The Zika virus has been all over the news lately as
Olympic athletes in Brazil discuss how they plan to prevent contracting it.
Some athletes decided not to compete in the Olympics based on the risks.
Recently 15 people in a Miami neighborhood have been infected by Zika, while
others in the U.S. have contracted the disease after traveling in South
America.
The Zika virus often causes only mild symptoms: rash,
fever, red eyes, and joint pain among others. Unfortunately, unborn children
whose mothers are infected with Zika can develop birth defects, most notably
microcephaly. Zika is transmitted mainly by mosquito bites but can also be
sexually transmitted.
For the past couple of months Congress has been debating
an effort to prevent the spread of Zika and speed up vaccine development.
Senate Democrats have filibustered the bill, preventing it from getting the 60
votes it needs to pass.
Why would Senate Democrats work to stop a bill which
funds research into a disease that can cause birth defects? The bill doesn’t
single out Planned Parenthood—America’s largest abortion provider—for more
funding. The legislation doesn’t touch the half a billion dollars Planned
Parenthood already gets in government grants every year.
In a press conference led by the leadership of the Senate
Democrats, Planned Parenthood Vice President Dawn Laguens condemned the bill
because it didn’t provide her organization with more money. Planned Parenthood
even sent a letter to U.S. Senators claiming that “a vote against this bill
will be seen as a vote for women’s health care.”
In Planned Parenthood’s bizarre world, “women’s health
care” really only means Planned Parenthood providing more condoms and more
abortions, not vaccine development or a public health campaign to stop the
virus’ primary vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Planned Parenthood doesn’t just perform more than 300,000
abortions a year, they are actively fighting against legislation which could
help prevent birth defects and the spread of a disease simply because they
don’t get another seat on the federal gravy train.
In addition, Planned Parenthood’s position on late-term
abortions for children with disabilities is quite clear. The unfortunate
response from many to children in the womb diagnosed with disabilities is not
providing the child, her mother and family with the love and support they
deserve, but taking the child’s life away from her.
Learn more about Planned Parenthood’s abortion agenda at www.RTL.org.
