All anyone can talk about this week is how close the country came to witnessing a government shutdown, as they should because a shutdown would have been nothing short of a disaster. Luckily, Democrats and Republicans came to an agreement an hour before the midnight deadline on Friday night. But everyone already knows about this. The media has been so adamant about covering the threat of a shutdown that I’m sure even the Kardashian sisters would have something intelligent to say about it by now.
One aspect of the budget debate that hasn’t been widely publicized is the political fight between Democratic and Republican women in Congress over the funding of Planned Parenthood. Nine female Democratic senators held a press conference Friday blasting House Republicans for refusing to compromise on an economic plan due to moral ideologies, like the defunding of the 95-year-old health organization.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said, “The numbers have been agreed to, but it’s an opportunity for the right wing in the House to really sock it to women. I don’t usually use this language, but I really believe this is true.”
Now, I’m about as liberal as they come. But when I first heard the argument that the turning point of the government shutdown was the issue of whether to fund Planned Parenthood, I didn’t buy it. Republicans have used some shady tactics throughout the course of the budget debate but would they really use an ethical issue to derail an economic deal? After doing some research, I found that the answer could be yes.
Just look at what liberals/any sane person is up against. Only days ago, Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., took to the floor and claimed, “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does” is perform abortions. If Sen. Kyl had done even the most basic research, he would have discovered that abortions only make up three percent of the total services Planned Parenthood provides. The majority of services offered are contraceptives, STD testing and cancer screens. But who cares about women’s health? Everybody knows spending cuts are more important.
We have to give Kyl a break because, according to his press team, the “remark was not intended to be a factual statement.” Oh, good! Kyl is just the kind of man the Senate needs, someone who’s passionate about his ideals that have no basis in fact. Kyl should have a baby with Sharron Angle and raise the child to be one misinformed, yet fiery conservative, primed to rid the world of all injustice. And by injustice, I mean justice.
Unfortunately, Kyl’s brilliant insight isn’t the only backlash that the panel of liberal lady senators faced after their press conference. The GOP decided to respond by holding their own press briefing consisting of 15 female representatives talking about Planned Parenthood, apparently with the assumption that more women would produce a better case.
The conference was thrown together just hours after the Democrats aired their grievances about GOP efforts to sabotage budget negotiations. Hmm…a PR move by Republicans that involves copying Democratic efforts but doesn’t quite offer the same quality? Sounds a lot like the Sarah Palin stunt Republicans pulled in 2008 after Hillary Clinton was gaining headway as a presidential nominee.
Leave it up to the Grand Ol’ Party to fail at one-upping Democrats. The press conference that was supposed to demonstrate how Republicans had a legitimate argument for defunding Planned Parenthood didn’t go well. I know, shocking.
The GOP press conference was uncomfortable to watch. The 15 female politicians attempted to persuade the media that budget negotiations didn’t come down to an ethical issue. Their stance would have been convincing if they didn’t constantly change the subject and avoid every question about abortions or Planned Parenthood.
The conference was taken to a new level of awkwardness when Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, visibly upset, said, “This is about a package. We can’t tell you what we’re going to do until we see the next package. What the Senate is doing is deflecting the real issue and the real issue is to cut the unnecessary spending in Washington, period. And you can continue to ask the question but the answer is cutting unnecessary spending in Washington.”
Political analysts can say what they want but I can see what’s really going on here. The ladies of the GOP couldn’t give a straight answer because they know defunding Planned Parenthood is ludicrous. Every woman has a story about a life that was saved due to an early cancer screening. When they think of their friend/sister/aunt/cousin/grandmother whose life was saved due to good health service providers, how can they say that they don’t want the same for every woman everywhere? The answer: they can’t.
Emily O’Donnell is a sophomore at the College of Communication and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at emilyod@bu.edu.
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