Snark Attack!: Republican War on Women

Snark: to annoy or irritate

"Snark" has been in English language dictionaries since at least 1906, and Lewis Carroll used the word to describe a mythological animal in his poem, The Hunting of the Snark (1874). Most recently, the word has come to characterize snappish, sarcastic, or mean-spirited comments or actions directed at those who annoy or irritate us.

At first, this blog was just going be a place to gripe, but because it's more satisfying to take action than it is to merely complain, now most of the posts/reposts suggest ways to get involved in solving problems.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Republican War on Women

The Pence Amendment, barring all federal funding to Planned Parenthood has just passed the House by a vote of 240 to 185. Now, it goes to the Senate.

The new Republican leadership has no concern for women's health care and are willing to score political points with their base at the expense of women. Please contact your Senator immediately and all of next week.

Please reply to the e-mails of Planned Parenthood, of NARAL, of NOW, and of every other group you hear from. Collectively, we are determined to get tens of thousands of e-mails into the Senate by the end of next week. This is it!

Basic healthcare for millions of women is dependent on Planned Parenthood services. If the Pence amendment passes in the final Continuing Resolution, millions of women will lose access to Planned Parenthood contraceptive and health care services, including STD/HIV testing and treatment, breast exams, and preventive cancer screenings. We cannot let the Republican leadership get away with this.

This amendment would ban any payments to Planned Parenthood for any reason. Even payments that are akin to insurance reimbursements will be prohibited, including, for example, reimbursement to Planned Parenthood for services provided through Medicaid for low-income women's health care. Ultimately this amendment prevents women from going to their chosen health care provider.

If the feminists of this country cannot stop this outrage, who can? But they must hear from you now.

The Pence amendment is only one of the assaults on women and children in the Republican Continuing Resolution, which also includes cuts to teen pregnancy prevention programs, cuts to Head Start and child care programs, complete elimination of Title X family planning programs serving low-income women, massive cuts in nutrition aid for children under 5 years and pregnant women, cuts to prenatal care programs, and cuts to assistance for the elderly poor, who are predominantly women.

We must - and can - stop this in the Senate.

For women's lives,