Elizabeth Warren Tells Republicans She’s Sick of Having to School Them on Planned Parenthood

Senator Elizabeth Warren. Photo: Astrid Riecken/Getty Images

On Wednesday, the day before Republicans unveiled the new health-care bill, Senator Elizabeth Warren took to the floor of the Senate to explain what exactly Planned Parenthood does — and to voice her frustration over having to repeatedly school her colleagues on the topic.

“Frankly, I am sick of coming down to the Senate floor to explain to Republicans what Planned Parenthood does,” Warren said on the Senate floor, as seen in a video posted on her Facebook account. “I am sick of explaining that it provides millions of women with birth control, cancer screenings, and STI tests every year. I am sick of pointing out, again and again, that federal dollars do not fund abortion services at Planned Parenthood or anywhere else.”

She went on to say that other women have continually had to come to the Senate floor to explain the issue — “Women come to the floor. We explain. We cite facts,” she said — and that her colleagues have instead chosen to base their Planned Parenthood-related decisions on politics, rather than facts. Additionally, she slammed Republicans, including Speaker Paul Ryan, for calling the bill “pro-life,” when in fact it will only hinder women’s health.

“Calling something pro-life won’t keep women from dying in back-alley abortions,” she said. “It won’t help women pay for the cancer screenings that could save their lives. It won’t help them take care of their families, have safe sex, or afford their medical bills.”

Warren concluded that the pro-life label is merely “Republicans playing politics with women’s lives,” and that the bill will make it “more likely, not less likely” that women and children will die. “American women deserve better than this mean Republican bill, and American women are here to fight back,” she said.

Watch Elizabeth Warren School Senators on Planned Parenthood