Congress Defunds Planned Parenthood, Part 2

Last week I wrote to Representative Mike Simpson about his vote to defund Planned Parenthood. Here’s his form letter response, with my rebuttal inline.

Dear Dustin::

Thank you for contacting me regarding public funding of abortions. I appreciate hearing from you and having the opportunity to respond.

I didn’t contact you about public funding of abortions. That has been illegal for more than 30 years. I contacted you about public funding of contraceptives, pregnancy tests, and other health screenings.

I oppose abortion except in instances of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion should not be used as a means of birth control. Parents of unplanned pregnancies who decide they do not want their baby should consider adoption instead of aborting the unborn child. As such, I cannot support legislation that provides taxpayer dollars to an organization that promotes or provides abortion services.

Abortion is certainly far from the best form of birth control, and yes, people should think about putting up babies for adoption when considering how to handle an unwanted pregnancy. However, cutting funding for one of the best providers of contraceptives for low income women is the worst possible way to try to reduce unplanned pregnancies and abortions.

As the 112th Congress proceeds, I will continue to work to protect the rights of the unborn. While we disagree on this issue, I appreciate knowing your opinion.

I’m curious how you decided where to draw the line about fetal rights. It would seem that all fetuses would have the same rights. Why should the consent of one parent or the close familial relationship of the parents make a difference?
The fact that you recognize a difference would seem to mean that you do not view the life of the unborn as being on the same level as those who have been born. Why then do you want to reduce the rights of most women.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact me about this issue. As your representative in Congress, it is important to me to know your thoughts and opinions about issues affecting our nation today. I also encourage you to visit my website, www.simpson.house.gov, to sign up for my e-newsletter and to read more about my views on a variety of issues.

I likewise appreciate the chance to share my views with you, my representative, and to hear your views on the issue. I would also like to encourage you to visit my website, www.dwnomad.com and subscribe to the RSS feed.

Sincerely,
Mike Simpson
Member of Congress

I guess it might be time for me to write about my views on abortion as I’ve been skirting around the issue for a few months. Look for that in the coming week or two. Since this bill is moving to the Senate, I’ll also be writing to my two senators.