From the Star Tribune:
In a floor speech to a nearly empty House chamber Wednesday night, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., raised the specter of schoolhouse abortions if the House Democrats’ health reform overhaul becomes law.
Citing privacy provisions in a grant program for school-based health clinics, Bachmann suggested that they would allow young girls to get abortion referrals from what she referred to as “sex clinics.”
The debate raged into Friday, with a YouTube clip bouncing around the Internet showing Bachmann describing the bill like this: “Comprehensive primary health services, physicals, treatment of minor, acute, chronic medical conditions, referrals to follow-up for specialty care — is that abortion?”
Stopping to take off her glasses and look straight into the camera, Bachmann continued, “Does that mean that somebody’s 13-year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic and have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and dad are never the wiser.”
Democrats, still howling about the speech, note that school-based health clinics have been around for decades, and that there are no provisions in the bill for abortions. The section that Bachmann complained about also has an explicit provision for “parental or guardian consent” — in accordance with existing federal, state and local laws.
But Bachmann aides say that’s just the point. About a dozen states lack parental notification laws for abortion (Minnesota is not among them).
California Democrat Lois Capps, one of the authors of the health clinic provision, assured supporters on Friday that the bill was specifically amended to bar public school-based health funds from being used for abortions.
From Salon:
Bachmann’s argument is entirely untrue and both PolitiFact and Politico’s Glenn Thrush have done a thorough job debunking her claims. But she’s hardly the first conservative to advance this line of thinking
…snip…
The falsehood seems to have begun with a blogger named Peter Fleckenstein, writing on his blog Common Sense From a Common Man back in July. Fleckenstein alleged that Page 992 of the House healthcare bill contained language that would lead to the establishment of school clinics that could advise young girls to have abortions without parental input.
Conservative groups like the American Family Association and Liberty Counsel, a conservative group affiliated with Liberty University’s law school, then pushed the abortion clinic myth to wider right-wing audiences. One chain e-mail from the Liberty Counsel told parents, “[your] children will be indoctrinated and your grandchildren may be aborted!”
In actuality, the section of the bill at the root of the controversy states explicitly that the school clinics would have to abide by existing federal, state and local laws regarding parental consent. On top of that, the school clinics in question aren’t a new entity dreamed up by Democratic socialists intent on indoctrinating America’s youth. Rather, as PolitiFact has pointed out, the clinics have been around for 30 years. There are 2,000 such clinics across the country. None provide abortions and they generally serve students who live in areas with limited healthcare options. The healthcare reform legislation would just ensure that these clinics continue to receive funding.
However, as Thrush suggests, the fact that Bachmann’s allegations have no basis in reality might not keep Congress from overreacting.
“[N]one of the three bills in the House explicitly prohibit the use of the school-based clinics to steer kids to abortion clinics β so look out for an amendment, however statutorily superfluous, to be introduced by somebody as a way to wedge conservative Dems from the party’s liberal base,”Β Thrush writes. “Either that, or we’ll be hearing 30-second ads that say something like, ‘[Candidate X] voted for the Nancy Pelosi government takeover of health care, which will result in your 13-year-old granddaughter getting an abortion on the way home from school …'”
(Video of Michele Batshit Bachmann’s sex tape…i mean sex clinic speech is at Salon’s link above)
Bachmann’s photo looks like she NEEDS a sex clinic!
she needs a padded room.
did you see the video? she takes off her glasses and runs her fingers through her hair while looking straight into the camera. i thought of those old movies where the librarian takes off her glasses and takes the pins out of her bun. on top of being batshit crazy, she’s a total attention whore. maybe she’s auditioning for faux news.
Isn’t that Sarah Palin’s schtick–the “sexy librarian?”
BTW, you do know that’s a cover of a porn flick that you’re using for a model, right? Not that Madame Representative isn’t wingnut porn already. π
neon vincent,
that’s exactly what i thought to myself–she’s stealing princess sarah’s shtick! and yes, i am fully aware that i used a porn flick. i used ‘clinic’ as the keyword, and when that movie appeared in the list, i specifically picked it, because i could think of no greater insult than to use a porn flick for holier-than-thou batshit bachmann.
In public, she might be insulted. In private…Red States consume more porn than Blue States.
neon vincent,
have you noticed that the rethugs’ minds so often go straight to sex, even when the subject has nothing to do with it?
Yeah. Direct line from school health clinics to abortion, which is about sex and control.
Then again, it could be something as simple and cynical as “sex sells.”
i don’t think batshit bachmann is smart enough or a good enough actress to pull it off if she was only working from the talking points. i think she’s a repressed fundie. even her husband, as a therapist, has a practice where he “de-gays” people. there’s something psychologically wrong with these people.
Yes, she’s a repressed fundie. She needs an external source of control to keep her in line. Without one, she might go wild!
if she does, i’m not doing that movie poster! π
OK, I subjected myself to the video.
What the hell was that all about?
And– how could the state of Minnesota vote for both Al Franken AND Michelle Bachmann????
Yin & Yang???
Has the water been tainted?
i guess only batshit bachmann’s district has the bad water. the rest of the state seems to have been spared.
I don’t know how much more bullshit out of that sick cunt I can take.
Screw the padded room..give her a frontal lobotomy.
she should be in a cage for people to laugh at and throw peanuts to.
LOL came here to see Nonnie’s take on Sarah Palin’s book cover – coming soon i am sure!~!
Hope you are well Nonnie – it’s been a while….
sanuk!!
what a nice surprise! π i haven’t seen you in ages, here or at the big orange. how’ve ya been? i have a touch of the flu or something, but your visit made me feel a lot better. i love nice surprises. π
so sorry i haven’t worked on a princess book cover yet (she’s such an ingrate, she didn’t use the others i made for her).
don’t be a stranger, sanuk! please come back soon!
nonnie, is that the batshit broach we were talking about? It works as a choker, too!
do you like it, fotc? it will go with the brooch in the collection, but i made it special for this cover! i’ve even though of the tagline for the advertisements for the collection. wherever you go, guano! you likey? π
yes! I likey vrey much.
oh goody! ’cause you’re my jewelry adviser.
hi, are you still up, or up already? If you ever saw me, you would rethink the jewelry adviser job. π
fotc,
you should see me! i dress like a homeless person most of the time! π
Well hello Michele Bachmann! Except for the constant, tourette-like eye blinking, she is one hot mama! I think Sarah may have found a running mate.
It’s a shame she opposes sex clinics but everyone can’t be perfect.
oh, tannerleah, where’ve ya been? i’ve already done lots of work on the princess/batshit bachmann campaign.
Don’t you hate misinformation? A new film about the abortion issue called Maafa21 will awaken all to the truth: http://www.maafa21.com
oy vey! π to anyone who might feel inclined to click over–this film was made by life dynamics, which has been endorsed by alan keyes. enough said. π
Michele Bachmann is a disgrace to the USA, MN, and the 6th. If you’re interested in getting rid of Bachmann, support democratic candidate Dr. Maureen Reed! You can learn more about Maureen, and donate, at:
http://maureenreedforcongress.com/
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Reed
hello mnblue,
welcome to the raisin! π
anyone who runs against batshit bachmann is welcome here anytime! best of luck to maureen!
I think people see the similarities between Bachmann and Palin because they both seem to have the same personality disorders.*
Seriously, you could take any of their batshit crazy statements and attribute it to either of them and nobody would question it.
I have the exact same response to each of them whenever I hear them speak. I cringe, then await the insane statements.
If they weren’t “attractive,” they would be treated like the muttering bag ladies they are.
*Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder
Hystrionic Personality Disorder
Delusional Thinking
Paranoia
Grandiosity
if they weren’t “attractive,” they’d be virginia foxx!
Hmmmmm, speculum has only one “L” and so does Michele. Coincidence? I’m thinking about buying her action figure, just to so I can stick pins in it and make her twitch. Er, twitchier.
uhoh, z, now there will be L to pay!