healthcare plans results in saving both the company and the taxpayers money.
- In 2011, GOP legislators proposed over 1,100 reproductive-health and rights provisions around the country, with 135 of them being enacted, and 92 (68%) of them further restricting abortion access.
- Oh, and newsflash, an increase in contraception usage decreases unwanted pregnancies, and with that abortions.
So, let's think about this for a moment here...
Trump: "I think women who have abortions should get some sort of punishment."
GOP/Media: "He said what?!? How dare he! That's disgusting, dangerous, and frightening!"
Other GOP politicians: "Let's fight to take away places where women can go to get screened for cancer, get tested for STDs, and get contraception in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Also, let's close down every place which provides abortions so women have to drive who knows how many hours and spend tons of money in the process to get one. Heck, let's make it illegal for her to get one in other states. No, it doesn't matter if she was raped by her uncle Marco Dimwitty and both she and the baby have less than a 40% chance of surviving the birth. Let's also make it more difficult for women to access certain pills, even if they're used to improve their health, well-being, and happiness. While these pills would decrease the likelihood of an abortion, which would result in women being more productive in the workplace, leading to more money in the process, let's make women pay for these things out of their own pockets. Even if they use them for treating things like endometriosis, it's not really a healthcare matter, so bosses shouldn't have to cover these things on their healthcare plans. Oh, and let's make sure to get another conservative justice on the Supreme Court, so we can finally overturn Roe v. Wade, strip women of all their reproductive rights, and prompt them to become their own doctors, resort to hangers, and possibly harm or kill themselves and their babies in the process."
GOP/Media: (silence)
Like I said, it's ridiculous for Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and other GOPers to have any problem with Donald Trump's recent comments regarding abortion. While Trump may have verbally said women should receive some sort of punishment for going through an abortion, the Republican Party has been pushing for and enacting legislation which has punished women (for having vaginas) for years, and sadly, after much silence regarding the matter, Trump has unintentionally brought this to the world's attention.
Trump: "Women should get some punishment for abortion."
Other GOPers: "Whoa! We should take away their rights, but punishment goes too far!"
Yes, this very exchange will likely be found next to the term ironic in the dictionary very soon...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/us/politics/donald-trump-abortion.html?_r=0
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN0WW1O9
http://www.people.com/article/donald-trump-abortion-backlash-hillary-clinton-ted-cruz
http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Ted_Cruz_Abortion.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/John_Kasich_Abortion.htm
http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/01/27/fox-host-ignores-investigations-clearing-planne/208203
http://www.gallup.com/poll/186188/view-planned-parenthood-favorably.aspx
http://time.com/4139742/planned-parenthood-defunding-poll/
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/03/06/148042609/how-birth-control-saves-taxpayers-money
http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/features/other-reasons-to-take-the-pill
http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/planned-parenthood/
http://www.politicususa.com/proof-war-women-2
- "Once again Donald Trump has demonstrated that he hasn't seriously thought through the issues, and he'll say anything just to get attention. On the important issue of the sanctity of life, what's far too often neglected is that being pro-life is not simply about the unborn child; it's also about the mother - and creating a culture that respects her and embraces life. Of course we shouldn't be talking about punishing women; we should affirm their dignity and the incredible gift they have to bring life into the world." - Ted Cruz
- "Of course, women shouldn't be punished. ... It's like a panoply of mistakes and outrageous statements. You know what it is with Donald? It's just a stream of consciousness ... you can't operate like this." - John Kasich
Seriously, fellas? The mainstream media isn't helping in this narrative either, but as I've said all along, Donald Trump is like a caricature of the modern-day GOP. From an optics standpoint, the man may appear to be an outlier in the Republican Party, yet this exaggeration unintentionally provides a fairly clear reflection of today's GOP, and in an almost comical manner at that. So why is it that a large majority of the Republican Party has for years attempted to punish women through legislation for having vaginas with seemingly little backlash from others in the party or the media, yet when Donald Trump simply says the words "some sort of punishment," they all flip out? I'm not defending Trump's stance on the issue in any way, shape, or form. I'm simply saying the man's words aren't an aberration; they fall right in line with the modern-day GOP's actions.
What has the modern-day GOP continuously tried to do?
- Defund Planned Parenthood facilities
- Close down abortion clinics
- Require more hoops to jump through in order to have an abortion
- Provide companies with the option of not covering contraception on women's employer-based healthcare plans
- Overturn Roe v. Wade
- Discredit women's health organizations through heavily edited videos
- Shame and condemn women
Not only that, but hear what the two other GOP candidates have specifically had to say about issues surrounding women's reproductive rights in the past:
Ted Cruz
- "The Planned Parenthood videos are horrifying. I encourage every American to watch them. Seeing Planned Parenthood heartlessly bartering and selling the body parts of human beings, and then ask yourself, 'Are these my values?' Planned Parenthood essentially confesses to multiple felonies. It is a felony with ten years' jail term to sell the body parts of unborn children for profit. That's what these videos. We shouldn't send $500 million of taxpayer money to fund an ongoing criminal enterprise."
- "...The next thing I intend to do (if elected president) is instruct the Department of Justice to open an investigation into these videos and to prosecute Planned Parenthood for any criminal violations."
- He's also fought to: Ban partial-birth abortion, require parental consent, prohibit state funds from going to abortion, and give companies the option of denying women birth-control coverage, among other things.
John Kasich
- "Well, I agree that we should defund Planned Parenthood. I don't know many people in America who don't think that we should, and in my state, we're trying to figure out how to get it done (they did), because we are threatened with the federal government taking all of our Medicaid money away. I think there is a way to get this done by giving governors the ability to be able to act to defund Planned Parenthood. But when it comes to closing down the federal government, you gotta be careful about that. I was in the Congress for 18 years; there are ways to do it without having to shut the government down, but I'm sympathetic to the fact that we don't want this organization to get funding, and the money ought to be reprogrammed for family planning in other organizations that don't support this tactic."
- He also voted yes to banning partial-birth abortions and barring the transportation of minors to get an abortion, not to mention opposes the federal funding of abortion.
Now let's look at some facts:
- The Planned Parenthood videos in question were found to be heavily edited and the creators of the videos are now facing lawsuits.
- No evidence of crimes were found in the ensuing investigations over the Planned Parenthood videos
- Planned Parenthood cannot legally use federal government funds for abortions
- Abortions comprise only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services, compared to: 35% for sexually transmitted diseases/infections testing and treatment, 35% for contraception, 16% for cancer screenings and prevention, 10% for other women's health services, and 1% for other services.
- Polls show a majority of people support Planned Parenthood in this country, 59%, compared to 37% who don't (net +22%).
- Other polls show the public continues to favor the federal funding of Planned Parenthood, 58%, compared to 33% who don't (net +25%).
- There are several other uses for women's birth-control pills than pregnancy prevention, and some polls show that as many as 50%+ women use birth-control for other reasons.
- Studies show that companies who cover women's contraception in their employer-based healthcare plans results in saving both the company and the taxpayers money.
- In 2011, GOP legislators proposed over 1,100 reproductive-health and rights provisions around the country, with 135 of them being enacted, and 92 (68%) of them further restricting abortion access.
- Oh, and newsflash, an increase in contraception usage decreases unwanted pregnancies, and with that abortions.
So, let's think about this for a moment here...
Trump: "I think women who have abortions should get some sort of punishment."
GOP/Media: "He said what?!? How dare he! That's disgusting, dangerous, and frightening!"
Other GOP politicians: "Let's fight to take away places where women can go to get screened for cancer, get tested for STDs, and get contraception in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Also, let's close down every place which provides abortions so women have to drive who knows how many hours and spend tons of money in the process to get one. Heck, let's make it illegal for her to get one in other states. No, it doesn't matter if she was raped by her uncle Marco Dimwitty and both she and the baby have less than a 40% chance of surviving the birth. Let's also make it more difficult for women to access certain pills, even if they're used to improve their health, well-being, and happiness. While these pills would decrease the likelihood of an abortion, which would result in women being more productive in the workplace, leading to more money in the process, let's make women pay for these things out of their own pockets. Even if they use them for treating things like endometriosis, it's not really a healthcare matter, so bosses shouldn't have to cover these things on their healthcare plans. Oh, and let's make sure to get another conservative justice on the Supreme Court, so we can finally overturn Roe v. Wade, strip women of all their reproductive rights, and prompt them to become their own doctors, resort to hangers, and possibly harm or kill themselves and their babies in the process."
GOP/Media: (silence)
Like I said, it's ridiculous for Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and other GOPers to have any problem with Donald Trump's recent comments regarding abortion. While Trump may have verbally said women should receive some sort of punishment for going through an abortion, the Republican Party has been pushing for and enacting legislation which has punished women (for having vaginas) for years, and sadly, after much silence regarding the matter, Trump has unintentionally brought this to the world's attention.
Trump: "Women should get some punishment for abortion."
Other GOPers: "Whoa! We should take away their rights, but punishment goes too far!"
Yes, this very exchange will likely be found next to the term ironic in the dictionary very soon...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/us/politics/donald-trump-abortion.html?_r=0
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN0WW1O9
http://www.people.com/article/donald-trump-abortion-backlash-hillary-clinton-ted-cruz
http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Ted_Cruz_Abortion.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/John_Kasich_Abortion.htm
http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/01/27/fox-host-ignores-investigations-clearing-planne/208203
http://www.gallup.com/poll/186188/view-planned-parenthood-favorably.aspx
http://time.com/4139742/planned-parenthood-defunding-poll/
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/03/06/148042609/how-birth-control-saves-taxpayers-money
http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/features/other-reasons-to-take-the-pill
http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/planned-parenthood/
http://www.politicususa.com/proof-war-women-2
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