On Wednesday, people around the world celebrated International Women’s Day as well as the Day Without A Woman. Some refused to do any paid or unpaid labor, some rallied in their cities, and some wore red in solidarity.
But certain members of the GOP managed to observed the occasion by pushing for legislation that would harm women and women’s health.
On Wednesday morning, House Speaker Paul Ryan held a press conference in D.C. to address unpopular changes that House Republicans are proposing to the Affordable Care Act ― and in so doing, managed to brag about how great defunding Planned Parenthood would be.
“This is what we’ve been dreaming about doing,” Ryan said, about reforming the ACA. He then went on to explain how these changes would affect the women’s health care organization. “It ends funding to Planned Parenthood and sends money to community centers,” he said.
Ryan also said that these changes are part of a “conservative wish list,” which feels like a particularly brutal statement considering the proposed legislation would harm predominantly low-income Americans.
Meanwhile, in Texas, members of the Texas House State Affairs Committee reportedly held an hours-long hearing for legislation that has already been blocked by federal judges ― House Bill 35, the contentious bill that would require burial services for aborted or miscarried fetuses.
It’s also worth noting that this all came to pass as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $650 million initiative to fund sex education and reproductive health services worldwide.
Quick trip to Canada, anyone?
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