Another Anti-Woman Atrocity from Goodlatte, GOP

Goodlatte: What, me worry?

Those of you holding out hope that 6th District Congressman Bob Goodlatte--your congressman--is going to finally come to his senses and begin to represent the people here, will want to reconsider that notion after yesterday's bone-headed statement. You might want to begin by dropping the hope and holding your nose instead.

Goodlatte is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee--a perk arising from length of service, which he used to oppose (term limits), and Republicans controlling the House, the result of severe gerrymandering (cheating)--which is considering removal of government funding for abortion. Goodlatte says that forcing all those women to carry their pregnancies to term "very much promotes job creation," according to Think Progress (here). HR7 would restrict access to abortion by slamming the door on insurance coverage and tax credits.

Goodlate is quoted as saying support of the bill "... is the morally right thing to do [and] it is also very very true that having a growing population and having new children brought into the world is not harmful to job creation. It very much promotes job creation for all the care and services and so on that need to be provided by a lot of people to raise children.”

So, he wants to create more poor people who can take care of rich people's kids, right? Are we hearing this from a sitting U.S. Congressman?

Trouble is, says Think Progress, "denying women autonomy over their reproductive lives is not a wise economic policy. Without access to affordable family planning services, women are less likely to be able to finish their education, advance their career, or achieve financial independence. The low-income women who end up carrying unwanted pregnancies to term end up slipping deeper into poverty and struggling with long-term mental health issues. That ends up impacting the social safety net, putting a greater strain on the Medicaid program. In fact, the Guttmacher Institute estimates that every $1 invested into family planning programs yields more than $5 in savings for the U.S. government."

Democrats on the committee, of course, are beside themselves: "As we urge Congress in 2014 to consider legislative action that would meaningfully address the economic insecurity currently facing millions of women and families, the Judiciary Committee’s first action to mark up legislation that would harm women’s access to reproductive health care is truly dispiriting.”

Kill abortion, kill the American Healthcare Act, kill taxes. Republican mantra. Absolutely no thought of how things can or will work, only the "no" vote counts. It is tiresome, anti-American, anti-woman and pro-nothing. How any woman would ever consider voting for these knuckle-dragging Cro-Magnons is far, far beyond my comprehension.

Ultimately, the fact that we have a Democratically-controlled Senate and a president of the saner party will nullify whatever the House does with this bill. But it is at its very best a cautionary tale for those with any interest at all in our country retaining even a modicom of freedom.

(Photo: breitbart.com)