Chip, chip, chip....

There are a couple other appalling bills to be aware of and write your congresspeople about, along with writing them about voting NO on 3.

First is a bill that got a small mention in a recent NYT opinion piece (decrying HR3):

A separate Republican bill would deny federal funds for family planning services to any organization that provides abortions. It is aimed primarily at Planned Parenthood’s hundreds of health centers, which also provide many other valuable services. No federal money is used for the abortions. This is a reckless effort to cripple an irreplaceable organization out of pure politics.

That bill is: H.R.217 - Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. It was introduced by Mike Pence (R-Epressive) and has 154 co-sponsors. The bill states:

Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) from providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion. Excludes an abortion where:
(1) the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or an act of incest against a minor; or
(2) a physician certifies that the woman suffered from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy. Excludes hospitals from such requirement so long as the hospital does not provide funds to any non-hospital entity that performs an abortion. Requires the Secretary to annually provide Congress:
(1) information on grantees who performed abortions under the exceptions; and
(2) a list of entities to which grant funds are made available.

Of course with HR3, that first clause doesn't mean much now, does it?

Health care centers like Planned Parenthood already DO NOT USE Title X money for abortions. And health care centers like Planned Parenthood are HEALTH CARE CENTERS. They serve women and men, most who are of lower income or simply do not have health insurance for whatever reason. Eliminating federal family planning funds from health care organizations like Planned Parenthood, who just happen to also offer the legal, health care service of abortion, is vile, immoral, and not a small amount of class warfare.

The other bill to watch is the: H.R.212 - Sanctity of Human Life Act". It was introduced by Paul Broun (R-Idiculous) and has 62 co-sponsors. This one says:

(1) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is the person's paramount and most fundamental right;
(2) each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, at which time every human has all legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and
(3) Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories have the authority to protect all human lives.

Life begins at fertilization, that zygote has all legal rights, so abortion is murrrrrrder! Which reminds me, I have some questions for you, supporters of this sort of bill.

Garbage. All of it. Please write your congresspeople asking them to fight for the autonomy of women.