title:  Here Are The ABSURD ‘Alternatives’ Florida Now Has For Women Instead Of Planned Parenthood
text: It s become clearer than ever that Republicans don t care about women. They also don t care about freedom one iota. And they most certainly don t care about women s freedom to affordable and accessible reproductive health care. This has become more clear than ever especially in Florida, and because it s Florida it s become a circus of the absurd.In a recently passed bill that will be signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R) it basically strips all funding from Planned Parenthood, because really, why should women have access to affordable care? However, Republicans tout the same old fictitious line that Planned Parenthood is just an abortion clinic, so it doesn t deserve to be funded. Let s be clear, though, even if it were only an abortion clinic, it still deserves funding because abortion is legal and it a women s right to make her own medical decisions.Here s the most obscene part of the whole bill, though   you know, besides stripping freedom away from hundreds of thousands of female Floridians   the list of  alternative  clinics for women to receive reproductive health.According to the Tampa Bay Times, anti-choice advocates  want that money to be spent in other kinds of clinics, like crisis pregnancy centers and federally qualified health centers. What are those other  federally qualified health centers? Well, according to The Guardian,  several state lawmakers who have insisted that plentiful alternatives exist for reproductive and sexual healthcare have cited a list of health centers that includes dentists, optometrists, and elementary schools. When the co-sponsor of the bill, Colleen Burton, was asked about these  alternative resources alternative resources for birth control, pap smears, breast exams and other reproductive services.  She answered: We have 52 federally qualified health centers, the counties have health departments, physicians  offices, independent clinics would be eligible if they applied and met the requirements. Fellow state lawmaker Lori Berman pressed further, saying: I have seen the list of the groups. And some of those groups include podiatrists, correctional facilities, healthcare, school-based healthcare clinics. Proponents of the bill insist there are ample number of alternatives where women can go to receive the care that they need, but that s a false narrative considering most of the places are in no way capable of providing women s health services.It s absolutely reprehensible that Republicans are playing politics with women s lives like this. All because they know defunding Planned Parenthood plays to their base of idiotic voters who don t even know what it is, and rely on the lies being spread by right-wing media.We need to stop allowing women s lives to be controlled by politicians, and ironically the same politicians who come from a party that boasts it s chef-d oeuvre is perpetuating freedom to all, which clearly is a lie.Planned Parenthood is an integral part of community health and family planning. Defunding it not only hurts the women (and men) who need their services, but also entire communities.Featured image via Flickr