# Unwanted kids and AIDS patients save money! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 18, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860 "2011-02-18T22:42:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/1 "2011-02-18T22:42:26Z")
[House blocks federal aid for Planned Parenthood](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gcFXy2CvM5CPe-t-QcPcaLBZkwBA?docId=184481f9479c46b0af7e7d37a47d65cd) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved a Republican proposal to block federal aid for Planned Parenthood. > > The 240-185 vote on Friday is a victory for anti-abortion forces led by Indiana GOP Rep. Mike Pence. He says taxpayer money should not go to groups that provide or promote abortion. > > Democrats say Planned Parenthood provides contraception and other valuable family planning services, and that cutting off the money will make it hard for women to get such basic help. > > Planned Parenthood provides services in hundreds of clinics around the country. Pence aides say the group reported receiving $363 million in federal money in its latest report. > > The proposal is part of a bill that seeks to cut government spending this year. > > The Democratic-run Senate has stronger abortion rights views than does the House, making it unlikely the House proposal will survive. Fuck this shit. Fuck it. I know the Dope needs another abortion thread like it needs another person watching Firefly for the first time, but I am in a rage so hard my lovely weekend might be ruined. Where are all those on-the-fence pro-choicers and seemingly sane pro-lifers who swear they are just against certain abortions and would love to see money and resources go towards prevention, birth control and education? And how will defunding Planned Parenthood cut spending, exactly? DIY abortions with Dollar Tree hangers? More women becoming infertile from untreated STIs? It’s often the only game in town for millions of female and male students, immigrants, the working poor and even moneyed, insured people too scared to go to their family doctor. The only glimmer of a silver lining I can see is that it will jar some people out of complacency, especially all those who recall a time when their life was literally saved because they could turn to a Planned Parenthood. Let them eat cake? Let them go to a private clinic! ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/2 "2011-02-18T23:10:29Z")
I’m with you. Fuck the House sideways with something sharp and rusty, something capable of impregnating the fuckers with something sharp and rusty, which they are forced to give birth to anally. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/3 "2011-02-18T23:56:01Z")
Someone needs to explain to the House (in terms they can understand, of course) that this is not a theocracy. Jeez, what a bunch of assholes. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/4 "2011-02-19T00:10:51Z")
[Here](http://www.ppaction.org/IStandWithPP) is a “stand with Planned Parenthood” form. (I posted this to my Facebook…I’m expecting a mass unfriending tonight from the more uptight relatives.) ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/5 "2011-02-19T00:38:05Z")
I posted that to Facebook, too. Someone unfriended me soon after, and I can’t figure out who it was. Aw, fuck 'em. Seriously, how boneheaded is it to make it more difficult to get basic healthcare, in a recession? I’m considering a revenge donation to Planned Parenthood, who gave me basic gyno care (other than abortion/contraception, BTW) when I was young and uninsured. Who’s with me? ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/6 "2011-02-19T00:50:04Z")
Fuck the Republicans. I’m pro-choice and I’m a taxpayer. Since when did the anti-abortionists become the only people who get to dictate exactly where their taxes go? I’m so sick of the Reps lately. All this sanctimony about the unborn and then they turn around and lobby against prenatal care and Michelle Obama’s push to help nursing moms. Assholes the lot of them! ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/7 "2011-02-19T01:46:09Z")
This was amazing. Too bad they weren’t listening. [http://thestir.cafemom.com/in\_the\_news/116544/jackie\_speier\_abortion\_speech\_helps](http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/116544/jackie_speier_abortion_speech_helps) ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/8 "2011-02-19T02:09:51Z")
Did you all miss the line at the end: **"The Democratic-run Senate has stronger abortion rights views than does the House, making it unlikely the House proposal will survive."** I think this threat comes up pretty regularly doesn’t it? This is not an actual thing to worry about, it’s just a way of distracting us from other, more important issues. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/9 "2011-02-19T04:07:08Z")
You know, I came of political age and first election when when Reagan ran for the first time. Back then and now I have keep the same guiding principle: Rat Fuck the Moral Majority. Now that my tax bracket is solidly Republican, I have amended by big picture voting stance to: Rat Fuck the Moral Majority and support anyone that is fiscally responsible in their action. I still think that using Rat Fuck the Moral Majority (or whatever the tea baggers ad nauseum are calling themselves these days) is a pretty good rule of thumb and that’s how I’ll vote in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/10 "2011-02-19T04:26:39Z")
I posted that petition to FaceBook, too. If anyone unfriends me because of it, fuck 'em. Good riddance. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/11 "2011-02-19T16:29:55Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I’m considering a revenge donation to Planned Parenthood, who gave me basic gyno care (other than abortion/contraception, BTW) when I was young and uninsured. Who’s with me? That’s not revenge, that’s good citizenship. I split my “Bush tax cut” every year between Planned Parenthood and NARAL. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/12 "2011-02-19T17:55:23Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Where are all those on-the-fence pro-choicers and seemingly sane pro-lifers who swear they are just against certain abortions and would love to see money and resources go towards prevention, birth control and education? Here, for starters: [All Our Lives](http://allourlives.org/). They are a fairly new pro-life group which is also pro-contraceptives/reproductive health (which, no, is not synonymous with abortion). They are following this issue among others. Abortion has been an incredibly divisive topic for longer than many of us have been alive. I personally feel that it would be more constructive if we COULD separate out birth control and other important reproductive health services from the extremely divisive conflict over abortion. Then reasonable people from both sides could support measures to help poor women obtain healthcare without every discussion over that issue turning into yet another tired slapfight over abortion. The number of people who have a problem with abortion is much higher than the number of people who actually want to see poor women go without contraception or health screenings. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/13 "2011-02-19T18:06:18Z")
I wholeheartedly endorse this pitting. I’m a committed liberal, but it’s been a long, loooong time since anything the right has tried to do has pissed me off this much. Actually, I’ve never been this pissed off about any legislative measure, ever. This surprises even me, because abortion or reproductive rights is not, and has never been, my issue. Abortion has always been like the one issue where I could sort of understand the opposition’s viewpoint. But now? I’m e-mailing my relatives feminist rants and urging them to call their representatives because cutting off access to reproductive care for women - especially poor women - is so fucking beyond the pale I just cannot be neutral anymore. I was a poor woman, and I was dependent on Planned Parenthood for a long time to get myself through college. I will never, ever forget what it meant to me to have that resource at that time in my life. Congratulations, asshats, you just pushed a pretty centrist pro-choicer even further to the left. Any sympathy I ever had to your cause is gone. Also, I may officially change my sexual orientation because I have fallen in love with [Rep. Jackie Speier of California.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/18/jackie-speier-abortion-planned-parenthood_n_824978.html?ref=fb&src=sp) ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/14 "2011-02-19T18:11:46Z")
Jackie Speier is made of awesome. I’ve long thought that much of the controversy and vitriol over abortion would go away if every woman who’s had one would stand up and say so. I suspect that a whole lot of people would, if not change their opinion, at least SHUT THE FUCK UP about it when confronted with the fact that their mothers, sisters, wives, and friends have had abortions. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/15 "2011-02-19T18:15:53Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > Did you all miss the line at the end: **“The Democratic-run Senate has stronger abortion rights views than does the House, making it unlikely the House proposal will survive.”** > > I think this threat comes up pretty regularly doesn’t it? This is not an actual thing to worry about, it’s just a way of distracting us from other, more important issues. I am tired of hearing this bullshit. The Senate goes through the effort of overturning stuff like this _because_ the public gets vocally upset at the crap being pulled in the House. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/16 "2011-02-19T18:59:09Z")
I keep telling you guys, [Heinlein’s “Job: A Comedy of Justice”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job:_A_Comedy_of_Justice) isn’t supposed to be a documentary. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/17 "2011-02-19T20:25:44Z")
I would have never been able to be a Peace Corps volunteer without the help of Planned Parenthood. They graciously helped my young, uninsured self get the primary care exams I needed to apply. They absolutely changed my life, without a single abortion involved. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/18 "2011-02-20T03:16:46Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > [House blocks federal aid for Planned Parenthood](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gcFXy2CvM5CPe-t-QcPcaLBZkwBA?docId=184481f9479c46b0af7e7d37a47d65cd) > Fuck this shit. The federal government can spend its money any way it wants as long as they aren’t violating the constitution when they do. Its shitty but that’s what we get for electing Republicans. Perhaps that is what this country is now. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/19 "2011-02-20T14:18:23Z")
Well, according to Republicans, everything they don’t like is unconstitutional, so they’re covered. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860/20 "2011-02-20T17:01:42Z")
My husband and I are giving serious thought to leaving the country. If the Republicans had their say about abortion, I would’ve died two weeks ago because, technically, removal of an ectopic pregnancy is considered an abortion, even though they almost always result in a failed pregnancy. I had two choices: have the surgery or die. “Option” two would have meant leaving my children without a mother and my husband without a wife. Fuck them. Their deliberate misunderstanding of the importance of Planned Parenthood and access to family planning is disgusting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwanted-kids-and-aids-patients-save-money/571860.md?page=2)