In his defense, Bush said that there are innumerable community health centers, a number of women’s health organizations and rural clinics, which require to be completely funded.
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I am also aware, and thankful, that there are strong community resources here in Florida promoting access and covering costs for lower income women <i>whoi> need these vital services.
Bush said in his statement that he was referring to the $528 million Planned Parenthood affiliates received from the government, a figure he called “hard to fathom”.
On Monday, Senate Republicans tried and failed to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. However, the vote failed to garner the 60 ballots needed to proceed.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the presidential frontrunner for the Democrats, was quick to reply.
Bush’s campaign later released two different statements in an attempt to clarify his remark.
“After all, in 2012 President Obama hammered Mitt Romney (see this ad, for instance) for taking exactly this position on defunding Planned Parenthood, and ended up beating Romney among women by 11 points”, Waldman wrote. “Hillary Clinton should look into the camera and defend the killing of babies in particular ways in order to maximize the value of their body parts for sale in the market”.
But Bush did not redirect Planned Parenthood money into community health centers providing birth control, Pap tests and other family planning services as he suggested.
“He’s got no problem giving billions of dollars away to the super wealthy and powerful corporations”, Clinton said at a standing-room-only campaign rally at La Rumba nightclub in downtown Denver. Planned Parenthood has denied these allegations, according to the Washington Post, saying it transfers aborted fetal tissue to research facilities and only accepts payments for transportation and other logistical costs allowed by the law. And secondly, it’s hypocrisy for Democrats to say they care about women’s health when they continue push for late-term abortion.
Whether he misspoke or didn’t, Bush’s comments about women’s health are certainly inconveniently timed.
Here are four sentences that Jeb Bush said today.
A spokeswoman followed up 25 minutes later saying she had mistakenly sent a draft, and offered an updated version, this one including the admission from Bush that he “misspoke”.
Whatever the case, this much is clear: Bush is now aboard the “defund Planned Parenthood” train in a serious way.
Bush’s campaign has said that the former governor was not involved in any projects associated with the reproductive health program, but the story nonetheless caught fire in conservative news outlets.
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Clinton’s remark came just hours after Bush’s unscripted gaffe, where he said, “I’m not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health issues”, during a discussion on Planned Parenthood.
