Yesterday, Jeb Bush revealed his extreme women’s health agenda: defund, defund, defund. At the Southern Baptist Forum, Jeb Bush mused, “I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.” Out of touch? Yup. Out of date? Certainly. Out of line with the rest of the GOP? Not in the slightest.
Jeb’s offensive comments are just the latest in a string of top Republicans who have revealed their extreme belief that women’s health issues aren’t worth real investment or attention.
It’s not just health issues where the GOP heavy-hitters shorthand women. From equal pay to violence against women, the Republican presidential candidates all give the same out of touch, out of date answers that we’ve come to expect from the Republican Party on issues affecting more than half our population.
Donald Trump
Women’s Health
Donald Trump suggested that he would support shutting down the federal government in order to defund Planned Parenthood. “Donald J. Trump suggested he supported shutting down the federal government to stop funding for Planned Parenthood in the wake of videos that show officials with the group discussing fees for tissue from aborted fetuses. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday, as the Senate voted down a measure to stop federal financing for the group, Mr. Trump called the clips ‘disgraceful.’ Mr. Trump cited the efforts to shut down the government in order to halt funding for the Affordable Care Act, a movement in 2013 led by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and a candidate to be the party’s presidential nominee, and suggested that tactic should be used again. ‘I think you have to in this case also,’ Mr. Trump said, noting that in the instance involving Affordable Care Act, ‘the Republicans decided not to stick together and they left a few people out there like Ted Cruz.’” [New York Times, 8/4/15]
Jeb Bush
Women’s Health
Jeb Bush: “The next president should defund Planned Parenthood.” “GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Tuesday said the next president should defund Planned Parenthood. In an on-stage interview at the Southern Baptist Forum, Bush was asked if Republicans should make funding for Planned Parenthood an issue as more controversial videos exposing its practices are leaked. ‘We should, and the next president should defund Planned Parenthood,’ he said, adding that he defunded the non-profit when he served as governor of Florida.” [The Hill, 8/4/15]
Jeb Bush: “I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.” “Bush said the argument against that effort would be that it’s a ‘war on women.’ ‘You could take dollar for dollar–although I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues–but if you took dollar for dollar, there are many extraordinarily fine community health organizations that exist to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues,’ he said.” [The Hill, 8/4/15]
As governor, Jeb Bush engaged in anti-choice activism that “shocked some state officials who believed he was reaching beyond the powers of his office.” “Jeb, meanwhile, declared in 2003 that he was ‘probably the most pro-life governor in modern times.’ As governor, Bush signed a law to create ‘Choose Life’ license plates in Florida, the proceeds from which flow to anti-abortion advocacy organizations. He also aggressively intervened in two high-profile cases to prevent a mentally disabled rape victim and a 13-year-old girl from being able to have abortions. In the former case, involving a 22-year-old rape victim who was both pregnant and developmentally disabled, Bush asked a court to appoint a guardian to represent the woman’s fetus. […] In 2005, Bush fought to prevent a pregnant 13-year-old girl, who was a ward of the state, from having an abortion. He was overruled by a judge, and CNN later reported that Bush’s ‘abortion activism shocked some state officials who believed he was reaching beyond the powers of his office.’” [Huffington Post, 3/25/15]
Jeb Bush diverted funds from family planning services into abstinence-only education, “Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida lost $124,000 last year from its family planning division. Bush diverted the funds to abstinence-only educational programs. Now teens who use Planned Parenthood have a $15 co-pay and must pay $7 for birth control. ‘We do charge the teens now,’ said LaWanda Walker, public affairs coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. ‘That we really, really hate. You need to be able to have services and make it convenient.’” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/29/03]
Jeb Bush vetoed funding for family planning services provided to poor women through Planned Parenthood. According to the St. Petersburg Times, “Even the most powerful state lawmakers were hit by Gov. Jeb Bush’s vetoes on Friday. The Republican governor vetoed $ 290-million in the state budget that lawmakers passed this spring, including more than $ 25-million for projects in two counties – Manatee and Sarasota – represented by Senate President John McKay. […] The cuts also included $ 302,843 for family planning services provided to poor women through local Planned Parenthood affiliates, money that had been provided each year for more than a decade. The share earmarked for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, which includes the Tampa Bay area, was $ 125,800 for services for 1,258 women. The other regional affiliates affected by the cuts are based in Jacksonville and Naples. ‘Many of our patients have no health insurance nor are eligible for Medicaid. They absolutely depend on clinics like ours,’ said Barbara A. Zdravecky, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.” [St. Petersburg Times, 6/16/01]
Equal Pay
Jeb Bush: “What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?” “‘What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?’ Bush asked, in an exchange captured by the liberal opposition research outfit American Bridge. Once the man he was speaking with defined it as a bill that would ensure that women get ‘equal pay for equal work,’ Bush took issue with his phrasing. ‘Equal pay for the same work, not for equal work — I think that’s the problem with it. I think there’s a definition issue,’ he said, before declining to say whether or not he thought Land should support the legislation.” [The Hill, 10/15/14]
Unwed Mothers
Jeb Bush “chose not to veto” a Florida law “forcing single mothers seeking to give their children up for adoption to publish their sexual histories in a newspaper.” “While Jeb Bush was governor of Florida, the state approved a law forcing single mothers seeking to give their children up for adoption to publish their sexual histories in a newspaper in an attempt to contact the children’s fathers — even if the mothers were rape victims or minors. The measure, passed in 2001 and soon nicknamed the ‘Scarlet Letter’ law, wasn’t actually signed by Bush — though he chose not to veto it, either — and was repealed in 2003 after courts found it to be unconstitutional. But the bizarre and anachronistic policy, flagged by the Huffington Post’s Laura Bassett Tuesday in a review of Bush’s past rhetoric and policies toward single mothers, could be a problem for the presidential hopeful who once bemoaned that the GOP is viewed as an ‘anti-woman’ party.” [Vox, 6/9/15]
Jeb Bush wrote that a “sense of ridicule” should be a deterrent to women having children out of wedlock. “Public shaming would be an effective way to regulate the ‘irresponsible behavior’ of unwed mothers, misbehaving teenagers and welfare recipients, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) argued in his 1995 book Profiles in Character. In a chapter called ‘The Restoration of Shame,’ the likely 2016 presidential candidate made the case that restoring the art of public humiliation could help prevent pregnancies ‘out of wedlock.’ ‘One of the reasons more young women are giving birth out of wedlock and more young men are walking away from their paternal obligations is that there is no longer a stigma attached to this behavior, no reason to feel shame. Many of these young women and young men look around and see their friends engaged in the same irresponsible conduct. Their parents and neighbors have become ineffective at attaching some sense of ridicule to this behavior. There was a time when neighbors and communities would frown on out of wedlock births and when public condemnation was enough of a stimulus for one to be careful.’” [Huffington Post, 6/9/15]
Scott Walker
Women’s Health
Scott Walker supported legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks. “Shifting his tone to reassure social conservatives, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared Tuesday that he intends to sign a state law in the coming months that bans abortion after 20 weeks. In an open letter to the Susan B. Anthony List, the likely Republican presidential candidate also said that he supports ‘similar legislation’ now stalled in Congress.” [Politico, 3/3/15]
Scott Walker opposed abortion, including in instances of rape and incest. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Walker opposes abortion, including in instances of rape and incest.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/3/10]
Scott Walker declared himself “100 percent pro-life” and pledged to seek a complete abortion ban. “For his part, Walker has said repeatedly he opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. He declares himself ‘100 percent pro-life.’ And to Pro-Life Wisconsin, an organization that opposes abortion without exception, Walker pledged to seek a complete abortion ban. We asked Jill Bader, Walker’s campaign spokeswoman, about Barrett’s ad and she said it accurately states Walker’s position.” [Politifact, 10/26/10]
Scott Walker signed a budget that “eliminated over $1 million in state funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.” “A fifth Planned Parenthood health center closed in Wisconsin on Thursday due to state budget cuts that directed family planning money away from the provider. The Fond du Lac clinic did not provide abortion services. It offered birth control, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, pregnancy tests, annual exams and breast cancer screenings to over 1,000 patients a year. A spokesperson for the clinic blamed the closure directly on Gov. Scott Walker (R), whose 2011-2013 budget eliminated over $1 million in state funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.” [Huffington Post, 9/25/14]
Scott Walker bragged about having “defunded Planned Parenthood” in Wisconsin. “A few weeks before the November election, in an interview with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the governor sidestepped questions about his earlier opposition to abortion, and declined four times to answer directly when asked if abortion should be prohibited after 20 weeks — a position he had previously embraced. He also declined to restate his earlier opposition to abortion in cases of rape and incest. But in a breakout speech in Iowa on Jan. 24, he drew loud applause from the crowd of conservative activists when he declared that he had passed ‘pro-life legislation’ in Wisconsin and ‘defunded Planned Parenthood.’” [New York Times, 2/22/15]
Scott Walker supported “personhood” legislation. “Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spoke directly into the camera in a 30-second spot last fall and called abortion an ‘agonizing’ decision. He described himself as pro-life but, borrowing the language of the abortion rights movement, pointed to legislation he signed that leaves ‘the final decision to a woman and her doctor.’ That language was gone when Mr. Walker met privately with Iowa Republicans in a hotel conference room last month, according to a person who attended the meeting. There, he highlighted his early support for a ‘personhood amendment,’ which defines life as beginning at conception and would effectively prohibit all abortions and some methods of birth control.” [New York Times, 2/22/15]
Scott Walker: Forced mandatory ultrasounds were “just a cool thing out there.” “I’ll give you an example. I’m pro-life, I’ve passed pro-life legislation. We defunded Planned Parenthood, we signed a law that requires an ultrasound. Which, the thing about that, the media tried to make that sound like that was a crazy idea. Most people I talk to, whether they’re pro-life or not, I find people all the time who’ll get out their iPhone and show me a picture of their grandkids’ ultrasound and how excited they are, so that’s a lovely thing. I think about my sons are 19 and 20, you know we still have their first ultrasound picture. It’s just a cool thing out there.” [NPR, 5/27/15]
Scott Walker supported a 20-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. “Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he will sign a proposed 20-week abortion ban whether or not it includes an exemption for cases of rape or incest. […] Walker, who had previously expressed support for the bill that’s on a fast track in the Wisconsin Legislature, said it didn’t matter whether there was an exemption. As introduced, there is none in the bill.” [Chicago Tribune, 6/1/15]
- Scott Walker on abortion ban exemptions for rape or incest: “I think for most people who are concerned about that, it’s in the initial months when they are most concerned about it.” “‘I think for most people who are concerned about that, it’s in the initial months when they are most concerned about it,’ Walker said when asked about the exemption. ‘In this case, it’s an unborn life, it’s an unborn child, that’s why we feel strongly about it. I’m prepared to sign it either way they send it to us.’” [Chicago Tribune, 6/1/15]
Equal Pay
Scott Walker repealed a Wisconsin law allowing victims of pay discrimination to seek damages in state courts. “On Thursday, with little fanfare, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a bill repealing the state’s 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act, which allowed victims of workplace discrimination to seek damages in state courts. […] The Equal Pay law wasn’t just about women—it also offered protection from discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors. But it was enacted largely in response to a large gap between men and women’s compensation, one that was worse than average in Wisconsin—in 2009 the state ranked 36th in the country in terms of workplace gender parity.” [Daily Beast, 4/7/12]
Scott Walker signed legislation that put limits on attorney’s fees victims could recover in equal pay lawsuits. According to the International Business Times, “The law approved by Walker removes the ability for victims of wage discrimination to go to court for compensatory and punitive damages, although they still have the ability to seek back pay. Hynes noted that Walker previously signed legislation that puts a limit on the amount of attorney’s fees victims can recover in lawsuits, making it even less likely that wronged employees will take their cases to court.” [International Business Times, 4/9/12]
Mike Huckabee
Women’s Health
Mike Huckabee said that reproductive freedom was worse than the Holocaust. “He blamed the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage on the failure of pastors to become active in politics. Huckabee said Americans have ‘blood on our hands’ for failing to criminalize abortion and contended that reproductive freedom is much worse than the Nazi Holocaust.” [Right Wing Watch, 11/25/14]
Mike Huckabee supported “personhood” legislation that would outlaw common forms of birth control. “Former Arkansas Gov. and Fox News host Mike Huckabee (R) will be the keynote speaker at an anti-abortion event in Jackson, Mississippi next week. Huckabee will help raise money for Personhood Mississippi, a radical group that is trying to amend the state constitution to give every fertilized eggs full rights. […] Personhood USA and its affiliates are fringe anti-abortion groups that are determined to redefine life as beginning at the moment of fertilization, effectively outlawing contraceptives like birth control pills.” [ThinkProgress, 8/31/11]
Mike Huckabee supported fully defunding Planned Parenthood. “My fight to defund Planned Parenthood continues. With Democrats in the House vowing to block Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. We must make clear to Republican Leaders that pushing to fully eliminate all funding for Planned Parenthood is a grassroots priority for millions of Conservatives across the nation.” [Mike Huckabee Facebook page, 8/15/13]
Ben Carson
Women’s Health
Ben Carson likened abortion to “human sacrifice.” “Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon-turned-conservative rock star — and an open follower of the Christian faith — likely ruffled liberal feathers with his most recent comment on abortion, during which he likened it to the biblical act of sacrificing humans. He made the remark during an appearance on the Christian broadcast outlet, DoveTV, after host Perry Atkinson suggested that America could receive great blessings from God by outlawing abortion. […] ‘It’s interesting,’ Mr. Carson said, Raw Story reported, ‘that we sit around and call other ancient civilizations ‘heathen’ because of human sacrifice, but aren’t we actually guilty of the same thing?’” [Washington Times, 7/2/14]
Ben Carson supported defunding Planned Parenthood. “Congress must act NOW! Please sign my petition to Congress demanding that they stop all public funds to Planned Parenthood.” [BenCarson.com, accessed 8/5/15]
Ted Cruz
Women’s Health
Ted Cruz opposed abortion even for victims of rape and incest, and referred to birth control pills as “abortion-inducing drugs.” “Cruz, like Akin, opposes abortion for victims of rape and incest. He also labels forms of contraception such as Plan B ‘abortifacients’, which isn’t scientifically or medically correct. At the Value Voters Summit last fall, Cruz repeatedly referred to contraception as ‘abortion-inducing drugs.’” [PBS, 3/23/15]
Ted Cruz supported the Life at Conception Act. According to Pro Life Alliance, “With the general election now past, come January several newly elected pro-life champions will be joining the fight on Capitol Hill for a Life at Conception Act. One of those champions will be Ted Cruz from Texas whose strong support for the Life at Conception Act contributed to his success.” [Pro Life Alliance, 11/9/12]
Ted Cruz was an original cosponsor of the Senate version of legislation designed to defund Planned Parenthood. “This bill ensures that Title X family planning grants are used for their intended purpose and are prohibited from being used by organizations that provide abortions or fund those that do. ‘Planned Parenthood and organizations like it that profit off the destruction of innocent life do not deserve one more dime from American taxpayers. I have been proud to lead the charge against the funding of the big-abortion industry since my first days as a state legislator, and I am honored to continue this fight by reintroducing the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. This legislation would simply clarify the original intent and spirit of the law to ensure that Title X federal funded grants will no longer be awarded to ‘health care’ providers that fail to protect life by providing abortions,’ Black said.” [LifeNews, 1/8/15; S. 582, 2/26/15]
Ted Cruz supported a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks. According to the Indianapolis Star, “Gov. Mike Pence and a group of other possible Republican presidential contenders have thrown their support behind a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other possible Republican contenders wrote to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, in support of his proposed ban, which is based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that stage.” [Indianapolis Star, 9/17/14]
Ted Cruz said that taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood was an “assault on our liberties.” According to a transcript of an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz on American Family Radio obtained via Right Wing Watch, “Cruz: […] You and I are both strongly pro-life, have been fighting to defend the right to life for many years, the idea that we are facing an administration that is so radical that they will do anything they can to defend and expand the taxpayer money to pay for Planned Parenthood and to fund the abortion industry, that is really dismaying and it is typical of the assault on our liberties that is proceeding relentlessly everyday under the Obama administration.” [Right Wing Watch, 3/13/12]
Equal Pay
Ted Cruz voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act multiple times. According to the Congressional record, Ted Cruz cast two “nay” votes against the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would strengthen protections for victims of wage discrimination on the basis of sex. [S. 2199, 4/1/14; Senate roll call vote 260, 9/10/14; Senate roll call vote 262, 9/15/14]
Violence Against Women
Ted Cruz voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. “The Senate overwhelmingly voted to pass the Violence Against Women Act today, 78-22. Opposition to the bill came entirely from Republicans, including both Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Sean Rushton, a spokesman for Cruz, said the new senator has led the fight against violent crime in Texas, especially sexual predators. ‘Nevertheless, he voted against this federal law because stopping and punishing violent criminals is primarily a state responsibility, and the federal government does not need to be dictating state criminal law,’ Rushton said.” [Houston Chronicle, 2/12/13, Senate roll call vote 19, 2/12/13]
Ted Cruz claimed that stopping violence against women was not a federal concern. “Sean Rushton, a spokesman for Cruz, said the new senator has led the fight against violent crime in Texas, especially sexual predators. ‘Nevertheless, he voted against this federal law because stopping and punishing violent criminals is primarily a state responsibility, and the federal government does not need to be dictating state criminal law,’ Rushton said.” [Houston Chronicle, 2/12/13]
Marco Rubio
Women’s Health
Marco Rubio supported bills that would ban abortions after 20 weeks after conception. “The Weekly Standard reported three weeks ago that Rubio agreed to shepherd the bill, and Rubio attributed delays to anti-abortion senators’ attempt to identify which clause of the Constitution would allow lawmakers to implement a 20-week abortion ban nationwide. Rubio and 27 other Republican senators signed onto a bill from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) in 2011 that would require lawmakers to point to which piece of the Constitution allows government expansion — and he said adherence to that idea is causing the slowdown, not cold feet. Rubio said ‘certainly’ the Constitution would allow a federal law banning abortions after 20 weeks — it’s just a question of which portion of the document. Rubio is also a co-sponsor of a bill from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would ban abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia, an issue he said that is more easily constitutionally settled given the District’s federal status.” [Politico, 7/24/13]
Marco Rubio said it was “settled science” that “human life begins at conception.” “Sick of taking flak for his climate-change denial, Senator Marco Rubio tried to change the topic (a classic crisis-management move) by accusing his critics of hypocrisy (another classic). It’s hypocritical, Mr. Rubio told Sean Hannity on Wednesday, for ‘all these people’ to ‘wag their finger’ at him about ‘science and settled science’ — because there’s another area of settled science they don’t like to discuss. ‘Let me give you a bit of settled science that they’ll never admit to. The science is settled, it’s not even a consensus, it is a unanimity, that human life begins at conception. So I hope the next time someone wags their finger about science, they’ll ask one of these leaders on the left: ‘Do you agree with the consensus of scientists that say that human life begins at conception?’ I’d like to see someone ask that question.’” [NY Times, 3/15/14]
Marco Rubio voted in favor of a failed measure to defund Planned Parenthood. “Sen. Marco Rubio stuck around Washington today to cast a vote to defund Planned Parenthood, a measure that failed to get 60 votes to advance. Rubio was scheduled to be in Manchester, N.H., for a candidate forum but did not want to miss the vote, which follows the release of covert videos about Planned Parenthood. Rubio will participate in the forum via video, as will Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.” [Tampa Bay Times, 8/3/15]
Marco Rubio voted to defund Planned Parenthood. “Rand Paul has previously voted to defund Planned Parenthood and said he would ‘stop the flow of tax dollars to groups who perform or advocate for abortion.’ Marco Rubio joined Paul in the vote to defund the health provider, and has made no secret of his plans to further restrict access.” [Salon, 2/27/15; Senate roll call vote 60, 4/14/11]
Equal Pay
Marco Rubio repeatedly voted against equal pay legislation, calling it “a welfare plan for trial lawyers.” “Republicans, seeking to mitigate the fallout after recent debates over women’s health have cast them in a harsh light among female voters, were careful not to be seen as rooting against the cause of equal pay. Instead, they decried the bill as a political stunt. ‘It’s pure election-year politics,’ said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). ‘This bill reads more to me like some sort of a welfare plan for trial lawyers.’” [Talking Points Memo, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 115, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 103, 4/9/14; Senate roll call vote 260, 9/10/14; Senate roll call vote 262, 9/15/14]
Marco Rubio claimed the push for fair pay legislation was “about scoring political points.” In an official press release, Rubio said, “Once again, Senate Democrats have wasted the American people’s time by holding yet another show vote that proves any sense of urgency they have is about scoring political points instead of solving the problems that threaten America’s future.” [Official Marco Rubio Press Release, 6/5/12]
Violence Against Women
Marco Rubio voted against the Violence Against Women Act. “Why it matters: Ryan is one of three current members of Congress frequently mentioned as a potential 2016 presidential candidate. The other two — Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — both voted against reauthorizing VAWA, citing a preference that such decisions be made locally.” [Washington Post, 2/28/13]
Rand Paul
Women’s Health
Rand Paul sponsored an anti-abortion “personhood” bill that could outlaw forms of emergency contraceptives. “Paul, a likely Republican presidential candidate, sponsored an anti-abortion bill in 2013 that defines life as beginning at fertilization. Democrats say the so-called ‘Personhood’ measure would outlaw Plan B and other emergency contraceptives.” [CNN, 9/30/14; S. 583, 3/14/13]
Rand Paul believed life began at conception. According to the 2010 Rand Paul for U.S. Senate website, Paul wrote: “I would support legislation, a Sanctity of Life Amendment, establishing the principle that life begins at conception. This legislation would define life at conception in law, as a scientific statement.” [Rand Paul for U.S. Senate – Issues: Abortion, Archived 8/26/10]
Rand Paul voted to defund Planned Parenthood. On April 14 2011 Paul Voted for an amendment that, according to Congressional Quarterly, would have “direct[ed] the House clerk to make a correction in the enrollment of a bill (HR 1473) to provide $1.055 trillion in discretionary funding for fiscal 2011, and insert a section that would bar the use of funds made available in the bill to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. or its affiliates.” The amendment was defeated by a vote of 42 to 58. [Congressional Quarterly, 4/14/11; Senate Vote 60, 4/14/11]
Rand Paul cosponsored a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. “Defunding Planned Parenthood is now a centerpiece of the Republican agenda going into the summer congressional recess, and some hard-liners have said they are willing to force a government shutdown in October if federal support for the group is not curtailed. ‘The time has come to have a full-throated debate about this, and the time has come to end all taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood,’ Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a presidential candidate and co-sponsor of the Senate bill, said Monday. ’It’s about time we had a debate in our country about this, and it’s about time we said enough is enough.’” [Washington Post, 8/3/15]
Equal Pay
Rand Paul voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act multiple times and compared equal pay legislation to the Soviet Politburo. “Paul, a staunch libertarian, said passing a law that would have given judges more leeway to determine if a woman had been paid unfairly would be a step toward reviving the Soviet Union’s notorious central governing body here. The United States’ free market, he argued, works much better at setting wages at the appropriate level. ‘Three hundred million people get to vote everyday on what you should be paid or what the price of goods are,’ Paul told reporters on Capitol Hill. ‘In the Soviet Union, the Politburo decided the price of bread, and they either had no bread or too much bread. So setting prices or wages by the government is always a bad idea.’” [Huffington Post, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 115, 6/5/12; Senate roll call vote 103, 4/9/14; Senate roll call vote 260, 9/10/14; Senate roll call vote 262, 9/15/14]
Violence Against Women
Rand Paul voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. “Why it matters: Ryan is one of three current members of Congress frequently mentioned as a potential 2016 presidential candidate. The other two — Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — both voted against reauthorizing VAWA, citing a preference that such decisions be made locally.” [Washington Post, 2/28/13; Senate roll call vote 19, 2/12/13]
Chris Christie
Women’s Health
Chris Christie had an “unprecedented anti-abortion position for a New Jersey governor.” According to the Record, “Ironically, Christie has staked an unprecedented antiabortion position for a New Jersey governor. He was the first governor to oppose abortion rights since the Supreme Court’s 1972 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing most abortions. In January 2011, Christie attended a State House rally on that decision’s anniversary, declaring ‘every life is precious and a gift from God.’ He also cut $7.5 million for family planning clinics, including some run by Planned Parenthood. These positions have never hurt Christie politically, but his critics have never attacked him in a concerted advertising blitz, either.” [The Record (NJ), 10/24/12]
Chris Christie endorsed a 20-week abortion ban. “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Monday joined other potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates in endorsing a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. ‘I am proud to be a pro-life Republican,’ Christie said in a statement to the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, which solicited endorsements of the legislation from Republicans. ‘I believe that every life is an individual gift from God, and that no life is disposable.’ The 20-week ban would block abortions at least two weeks before the fetus is viable outside the womb. Such a restriction appears to defy the Supreme Court, which decided in Roe v. Wade in 1973 that women have a right to seek an abortion until the fetus is viable, at around 22 weeks to 24 weeks.” [Huffington Post, 3/30/15]
Chris Christie’s funding cuts for women’s health services caused 6 clinics to close between 2010 and 2014. “Chris Christie, who last week prodded Republicans to drop anti-abortion rhetoric to appeal to more voters, has steadily weakened access to the procedure in New Jersey. Even with a Democratic-controlled legislature committed to reproductive rights, the second-term governor’s annual funding cuts for women’s health services have prompted at least six clinics to close since 2010, according to lawmakers.” [Bloomberg News, 7/28/14]
Equal Pay
Chris Christie vetoed “two sensible reforms that would help prevent women from getting cheated in their paychecks.” “Gov. Chris Christie says he’s committed to pay equity for women. So why, for the second time, has he killed two sensible reforms that would help prevent women from getting cheated in their paychecks? […] One bill, called the Wage Transparency Act, Christie outright vetoed. It would have required state contractors to make their gender, race and wage information publicly available, as federal contractors will soon have to. Christie argues the state’s prevailing wage law already requires wage reporting. But it doesn’t cover all public contractors. And we have yet to see any evidence that doing so would be too ‘costly and burdensome’ for business, as Christie claims. Weinberg’s other bill, the Unfair Wage Recovery Act, Christie’s conditional veto has rendered toothless. Under this reform, a woman who suddenly discovers she is being paid less than male co-workers would have had the opportunity to seek all the back pay she is owed, without hitting an arbitrary statute of limitations.” [Star-Ledger, 8/14/14]
Violence Against Women
Chris Christie vetoed legislation to create a pilot program to protect victims of domestic violence. “Lisa’s Law passed the Legislature in January and would have established a pilot program in Ocean County to electronically monitor offenders of domestic violence restraining orders and notify their victims once they got close. Christie vetoed the bill under the condition that the Attorney General’s office study whether the technology is available and can be implemented in New Jersey. The deadline to report back to Christie was in May; it was released on Wednesday night. […] Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer, R-Ocean, first introduced the bill in 2009. He said if legislators want to find the perfect technology for monitoring then it could be another several years before Lisa’s Law goes into effect. He wants it signed into law this year.” [Asbury Park Press, 10/6/14]
John Kasich
Women’s Health
John Kasich signed into law a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. “Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed a bill on Wednesday that bans abortions after 20 weeks if the fetus is determined to be viable, making Ohio the latest in a series of states to ban late-term abortions. The Ohio bill contains no exceptions for rape or incest and only a very narrow exception for health of the mother, which means that an Ohio physician must be able to prove in court that he performed a late-term abortion to save the woman’s life. If a doctor violates this rule, he could be arrested and lose his medical license.” [Huffington Post, 7/21/11]
John Kasich signed into law a bill that enacted strict abortion restrictions, including mandatory ultrasounds. “Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed stringent abortion restrictions into law as part of his state’s budget Sunday night, just days after Democratic Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis thrilled abortion rights groups nationwide with her successful filibuster against proposed anti-abortion regulations in her home state. The provisions in Ohio will make it more difficult for family planning groups to receive funding for preventive care; require ultrasounds for anyone seeking an abortion; and limit abortion providers’ ability to get transfer agreements with public hospitals.” [Washington Post, 7/1/13]
John Kasich signed legislation essentially cutting off Planned Parenthood from $1.4 million in federal family-planning dollars. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “In all, Kasich vetoed 22 items, including some earmarks. However, Ohio State University’s STAR House, which helps homeless youth, kept its $665,000 per year in funding. Significant abortion provisions in the budget were not changed. The bill essentially cuts off Planned Parenthood from about $1.4 million in federal family-planning dollars by re-prioritizing who can receive the money. Under the bill, abortion clinics must have a transfer agreement with a hospital, but they are prohibited from signing one with a public hospital. The bill also requires a doctor to perform an external ultrasound prior to an abortion to search for a heartbeat, and if one is found, the doctor must inform the woman. The doctor also must tell the woman the likelihood of the fetus surviving to a full term, and the bill redefines a fetus as ‘developing from the moment of conception,’ rather than when a fertilized egg has been implanted in the uterus.” [Columbus Dispatch, 7/1/13]
Equal Pay
Women working in Gov. John Kasich’s office were paid an average of $9.81 per hour less than men. “A newspaper investigation has found the average pay gap between men and women in the offices of four of Ohio’s five elected statewide officials has grown to as much as almost $10 an hour, as it’s shrunk to under a dollar across the rest of state government. Women working in Republican Gov. John Kasich’s office earn $9.81-an-hour less, on average, than men, the Dayton Daily News analysis published Sunday showed. That’s the highest gender pay gap among statewide officeholders, according to the newspaper’s study of Ohio Department of Administrative Services data. The gender gap compares to $3.99-an-hour under former Gov. Ted Strickland.” [Associated Press, 4/12/14]