Republicans Start 2016 By Attacking Women's Health, Again

[LJ_Reloaded]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-jan-schakowsky/republicans-start-2016-by_b_8962316.html

It's a new year with a new Speaker, but the same old story - the decades long saga of Republican attacks on women's health care and their health care providers. The GOP continues to target not only Constitutionally-protected abortions and Planned Parenthood, but, incredibly, birth control which 99 per cent of American women depend on during their reproductive years. In their budget Republicans completely eliminated Title X funding for family planning.

This effort is part of a confounding political strategy. One can only presume, despite unequivocal polling to the contrary, that Republicans believe relentlessly attacking womens' abilities to make their own health care decisions is popular and will help them win elections. I believe it is at their peril that they pursue this anti-women agenda.

Last fall, in the wake of the release of doctored videos produced, likely illegally, by an anti-abortion group, the Republicans demanded the creation of a Select Panel to investigate Planned Parenthood. We know this new investigation will lead us nowhere, because the three House Committees and eight states that have investigated Planned Parenthood have already found no wrongdoing. In addition, the Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee (one of the committees that investigated Planned Parenthood), Jason Chaffetz, said, "I'm not suggesting that they broke the law."

What we do know is that millions of Americans could lose their health care if the Republicans were successful in their crusade against Planned Parenthood. Every year, Planned Parenthood serves three million Americans -- men and women -- and one in five women will receive care at a Planned Parenthood clinic in her lifetime. Planned Parenthood provides nearly 900,000 cervical cancer screenings and breast exams each year. What's more, Planned Parenthood's family planning services prevents thousands upon thousands of abortions.

What's more, Planned Parenthood's family planning services prevents thousands upon thousands of abortions.

Republicans, always shooting themselves in the foot.