On Sunday Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Patty Judge told KCCI TV 8 news that she supports repealing the Hyde Amendment.
“Yes, yes I would Stacey. I think that people deserve equal access to health care in this country and we should not be discriminating against someone because they are a lower income bracket. But I also wanted to say about Planned Parenthood, I think that people immediately jump to the abortion issue when they talk about Planned Parenthood and we have to remember that there is a whole range of services, women’s health services, provided by Planned Parenthood including cancer screenings. And when we short there funding we are also shorting that opportunity for people of lower socio-economic means to get those mammograms, to get those pap smears, all of those things that they need to get to make certain that they are healthy,” Judge said in replay to Stacey Horst’s question about whether she would support a repeal of the Hyde Amendment.
It is a well known fact that Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms, yet this myth keeps getting perpetuated by those on the left. We can now add Patty Judge to that number.
As far as women’s health care in Iowa. I wrote last fall:
According to the National Association of Community Health Centers there are 14 federally qualified health care (FQHC) centers operating in 91 service sites serving 179,599 Iowa residents per year. That is just community health centers. This doesn’t include pregnancy centers provide prenatal care, ultrasounds and childbirth classes, among other services to women facing unplanned pregnancies, empowering them with life-affirming options. There are 13 Planned Parenthood clinics none of whom provide mammograms. In contrast there are 30 centers that are members of Free Clinics of Iowa. You can also check out the website GetYourCare.org to see all of the community health centers currently eligible for federal funds. Also the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services list 152 rural health clinics in Iowa.
Judge doesn’t just want to fund “women’s health care” she wants taxpayers to fund abortion. If she just wanted to fund health care she wouldn’t support repealing the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment doesn’t prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving taxpayer money of which the organization has received hundreds of millions of dollars over the years.
No, the Hyde Amendment just prevents taxpayer funding of abortion. The fact is that the abortion giant, and other abortion providers, are receiving taxpayer funding now for abortion despite the amendment to Congress’ perpetual shame.
Jenifer Bowen of Iowa Right to Life and Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony List released a joint statement in response to this interview.
“Not only does Patty Judge oppose compassionate limits on late term abortion more than halfway through pregnancy, Judge stands in lockstep with Hillary Clinton and the abortion lobby in their desire to force Americans to pay for abortion on demand, up until the moment of birth, with their taxpayer dollars. Patty Judge will fight for Big Abortion, not Iowa families and taxpayers. Her position on taxpayer funding of abortion is profoundly unpopular – including with members of her own party,” Bowen and Dannenfelser said.
The Democrats at their national convention in July added the repeal of the Hyde Amendment to their party’s platform making it the most radical pro-abortion platform in the party’s history.
Patty Judge and the Democrats are out of step with the American people. Caffeinated Thoughts reported this summer that a recent Marist/Knights of Columbus poll showed that Americans are overwhelmingly against both late-term abortion and taxpayer funding for abortion.
Some of the findings revealed:
- Though 51 percent of Americans say they are pro-choice, about 8 in 10 Americans support substantial restrictions on abortion (78 percent), and would limit it to, at most, the first three months of pregnancy. This number includes 62 percent of those who identify as pro-choice, 85 percent of African Americans and 84 percent of Latinos.
- Taxpayer funding for abortion is opposed by 62 percent of Americans. This includes 65 percent of African Americans, 61 percent of Latinos, and 45 percent of those who say they are pro-choice, as well as 84 percent of Republicans, 61 percent of Independents and 44 percent of Democrats.
- Concerning the recent Supreme Court decision, Nearly 8 in 10 Americans (78 percent) want abortion clinics to be held to the same standards as other outpatient surgery centers. This includes 77 percent of African Americans and 82 percent of Latinos, as well as 77 percent of women, and 84 percent of millennials. About three quarters of those who identify as pro-choice (74 percent) agree, as do strong majorities regardless of party affiliation.
- In addition, 70 percent of Americans want doctors who perform abortions to be required to have hospital admitting privileges. This includes 71 percent of women, 77 percent of millennials, and 78 percent of Latinos, Pro-life and pro-choice adherents are also equally likely to support such a requirement at a rate of 7 in 10 for each group (71 percent).
- And by almost 20 points, a majority of Americans (56 percent to 37 percent) do not believe that healthcare providers should be forced to perform abortions against their conscience or religious beliefs. This includes 6 in 10 Latinos (61 percent) and 4 in 10 who identify as pro-choice (41 percent).
Both Iowa Right to Life and Susan B. Anthony List have endorsed U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
“Senator Grassley is a longtime Pro-Life champion with whom we have both worked for many years. His leadership on the Senate Judiciary Committee virtually ended the discussion of the Garland nomination and any other Obama appointee before the next president is elected,” added Dannenfelser and Bowen.
“On the other hand, Patty Judge has been endorsed by the radical pro-abortion EMILY’s List, which opposes even the most modest Pro-Life initiatives. She will be a rubber stamp for Hillary Clinton’s extreme agenda, which includes forcing Americans to pay for abortion on-demand with our taxpayer dollars.”