Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
I have written a number of posts for the Turley blog about The GOP’s war on women and proposed extreme anti-woman legislation which has been sponsored by members of the Republican party (here, here, here, here, here, and here). In a piece for Mother Jones, Stephanie Mencimer said that Paul Ryan has a “long history as a culture warrior”—and that people are taking “a fresh look” at it since Mitt Romney named Ryan as his running mate. I thought I’d do some investigating of my own to find out more about the Wisconsin “culture warrior’s” position on women’s issues.
According to Laura Bassett, Rep. Ryan “voted to defund federal family planning programs, authored a budget that dismantles Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, all of which disproportionately aid and employ women, and voted multiple times to prevent women in the military from using their own money to pay for abortions at military hospitals.”
Sylvia Casablanca, a medical doctor and holistic psychotherapist, wonders if Ryan will now “head the conservative war on women.” Casablanca wrote in a VOXXI article that Ryan “sounds, thinks, acts, so much like Rick Santorum!” She added that both men have spent much of their public lives “battling the things that matter most to women.” She continued, “He [Ryan] has been opposing contraception, eulogizing women who quit successful careers to be stay-at-home moms (like their own wives have done), and vowing to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act. And, Ryan voted against the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.”
Casablanca feels that Ryan’s stance on the issues mentioned above are “zilch” compared to his “support of a federal ban on abortion in all circumstances, including incest and rape.”
In her Mother Jones article, Mencimer also wrote the following:
What isn’t so well known about Ryan’s record, though, is that one piece of legislation he supported is so extreme that it would have turned Romney’s children into criminals.
The Sanctity of Human Life Act, which Ryan co-sponsored, would have enshrined the notion that life begins at fertilization in federal law, thus criminalizing in vitro fertilization—the process of creating an embryo outside of a woman’s womb. In IVF, doctors typically create multiple embryos and then only implant the healthiest ones in the woman. Some of them stick and become babies, and some don’t. The embryos that don’t make it to the womb are either frozen for later use or destroyed. The Sanctity of Human Life Act, if passed, would make all those embryos “people” in the legal sense, so if they aren’t used or don’t become babies after being implanted, they would essentially become murder victims under the law.
H.R. 212: Sanctity of Human Life/Personhood Bill
Sponsor’s Summary: To provide that human life shall be deemed to begin with fertilization.
Excerpt from the text of H. R. 212:
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) FERTILIZATION- The term ‘fertilization’ means the process of a human spermatozoan penetrating the cell membrane of a human oocyte to create a human zygote, a one-celled human embryo, which is a new unique human being.
(2) CLONING- The term ‘cloning’ means the process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, that combines an enucleated egg and the nucleus of a somatic cell to make a human embryo.
(3) HUMAN; HUMAN BEING- The terms ‘human’ and ‘human being’ include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, beginning with the earliest stage of development, created by the process of fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent.
Link to MSNBC Hardball Video: Revisiting Ryan’s extreme pro-life positions: Chris Matthews talks with Kate Michaelman, former head of NARAL, and Politico’s Maggie Haberman about Paul Ryan’s extreme pro-life stance, and his support for a federal ‘personhood’ law.
In addition, Rep. Ryan is a cosponsor of some other “extreme” anti-woman legislation that has been introduced in Congress. To wit:
H.R. 3805: Ultrasound Informed Consent Act
Sponsor’s Summary: To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and the opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion.
H.R. 3: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Open Congress Summary: This bill would make permanent and expand the Hyde amendment restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortions. It seeks to prohibit even indirect funding streams that may potentially come in contact with abortion services. For example, it would deny tax credits to companies that offer health plans that cover abortions and it would block anybody with insurance that covers abortions from receiving federal subsidies or medical cost tax deductions, even if the abortion portion is paid separately with personal funds. Women who use tax-free Medical Savings Accounts would have to pay taxes on the costs of abortions.
H.R. 358: Protect Life Act aka “Let Women Die” Bill
Open Congress Summary: Amends the new health care law so that no federal money could be applied to health insurance plans that cover elective abortions, even if the abortion coverage is paid for entirely with private funds. It also states that a federal agency can not force a health care provider that accepts Medicare or Medicaid to provide abortion services, even in cases when the mother’s life is endangered.
From Human Rights Watch:
US: House Vote Puts Women at Risk
Bill Would Permit Hospitals to Let Women in Need of Care Die
(Washington, DC) – The United States House of Representatives approved a bill on October 13, 2011, that would put women’s lives at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, if it becomes law, would reverse longstanding federal policy requiring hospitals to provide life-saving care regardless of expense, Human Rights Watch said.
The Protect Life Act, HR 358, would amend the healthcare reform law to grant hospitals far-reaching powers to deny patients abortion care, without any exception for emergency situations. US law currently requires hospitals receiving federal funds to provide emergency care to anyone in need up to the point at which they can be stabilized or transferred, if the original hospital is incapable of providing the care they need.
“The misnamed Protect Life Act is about allowing women to die if they need an emergency abortion,” said Meghan Rhoad, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It is a vicious attack on women’s rights and on the most basic right to life.”
The Paul Ryan Vision: Ban Abortion, Defund Contraception, Outlaw In Vitro Fertilization
What do you think about Paul Ryan’s position on women’s issues?
SOURCES
Paul Ryan: the ‘Personhood’ Crocodile? (Huffington Post)
Paul Ryan Sponsored Fetal Personhood Bill, Opposes Family Planning Funds (Huffington Post)
Paul Ryan, new head of the Republican war on women? (VOXXI)
Bill Press: The Paul Ryan-Mitt Romney ticket: trouble for GOP (Newsday)
Sandra Fluke: 8 Points on Ryan’s Voting Record on Women’s Issues (Politic365)
Rep. Paul Ryan Supported the “Let Women Die” Bill (Blog for Choice)
How Did Your Representative Vote on the “Let Women Die” Bill? (Blog for Choice)
See How Your Lawmaker Voted on the “Let Women Die” Bill, H.R.358 (Prochoice America)
Sandra Fluke: Paul Ryan on women’s issues — so bad it’s unbelievable … but true (Lean Forward/MSNBC)
Five Reasons Why Paul Ryan Is Bad For Women’s Health (Think Progress)
The Paul Ryan Vision of America: Ban Abortion, Defund Contraception, Outlaw In Vitro Fertilization (Democracy Now)
List of Bills Sponsored and Cosponsored by Paul Ryan (Open Congress)
shano, When I speak of the “abortion debate” I am referencing the debate in our culture, not in Congress. I have been quite heartened by Hollywood having themes of women giving up babies for adoption and making that a difficult and noble choice. Without question some of the attitude I have is shaped by us going through infertility problems for years. We ended up adopting our son from Colombia and then having a daughter via birth. shano, my hope and prayers are that this huge open wound is solved w/ a win/win, and it will take women to accoplish this. This isn’t about legislation, laws solve few problems and create many more. I think about smoking in this regard. It wasn’t laws that changed it…smoking became “stupid” and “uncool”. Actually, w/ the newer more dranconian laws smoking is unfortunately making a comeback. if you make something uber taboo, then kids want it. Lets end on something we should be able to agree on. Abortions should be rare, w/ the infertility problems in this country being helped. They should be legal. I’ll end it there.
“my hope and prayers are that this huge open wound is solved w/ a win/win, and it will take women to accoplish this.”
Nick,
I must be categorical about this, which is unusual for me, but my feelings are too strong. This is not an issue to be solved by compromise. We do not have a right as a society to force women to make choices they don’t want to make. Fetuses are not viable life, either scientifically and/or religiously. The Anti-Abortion position is not pro-life, it is anti-woman’s sexuality, with “life” being used to hide its misogyny. I am the father of two daughters and how dare anyone feel they can make choices as to what they can do with their own bodies? Finally, my religion says that life begins with the first breath and how dare anyone think that their religion takes precedence over mine in a personal matter.
Now my religion also says that anyone who eats pork is committing an abomination towards God and should be murdered. Should we ban bacon, because after all an abomination against God is a serious matter? Perhaps the resolution you should pray for is that all women who think a abortion is wrong due to religious reasons, not have abortions, while not trying to make others of different beliefs follow the anti-abortion religious beliefs.
With Ryan Selection, GOP Doubles Down on War on Women
Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Representative from New York
8/15/12
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carolyn-maloney/with-ryan-selection-gop-d_b_1778410.html
Excerpt:
Mr. Ryan boasts of being “pro-life” but he voted for a law that critics understandably labeled the “Let Women Die Act.” The bill would have given hospitals the right to refuse to perform an abortion even if it was necessary to save a woman’s life. The law would also have allowed the hospital to refuse to transfer a dying woman to a hospital that would save her life.
Mr. Ryan says he wants to get government out of people’s lives yet he supported the passage of a federal law that would forbid terminating any pregnancies, even those that came as the result of rape and incest. He believes it is appropriate to use federal law to compel a woman to bear the child of her attacker, or compel a minor to bear her own siblings.
Mr. Ryan has supported “Personhood” legislation that would criminalize widely used forms of birth control. He has voted to deny birth-control coverage to federal employees, called for the defunding of Title 10 family planning programs and called for the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
Paul Ryan’s pro-life views in spotlight after Todd Akin’s rape comments
Romney distances himself from statements, but his running mate once sponsored a bill that could have outlawed all abortions
Karen McVeigh
8/20/12
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/20/paul-ryan-pro-life-akin?newsfeed=true
Excerpt:
The row over the “legitimate rape” comments of a Republican congressman has brought renewed attention on the staunchly pro-life views of the party’s vice-presidential candidate, Paul Ryan.
Mitt Romney’s campaign managers moved swiftly to limit the damage from remarks made by Todd Akin, the Republican senate candidate for Missouri, who suggested women could not become pregnant from being raped.
A “Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape,” the campaign said in a statement.
But commentators on Monday moved to point out that the statement appeared to contradict the Republican vice-presidential candidate’s earlier positions on the issue.
Ryan, a staunch pro-lifer, was a co-sponsor of a controversial House bill last year defining life as the moment of fertilisation and granting “personhood” rights to embryos. Abortion rights activist say the Sanctity of Human Life Act would have outlawed all abortions, restrict some forms of contraception, in-vitro fertilisation and stem-cell research.
The bill never made it onto the floor of the house. All state attempts to introduce so-called “personhood” amendments into law have failed, even in conservative states. It was rejected in Mississippi in November 2011.
Ryan also voted for and co-sponsored house bill dubbed the “let women die” bill by pro-choice campaigners. The bill would allow hospitals to deny emergency abortions, even when it is necessary to save a woman’s life.
He was also a co-sponsor of the ultrasound informed consent act, which requires a women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound even if not medically necessary and forced doctors to provide images and descriptions of the foetus to her.
The ladies summarized it well, but sometimes too many words obscure the message. Only one or at most two ideas, etc at a time please. My (and the public’s brain?) is limited.
They also showed that de-suffragizing men would be a good idea, so that this could become a matriarchal
nation.
Women can, and much better. Nature knew what it was doing when it gave women the role they have vv “life”.
A campaign slogan, not a defensible scientific position.
Obama made his main point on the swiss accounts. But he erred (for reasons of presentation cohesion?) by not saying that Romney has ONLY released part of the year’s declaration, and has withheld key parts needed for judging his tax position. So claim those who know.
Pathological Hypocrisy: Todd Akin, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan
Tricksy,
You are long up the list here and certainly long gone.
But you give me opportunity to comment.
Combat is all we see around us daily, and all the time on TV. And ideas are expressed in the dominant form (the mode is dominant in the mind) and the length seems well-adapted to the length of a TV commercial pause.
More lengthy items don’t get read, as I have been advised.
Democrats Tie Ryan, Romney to Akin as ‘Dangerous’ for Women
By Devin Dwyer & David Mui
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/democrats-tie-ryan-romney-to-akin-as-dangerous-for-women/
Excerpt:
With Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan scrambling to distance themselves from Rep. Todd Akin’s comments about “legitimate rape,” Democrats have seized on the moment to highlight what they say are Republicans’ outdated views on women.
Akin, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Missouri, told a local TV interviewer Sunday that he opposed abortion in all cases, including rape and incest, because victims of “legitimate rape” are unlikely to become pregnant.
“The female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Akin told KTVI.
The GOP presidential ticket, Romney and Ryan, swiftly condemned Akin, saying in a joint statement that they “disagree” with Akin’s remarks and that their administration “would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.”
But Democrats said the presumptive nominee and his running mate have a history of aligning with Akin on “extreme” positions, including legislation that would have redefined rape, banned abortion in all cases and cut off funding for abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood.
“While Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are working overtime to distance themselves from Rep. Todd Akin’s comments on rape, they are contradicting their own records,” said Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith.
“Every day, women across America grapple with difficult and intensely personal health decisions — decisions that should ultimately be between a woman and her doctor,” she said.
Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Akin’s comments reflect a mindset in the Republican ranks that is “literally, dangerous for women.”
“Congressman Ryan has already partnered with Akin on a whole host of issues that restrict women’s ability to make their own health care decisions,” she said in an email blast to supporters Sunday night.
“This kind of ‘leadership’ is dangerously wrong for women — and I can’t sit by and watch as these out-of-touch Republicans like Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and Todd Akin continue to roll back women’s rights.”
Mitt Romney Taxes For 2010 Not Fully Disclosed
Posted: 07/18/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/mitt-romney-taxes-2010_n_1683084.html
Excerpt:
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney has not released his full tax records from 2010, including key documentation connected to his Swiss bank account.
Although President Barack Obama and an increasing number of Republican politicians have called on Romney to release tax returns from years prior to 2010, the public criticism has so far failed to note that Romney has not disclosed all of his tax documents for 2010 itself — the only year for which the GOP presidential nominee has presented any final tax forms.
Romney released his 2010 tax return in January of this year, a document that first informed voters about the existence of his Swiss bank account and financial activities in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But people who own foreign bank accounts are required to file a separate document with the IRS that provides additional details on such overseas bank holdings, and Romney has not released that form to the public.
The Romney campaign did not respond to HuffPost’s request to view the document.
Tax experts say it is almost certain that Romney did file the form, known as a Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or “FBAR” in accountant slang. The penalty for not filing an FBAR can be severe, and the IRS would have expected to receive the form since Romney listed the Swiss bank account on his tax return. Listing the account on his tax return and then failing to file the subsequent FBAR would have been asking for a hefty fine, and would probably have heightened IRS scrutiny of prior tax filings.
Nevertheless, Romney’s omission of the form from the earlier disclosure raises questions for tax policy experts about the function of his Swiss bank account, and whether or not Romney used other offshore bank accounts that did not generate interest.
Elaine,
That is one interesting story. I think Romney has several reasons why all the grief he is taking over not disclosing his returns is worth it to him in comparison to what stuff would hit the fan if his returns were made public.
Called it!
Off Topic:
Mitt Romney Taxes Enriched Foreign Governments At U.S. Expense
Posted: 08/20/20
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/mitt-romney-foreign-tax-credit_n_1812507.html
Expert:
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney sought and received $787,455 in foreign tax credits from the U.S. Treasury to cover his tax payments to other nations in 2008.
While there is no evidence that his actions violated the law, abuse of the foreign tax credit has been a problem for the Internal Revenue Service. The agency has prosecuted a number of international fraud cases in the last few years involving such credits. And the size of Romney’s claim in 2008 raises questions about the sources of his foreign income.
“This could definitely be a contributing reason for Romney’s unwillingness to disclose prior years’ returns,” said New York University School of Law professor Daniel Shaviro, a tax expert.
The U.S. government provides tax credits to Americans who also pay taxes abroad, so that foreign income is not taxed twice by different governments. While these credits do not save U.S. residents from paying taxes — they still have to pay the foreign governments — they do put a dent in the U.S. Treasury’s collections.
“In the plain-vanilla case, the taxpayer is hurting the U.S. Treasury to the benefit of the foreign treasury, but isn’t benefiting himself,” Shaviro said.
The Huffington Post had previously reported that Romney received more than $25 million in foreign income between 2005 and 2010. At the time, he was governor of Massachusetts. His 2010 return also lists foreign tax payments that Romney made dating back to 2000. Through 2004, the payments were tiny — for Romney — averaging $37,000 a year. In 2005, however, his foreign tax bill shot up to $333,149 and stayed high for the next three years, prior to the Great Recession.
“Romney had a significant amount of foreign income,” observed Rebecca J. Wilkins, senior counsel for federal tax policy with the nonpartisan Citizens for Tax Justice. “We don’t know what the source of his foreign income is.”
Tell me nick, what WOMEN in Congress are writing these anti abortion bills? Who are they? Which bills did they write or sponsor?
http://www.juancole.com/2012/08/top-ten-paul-ryan-falsehoods-gaffes-and-outrages-first-week.html
nick, you still do not know enough to put the partial birth abortion on the chopping block.
Tell me, would you like to carry a fetus for two more months after the doctor told you this fetus did not have a brain and would die at the moment of birth? Would you?
Even if you know that having a partial birth abortion is vastly safer than carrying to term?
The majority of women have already come to a consensus.
it is this; make abortion legal and rare.
The rest of it is a private matter between a woman and her doctor, no one else.
Ted Kennedy made all the “correct” votes. How he really felt about women is deadly apparent to anyone w/ half a brain. How Ted Kennedy treated women over his depraved, alcoholic, lifetime “speaks for itself.” But, I know he’s “y’all” hero.
Shano, I have said for two decades that men should get out of the abortion debate. Men harden the debate and cause violence, from both ends of the spectrum, vis a vis abortion. I firmly believe if men were to step aside that women would come to a civil compromise. And, as any human would agree, that compromise would not include the legalization of partial birth abortion.
Nick,
I invited you to join the discussion on the topic of this thread. Not ready yet? Cat got your tongue on the subject? Don’t blame me.
When you’re ready to discuss Ryan’s cosponsoring of the legislation that I wrote about in this post, I’ll listen to your argument
Well said shano.
Nick,
The votes of Mr. Ryan speak for themselves.
No nick, we just thin Ryan and men like him should get the he11 out of all Uteri since their ‘opinion’ is not based on any sort of medical science or the Constitution.
In fact, it is political pandering of the worst kind, hoodwinking the religious to vote for them on this single issue. Making abortion illegal or so hard to get it may as well be illegal. They do not think their wives or daughters have the right to privacy.
But as always, if one of their wives or daughters ever needs an abortion- he will make sure they will be able to get one asap, even if they have to fly to the EU to do so.
Just like that young leader of the ‘Right to Life’ movement did. Because it is always OK if you are Republican. IOKIYAR/ No matter what the ideological stance, you can be the exception to that belief if needs arise.
Sorry Elaine, I’m “out of my league”. Why don’t you tell me how I should think and feel on that topic. I just feel so unworthy. I’m guessing, since I’m not real bright, that I should say that although Ryan has a wife, mother and daughter that he hates women, is evil, stupid and lazy, and wants to put women, blacks and illegals in chains. Do I “have my mind right”[Cool Hand Luke reference] Boss Elaine?