As Mo Elleithee writes on his Facebook page, this is “One of the most powerful floor speeches in recent memory. Thank you Rep. Speier!” I couldn’t agree more with Mo – this is superb, courageous, and extraordinary. I also agree with NARAL Pro-Choice America, which writes:
The anti-choice leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives continues to wage its war against contraception.
Late last night, the House debated an amendment introduced by anti-choice Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana that would eliminate all funding for Planned Parenthood.
The same people who promised a jobs agenda are now focused on blocking women’s access to contraception, cancer screenings, and other basic health care that family-planning centers, such as Planned Parenthood, provide to millions of American women and men.
Rep. Jackie Speier of California stood up to anti-choice distortions by sharing her own story…
Unfortunately, despite Rep. Speier’s powerful speech, the anti-women’s-rights extremists in the U.S. House of Representatives voted 240-185 to pass this heinous amendment. In the Virginia delegation, every Republican voted “aye” to wage war on women, and every Democrat voted “nay.” What does that tell you about Virginia Republicans, and Republicans in general? Oh, and whatever happened to their promise to focus on jobs and the economy? I guess they’ve got more important matters to deal with…
UPDATE: In better news, Democrats to the rescue!
UPDATE #2: See here for a rundown on the Republican war on women, including: “Republicans have a bill that would let hospitals allow a woman to die rather than perform an abortion necessary to save her life;” and ” In South Dakota, Republicans proposed a bill that could make it legal to murder a doctor who provides abortion care.” It’s truly astounding that any woman – or any man, for that matter! – would even consider voting for this bunch of misogynists (and xenophobes, homophobes, etc.).
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