Claudette Konola
 
I had been hearing rumblings about Santorum making a strong showing in Colorado, and it turns out the rumblings were accurate. I remember thinking that Santorum could really connect with people after his speech in Iowa. Given the continuing strength of the Tea Party in Colorado, I’m not surprised that he took Colorado.

This election season has been way too much fun! Last night Santorum cleaned Romney’s clock in three states. I’m sure that Romney will now hit the accelerator on his move to the right. There will be a whole month of no primary contests to check the speed and direction, and the media will telegraph his every move.  The Newt will be moving to the right also, since he is convinced he is destined to be President.

The Komen experience with Planned Parenthood didn’t teach these guys anything. They still think that the loudest voices in the GOP are representative of voters in the general election. But the loudest voices are the fundamentalist Christians in a nation that is increasingly becoming more like Europe, where Church is not a weekly thing and does not dominate the thinking of the people. And then there are those pesky birth control and women’s health issues.

The Catholic Church is going to continue to raise a stink about birth control, and both the media and the GOP candidates are going to listen to them. Why anyone would put a lot of credence in a bunch of guys who hang out mostly with other guys and dress in medieval white, red and black robes while continuing to get caught up in scandals involving sex with altar boys is beyond my comprehension. For sure their own female parishioners are ignoring them when it comes to women’s health, as are many of their nuns.

Santorum, as the latest Anybody-But-Romney candidate, is going to get a lot more media attention, now. His war on birth control will become more widely known, and he will start to fall in the polls. None of the current crop of Republicans seems to remember that Ken Buck was defeated in Colorado because of his war on women. They have even forgotten the recent loss of a Personhood amendment in conservative Mississippi.

Homework

Atheism America Religious Right
 
 
Mike Pence, a Senator from Indiana has been attacking Planned Parenthood at least since 2007. Every year he tries to get all funding to the organization banned. This year is no different. He has written a bill to block Planned Parenthood, and only Planned Parenthood, from receiving any funding from Title X.

Title X is the only federal program that provides funding for family planning. Since 1976 there has been a federal ban on funding for abortions, with a few very limited exceptions. Because of that ban, Title X primarily funds access to birth control for low income families. There are approximately 4,500 community based clinics who receive Title X funding. Planned Parenthood operates many, but not all, of these clinics.

The government website for Title X says: “Title X-supported clinics provide a number of related preventive health services such as: patient education and counseling; breast and pelvic examinations; breast and cervical cancer screening according to nationally recognized standards of care; sexually transmitted disease (STD) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention education, counseling, testing and referral; and pregnancy diagnosis and counseling. By law, Title X funds may not be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

Planned Parenthood receives about a third of all Title X funding, and performs about a fourth of all U.S. abortions. Planned Parenthood is nationally recognized as a source of information for members of both sexes who want to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases or AIDS. The abortions provided in some locations are funded by individual donations to the organization. None of the money for abortion related serves comes from the Federal government, or from the State government in Colorado.

That doesn’t stop abortion foes from trying desperately to get rid of Planned Parenthood. For a long time I’ve said that banning abortion is a slippery slope leading to a ban on birth control. Young women rarely believe this because they have always lived in a world where a full range of reproductive health services are available. But, back in 1916, there was no “pill” and women could neither vote nor divorce. Margaret Sanger, decided to do something about that, and opened, in Brooklyn, the first birth control clinic in America. Later that clinic became part of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

This latest attack on Planned Parenthood includes a video making the rounds in right-wing internet circles. It is reminiscent of the video attack on ACORN—they both have prostitutes and pimps; they both are staged; they both are heavily edited; they both are false. ACORN lost their fight for survival. We can’t afford to let Planned Parenthood lose. Why not send a donation RIGHT NOW to your local chapter? When you are done with that, call your congressional representatives in Washington and tell them what you think about keeping a full range of reproductive health care available to all women. Maybe send a thank you note to Dianna DeGette for the work she is doing…

Homework

The War on Planned Parenthood

Denver's Diana DeGette Leads the Charge to Save Planned Parenthood

About Title X

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Biography of Margaret Sanger

KJCT8 Covers Planned Parenthood

List of Local Centers & Services Provided

Planned Parenthood and ACORN videos