ColorLines' Akiba Solomon is reporting that Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore spoke passionately on Friday about having an unplanned pregnancy at age 18 during a session that was supposed to be about fixing the deficit. Anti-abortion Republicans took the opportunity to pass Rep. Mike Pence's (R-Ind.) Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. If this bill passes in the Senate, then Planned Parenthood's budget would be officially "gutted."
Planned Parenthood operates 800 health centers that provide low-cost and free family-planning services (read: condoms and birth control pills), HIV counseling, STD treatment, cancer screenings and sex ed to 5 million men, women and teens nationwide. Most clients are poor; many are of color. After Rep. Paul Braun (R-Ga.) pulled out the "Planned Parenthood as eugenics" argument, Moore fired back.
She spoke passionately about what an unplanned pregnancy means for a child — water in formula to make it go further, mayonnaise sandwiches and constant movement because of an inability of parents to pay rent they cannot afford, resulting in constantly changing schools for poor students, which contributes to poor performance.
She called out "well-meaning" Democrats and Republicans for essentially being OK with poor, black children, whom they feign to care so much about, being sentenced to a life of extreme poverty. She also highlightrf the hypocrisy of supposedly wanting black children here, but then not wanting to provide assistance to poor mothers, like cutting food stamps and temporary assistance to struggling mothers.
Moore tells it like it T-I-Is, in our best Willona Woods voice. Check out what Moore has to say, and tell us your thoughts on this controversial issue.
Read more at ColorLines. Watch video below of her comments:
In other news: Texas Set to Pass Bill Allowing Guns on Campus.