I know the Comey hearing is the dominate story but I wanted to take a moment and highlight this:
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the "country’s most prominent pro-life Democrat," wants his constituents to know why that distinction doesn't bar him from supporting Planned Parenthood.
In an op-ed for the Huffington Post published Wednesday, Casey, who is up for re-election in 2018, tried to destigmatize the health care provider, which many congressional Republicans say should be cut off from federal funds.
"I am a pro-life Democrat," Casey wrote. "I believe we must do everything we can to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions in this country, including increasing access to contraception and helping pregnant women before and after birth by supporting Medicaid, WIC and other critical programs."
Defunding the nonprofit has long been a rallying cry of anti-abortion Republicans because it provides abortion services, even though no government funds are allowed to go toward abortion.
In House Republicans' American Health Care Act, which passed by a narrow margin, a provision blocks Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood for a year. The legislation faces a tough sell in the Senate, however, where the GOP holds a slim majority and two of its own are pro-abortion rights.
Casey argued that even opponents of abortion should support Planned Parenthood, citing reports that show teen pregnancy and abortions are on a downward trend and attributing the success to access to contraceptive services that the organization provides. (Anti-abortion groups have argued the decrease in nationwide abortions can be ascribed to state-level restrictions.)
Here’s a little more from Casey’s op-ed:
The fact is, Planned Parenthood prevents unintended pregnancies and reduces abortions. Blocking access to care at Planned Parenthood could have the exact opposite effect. By increasing access to all forms of contraception and high-quality contraceptive counseling, Planned Parenthood enables women to choose the methods that work best for their bodies and lifestyles.
This is particularly important in my home state of Pennsylvania. We need more health care not less. In Pennsylvania, Planned Parenthood plays an indispensable role in serving family planning patients that rely on the safety net. Right now, over 90,000 Pennsylvanians depend on the 32 Planned Parenthood health centers state-wide for care, including cancer screenings, contraception, STD testing and treatment, and well woman exams. Fifteen Planned Parenthood health centers in Pennsylvania are located in medically underserved areas or healthcare provider shortage areas.
Yet all this progress is at risk. The president and many Republicans in Congress have made it a top priority to “defund” Planned Parenthood and roll back women’s access to family planning care and contraception. The real-life effects of these policies are devastating. In the absence of family planning services provided at safety net health centers, like Planned Parenthood, the rates of unintended pregnancies, unplanned birth and abortion for all women in Pennsylvania could be 56 percent higher and the teen pregnancy rate could be 60 percent higher. And the idea that other providers could just absorb Planned Parenthood’s patients has been contradicted by those providers and by the experts ― in fact the American Public Health Association called the idea ludicrous. By increasing access to care at Planned Parenthood and focusing on family planning, we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to lower the rate of unintended pregnancies and abortion and provide basic health care for women who cannot obtain much care any other way.
Well said, indeed. I am pro-choice and Casey and I don’t always see eye to eye with Casey but he is right about Planned Parenthood and I am very happy that someone from the pro-life side of the argument is standing up for Planned Parenthood.
On the subject of health care, I’m also very proud of Casey’s continuous effort to save health care and I like this approach:
A group of U.S. senators wrote to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price.
It calls on him “to stop misleading the public about the negative impacts of President Trump’s budget and the Republican Health Care Plan on Medicaid protections,” according to a press release from the office of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
Fifteen senators signed the letter, including Casey; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Al Franken, D-Minn.; and Cory Booker, D-N.J.
“We are alarmed by the repeated false statements you have made regarding the American Health Care Act, particularly related to the effect that it would have on millions of vulnerable Americans who rely on Medicaid for their coverage or to cover the health care services delivered to a family member,” the senators wrote.
According to the press release, the AHCA would strip Medicaid protections from 14 million Americans, despite Price’s claim that “there are no cuts to the Medicaid program.”
Now all this is attracting Republicans to make Casey a top target next year and one of Casey’s GOP opponents is taking this route in attacking him:
Jeff Bartos, a Main Line Republican running against Sen. Bob Casey, has called on Casey to denounce Philly’s Democratic district attorney nominee.
In a recently posted campaign video, the GOP candidate attempts to tie Casey to DA candidate Larry Krasner — whom he calls a “radical leftist.”
“Philadelphia Democrats nominated radical leftist Larry Krasner as their candidate for district attorney,” Bartos says in the campaign video. “Krasner isn’t your ordinary Democrat – he’s a radical, backed by George Soros’s millions.”
Bartos, a 44-year-old real estate executive from Lower Merion Township, goes on to criticize Krasner’s platform and history as a civil rights attorney.
One part of his ad is incredibly misleading, though — he says Krasner “supports letting criminals go free if they can’t make bail,” which isn’t true. Krasner wants to move toward eliminating cash bail, which he says “does not mean that all offenders are released regardless of their criminal records, history of bench warrants, and severity of their charges.” Krasner points to Washington D.C.’s model, which determines via a “points system” whether a defendant should be released before their trial, as a successful way to do this.
Krasner functioned as a progressive firebrand during the election. He tapped into a national support base (including backers of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders) and beat out six other Democrats who vied for their party’s nomination in a DA race that was hailed as a major win for progressives.
Bartos calls himself a “businessman and conservative political outsider running to restore the American Dream,” though he’s embedded in politics — he’s a fund-raiser and board member at a political committee run by the state’s Republican national committeeman. He’s one of four Republicans itching to take Casey’s spot in the 2018 election, in what’s likely an effort to appeal to Pa. Trump supporters in wake of the election.
Yeah, tying Casey to Krashner might be more beneficial to helping energize the base for Casey even more. Either way, we have to be ready for next year. Click here to donate and get involved with Casey’s re-election campaign.