Before the budget deal was hammered out last week, Scarlett Johansson made this video in defense of Planned Parenthood. As it turned out, funding for the group’s health-care services escaped the guillotine — this time around. President Obama put his foot down after hearing from a lot of pissed-off Americans. Though the immediate threat has receded, ScarJo’s video makes a strong case for why we need Planned Parenthood:
Don’t go thinking this is the end of the battle — more like the beginning. There are lots of budget fights to come and right-wing Republicans aren’t going to let up on this issue. Expect to hear a lot more batsh*t bullsh*t from people like Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).
During the heat of budget negotiations, Kyl brazenly lied on the Senate floor when he said that abortion makes up “well over 90 percent” of what Planned Parenthood does, when in fact it’s 3 percent. His office was forced to clarify with an excuseplanation that became in instant classic: “His remark was not intended to be a factual statement.” That, in turn, inspired Stephen Colbert to launch the delightful Twitter hashtag #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement.
And Bachmann — renowned for her looniness on the environment and, well, all other issues — this past week called Planned Parenthood “the LensCrafters of big abortion,” which didn’t go over well with LensCrafters.
At least we’re getting some comedy along with our tragedy.
This is the latest in a series of Saturday GINK videos about population and reproduction (or a lack thereof).
