title:  After Republicans Gut Zika Funding, Rubio Says Infected Women Can’t Have Abortions
text: Republicans claim to be  pro-life,  but one needs only observe to realize that they simply like babies   as long as they are in the womb, that is. Sure, they repeatedly cut funding from programs that feed poor children and actively work to deny kids health care and other necessities   but they sure love promoting abstinence-only sex  education,  which actually increases unwanted pregnancies, and depriving women of the ability to decide whether or not to abort a fetus.Zika is believed to cause severe birth defects like microcephaly, which causes severe brain and skull deformities and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first year alone. As the GOP wants to deprive poor women of health care, if they had their way these expenses would be crippling. This doesn t even take into account the extra care a child would need, the exhaustion involved in caring for a critically-ill baby, or a number of other factors that would cause someone with the Zika virus to make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy.The state of Florida is currently facing a Zika crisis, but that doesn t stop Senator Marco Rubio from sticking to his guns on abortion. To him, women should never be allowed to have one, even in the cases of rape and incest   and not even if the mother has contracted the Zika virus. He told Politico on Saturday: I understand a lot of people disagree with my view   but I believe that all human life is worthy of protection of our laws. And when you present it in the context of Zika or any prenatal condition, it s a difficult question and a hard one. But if I m going to err, I m going to err on the side of life. Obviously, microcephaly is a terrible prenatal condition that kids are born with. And when they are, it s a lifetime of difficulties,  Rubio added.  So I get it. I m not pretending to you that that s an easy question you asked me. But I m pro-life. And I m strongly pro-life. I believe all human life should be protected by our law, irrespective of the circumstances or condition of that life. No matter how much the child suffers, right, Marco?Rubio himself voted to fulfill President Obama s request for funding, so he is aware that there is an issue. He s not hiding from that. But his belief in a book written by a bunch of men who couldn t figure out where the sun hides at night, as well as his devotion to the very party that actively fights to keep women sick, prevents him from accepting the fact that women have the right to make their own health care decisions   including terminating a pregnancy if they have the Zika virus.Meanwhile, as Republicans continue to hold funding hostage over gutting the Clean Water Act and letting truckers drive for longer hours without a break (yes, seriously), Rubio and his ilk will continue to fight against women s right to choose an abortion to save the child from a lifetime of suffering.Featured image via Getty Images/Joe Raedle