Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Chairman, this has been an interesting debate as we look at the 150 years back in history and we look at the Civil War. And as we look back at the Civil War, some people reenacting it as if it was a good event, we look at kind of a retreat in history here tonight.
It was 1965 when Griswold v. Connecticut, the 7-2 Supreme Court decision, said Planned Parenthood could not be prohibited by the government from giving contraceptive advice to married people, and we have come a long ways since then in terms of liberty. And I am kind of surprised as we get here in 2011 and we look at this House, and part of this House which claims to be so concerned about liberty and individual freedoms and individual rights is more hung up on the Tenth Amendment and something to do with States and Federals, rather than the Ninth Amendment and the penumbra right that gives women and individuals the right to make certain decisions.
We have got a group over there really concerned about earmarks, yet what this is I would submit is not a bill of attainder; it is a reverse earmark, because you are saying who we can't give money to. And the logic I have heard from my friend from Georgia was that because even though we have the Hyde amendment which says Planned Parenthood can't use Federal funds for abortion because they do other Planned Parenthood activities, helping with HIV-AIDS screening, helping with cervical and breast cancer exams and treatments and other birth control-type activities other than abortion, because they do abortion too, this helps contribute in the milieu of their overall funding. With that logic, we wouldn't fund any hospital, any health clinic or any doctor that any part of their practice or any part of their operation has anything to do with abortion because the funds get commingled and it helps contribute to their ability to provide abortion.
So the bottom line is this isn't is about Planned Parenthood. It is not the reverse earmarks that it is, that it picks out only Planned Parenthood, including Planned Parenthood in Memphis, Tennessee, that provides health care to over 5,000 women a year, low-income women a year who need information about how to plan their families other than just abstinence, that we know from Alaska to Florida has failed. This is an effort to take away from people an individual choice and to require and make the government, this government, this Congress, Big Government, the decider of individuals' lives rather than giving them some choice.
I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source