March 31      On Thursday Mike Pence cast the decisive Senate vote allowing states to withhold federal funds from Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. Planned Parenthood is already forbidden from using federal funds for abortions. But literally millions of women across the country rely on it for basic health services. It is the largest provider of reproductive health services in the country. It provides sexual and reproductive health care and education to almost 5 million women and adolescents yearly. Now much of this is in severe jeopardy. Republicans were so hell-bent on reversing an Obama era regulation that they flew in a Georgia Senator recovering from surgery to tie the Senate vote. Then a smirking Pence arrived, and cast the deciding ballot.

Pence is a Christian fundamentalist. Male supremacy and male domination of women are central to their fanatical beliefs. Opposing abortion under any circumstances is at the core of their political program. The abomination Pence voted for will inflict completely unnecessary deprivation and suffering on many women. It will deprive women of basic healthcare and advice. Christian fundamentalists have been enacting and enforcing measures similar to the one Pence voted for in states across the country for decades. Now they are intent on making it federal policy and law. They are out to impose their hateful “morality” as the law of the land. This is utterly unacceptable. If you share the radical idea that women are full human beings, you need to be part of driving this fascist regime from power.