Quick Hit: Some thoughts on the government shutdown

I know that ihavemythings posted on this yesterday, but given the severity of the issue I wanted to add my thoughts. Here’s a fantastic NYT column on the impending government shutdown. Quote:

If Republicans want to have yet another legislative debate about abortion and family planning, let them try to pass a separate bill containing their restrictions. But that bill would fail, too, and they know it, so they have chosen extortion.

Perfect summation of what’s going on from the NYT. Once again the government will shutdown, and once again it is the fault of the Republican Party. They’re holding the government ransom at the expense of women’s health, and I hope the Democrats don’t cave. They’ve pushed women’s health and rights aside before for legislative victory, and American women cannot afford to be shafted again. (I say this as the daughter of a government employee who will be furloughed upon government shutdown). Both sides have agreed to ample cuts… the Democrats actually agreed to more cuts than they initially wanted, which may be bad for the economy in and of itself. But this is no longer about cuts, it is about controlling the bodies and sexualities of American women. It’s about the Republicans’ disgusting agenda to ensure that people do not get the healthcare they should have. If it were about spending, a budget would have been agreed upon.

John Boehner can twist the truth as much as he wants and try to pin this on the Democrats, but one just has to look at the news and the breakdown of talks to see who is at fault here. They got the House majority on a jobs mandate, they have done nothing to improve the economy and boost jobs, and instead are attacking women. Their disregard for the livelihoods of the American people is pretty damn clear at this point. All I can hope is that the Democrats do not throw women under the bus and backdown, and that the Republicans decide to drop their misogynist agenda, at least for now, so that our government can continue to function as it should.

Also, I just want to add one more thing: this is not about abortion. It’s about Planned Parenthood, and cutting the federal funding for a major healthcare provider. The Hyde Amendment has already ensured that no federal funds go to abortion providing. None. Not to mention that abortion is a whopping three percent of all Planned Parenthood’s services. The rest is cancer screening, contraceptive use, STI testing, and myriad other services, including helping people quit smoking and vaccines. Those who want to point fingers at pro-choicers/Democrats need to understand that this is about supporting people’s (and specifically women, because we are the one’s being targeted) health and wellbeing, not abortion. Because, and once again, this is what people don’t seem to understand, federal funding is prohibited from going to abortion services.

If you’re unsure of what the shutdown will entail, the NYT also has a nifty little graphic to illustrate the ramifications.

Updated at 5:04 p.m. to include graph and change the percentage of how much of PP’s services relate to abortion – I had mistakenly listed it as 2% earlier.