House Republicans recently plotted a raid in the middle of the night to steal basic healthcare and hand it over to billionaires in the form of another tax break. This latest GOP scheme involves stripping funding from Planned Parenthood.
Essential services, such as breast exams and STI testing, will be cut off if the Senate passes this bill. Republicans will use the fallout as tax gifts for the ultra-rich. The plan sounds outrageous, right? Why then are republicans hell-bent on pushing this now?
Healthcare for You or a Tax Break for the 1%
Republicans in Congress have officially backed a plan to defund Planned Parenthood, cutting off federal Medicaid reimbursements to clinics nationwide.
On the ground, this move will affect about 2 million people, many of whom are low-income women. These women will lose access to cancer screenings, STI testing, birth control, and more if the bill is passed.
Without Planned Parenthood, community clinics and public health centers will be overwhelmed. This will lead to many individuals lacking basic health care, undiagnosed illnesses, and unwanted pregnancies.
At least 55% of Planned Parenthood patients rely on federally funded programs for care. If Congress defunds Planned Parenthood, many will lose access to its health centers, and reports show that other providers cannot absorb these patients. Most will have nowhere else to go for care.
Meanwhile, the reconciliation bill that contains this Planned Parenthood defunding makes room for tax cuts aimed squarely at the ultra-wealthy.
You Lose Cancer Screening. Billionaires Get a Bonus
Another shocking aspect of all this is that this plan will add $300 million to the national budget deficit. However, the GOP couldn’t care less, as long as they make their billionaire friends happy.
Trump and his fellow republicans campaigned as populists, but it’s clear that it was all for show. With 77% of Americans opposing defunding, a true populist would listen and reconsider—but Trump refuses to backtrack. Instead, he’s pushing the bill to ensure every congressman rallies behind it. The fact that House GOPs voted on the bill at 1 a.m. is proof of how unpopular the plan is.
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