Michele Bachmann Claims Women Can Make Own Choices About Their Bodies Despite The GOP Anti-Choice Agenda (VIDEO)
The Republican Party is desperately trying to gain support from women, even if it means saying one thing while doing the opposite. Such was the case when Michele Bachmann appeared on Meet The Press on NBC on Sunday. During the interview, Michele Bachmann claimed that the Republican controlled US House of Representatives supports women being free to choose what they want to do with their own bodies.
When Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ripped the Republicans for pushing legislation that allows employers to deny women contraception coverage, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann interrupted the respected Senator from New York to claim that women can make their own choices.
“That’s a false portrayal. What we want is women to be able to make their own choices. We want women to make choices. We want health savings accounts and the ability to be able to make their own choices in health care. You see, that’s the lie that happens under Obamacare. The president of the United States effectively becomes a health care dictator. Women don’t need anyone to tell them what to do on health care. We want women to have their own choices, their own money. That way they can make their own choices for their future on their own bodies.”
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Here’s the video:
Bachmann’s claims are directly counter to what Republicans have actually been doing to curb women’s rights the last few years. Bachmann claims that Republicans want women to make their own choices, but Republicans in states across the country have pushed or passed legislation that hinders women’s ability to make the choice to have an abortion and have access to contraception. For example, Republicans in Arizona recently passed a law banning abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy. Arizona, Kansas, and several other states are pushing bills that would allow employers to block women’s access to contraception and even fire women for using it. Mississippi Republicans are trying to ban abortion entirely by forcing the last abortion clinic in the state to close. Some Republicans have even expressed a desire that women be required to get permission from men before they can have an abortion. Republicans in the US Congress are even getting in on killing choice by pushing the Blunt Amendment which would effectively allow employers to keep women from getting affordable contraception. Even Bachmann is severely anti-choice, saying she wouldn’t even give raped women a choice to have an abortion. If women can’t get contraception or abortions, how is that pro-choice?
Bachmann also claims that Republicans want women to have the money to make these choices but that’s a complete lie considering Republican efforts to dismantle equal pay laws. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recently repealed the state’s version of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps protect women from wage discrimination. Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has avoided taking a definitive stance on the national version of the Fair Pay Act and Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra says equal pay for women should be repealed. We have equal pay laws for a reason. Currently, women are paid around 75 cents for every dollar men make. Equal pay laws give women the ability to take their employer to court if they aren’t being paid equally for the same work male employees do. Without the law, employers can freely discriminate against women. Since women are paid less than men, they often have a difficult time affording contraception and crucial health services. That doesn’t give women much choice about what to do with the little money they make, especially if they have kids to care for.
Michele Bachmann went on Meet The Press to pretend that Republicans aren’t waging a war on women. But the actions of Republicans in Congress and across the country contradict Bachmann’s claims. Republicans like Bachmann only support choice when women make the choices conservatives force them to make. And that isn’t the definition of ‘choice’ at all.
4:47 am
I saw this episode of Meet the Press. Behind all that presentation, Michele Bachmann is a crude woman inside. She’s a bully and not interested in debate but instead can’t help herself but issue one negative comment after another. She’s got her method down pat, just keep talking, slowly, point after point like a robot. She had no respect for the others on the show, including the host. She did not have the courtesy to let the Senator finish her comments and in fact, kept interrupting her. I was mildly surprised that David Gregory did not cut into her rant more.