WEST PALM BEACH, FL — Like Todd Akin, Adam Hasner is a Tea Party extremist whose anti-women record is a mile wide. Todd Akin has brought to light the Tea Party war against women.
On Sunday morning, Akin used the disgusting term “legitimate rape.” This isn’t the first time that Republicans are implying that some forms of rape are more legitimate than others. Paul Ryan and Todd Akin were both original co-sponsors of H.R. 3, a bill to redefine rape to so-called “forcible rape” to deny women in distress access to health care.
Adam Hasner is fighting for the Tea Party’s Extreme Agenda. As Paul Ryan and Todd Akin were fighting against women’s health care, Adam Hasner was right there with them, running as the Tea Party candidate for U.S. Senate and proudly pushing his out-of-touch, decade-long record of voting against women’s health care.
- Like Akin and Ryan, Hasner is a Tea Party favorite and anti-choice extremist who calls for the reversal of Roe v. Wade and a ban on almost all abortions.
- He is an aggressive supporter of the Ryan Budget, which decimates programs women and their families depend on like Medicare and Head Start, and rejected funding for county family planning programs.
- Hasner has even voted for a “personhood” bill that could have made common forms of contraception and birth control illegal in Florida.
- Adam Hasner voted three times to force women who wanted abortions to have an ultrasound, a totally unnecessary test in most cases, regardless of their ability to pay for it. Hasner’s bill was used as a model in Virginia, where the GOP passed a bill to force women to undergo mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds before abortions.
- Hasner also calls routinely at campaign events for the end of federal funding to Planned Parenthood, which in 2010 provided 30,000 Floridians with STD testing, HIV screening, or cervical cancer screening.
- Hasner has even said that the Tea Party will “save this country.”
Todd Akin says what he thinks. Adam Hasner just votes what he thinks. But Florida women won’t be fooled. From supporting “personhood” to eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood, Florida women just can’t afford Adam Hasner’s right-wing agenda.
Lois Frankel said, “You can judge a person by their friends, and I bet Florida women don’t like the kind of politicians Adam Hasner pals around with. From health care to equal pay, from Medicare to child care, Todd Akin, Paul Ryan, and Adam Hasner support a cradle to grave assault on the services women rely on to keep themselves and their families healthy.”
“Time and time again, Adam Hasner has disappointed Florida women and supported these extreme proposals that are hurting women and are taking our country backwards,” added Frankel.
BACKGROUND
Hasner Supported Overturning Roe v. Wade. [Republican Liberty Caucus of East Central Florida lightening round, 5/2/11]
Paul Ryan is a co-sponsor of H.R. 3. GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is an original co-sponsor of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” a bill which rolls back a longstanding exemption to the federal ban on abortion funding for rape survivors unless the woman seeking to terminate her pregnancy experienced a “forcible rape.” [HR 3, Vote 5/4/11; Thomas.gov]
Todd Akin is a co-sponsor of H.R. 3. Todd Akin is an original co-sponsor of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” [HR 3, Vote 5/4/11; Thomas.gov]
Hasner: Ryan Budget Is “Bold.” In an April 2011, interview with Newsmax, Adam Hasner said that Rep. Ryan’s budget proposal was “bold” and that Republican should stand firm on the proposal and not worry about political consequences. [Newsmax, 4/18/11]
Hasner Voted Against Funding County Family Planning Programs. In April 2004, Hasner voted against an amendment to increase funding for county health department family planning programs. The amendment to the appropriations bill failed by a vote of 41-74. [HB 1835, Vote Seq. 782, 4/01/04]
Hasner Voted Three Times to Require Ultrasounds Before Women Could Get Abortions.In 2007, 2008, and 2010, Hasner voted for a bill requiring a woman to have an ultrasound before having an abortion and for parental notification. The bill was passed by a vote of 71-42. [HB 1497, Vote Seq. 274, 4/27/07; HB 1143, Vote Seq. 1097, 4/30/10; HB 1497, Vote Seq. 274, 4/27/07]
Hasner: If We Can’t Cut NPR And Planned Parenthood How Can We Do Entitlement Reform And Not Raise The Debt Ceiling? In May 2011, Adam Hasner said: “if we can’t cut funding for National Public Radio or Planned Parenthood, how do we expect that we are going to stand firm on the challenges, the big looming challenges of the day, when it relates to cutting discretionary spending, when it relates to the 2012 budget and entitlement reform, how are we going to be able to not raise the debt ceiling” [Republican Liberty Caucus of East Central Florida speech, 5/2/11]
2010: Planned Parenthood In Southwest And Central Florida Saw Almost 27,000 Patients, Including Cancer Screenings, STD and HIV Screenings, And Other Medical Procedures. In 2010, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida saw 26,926 total patients for a variety of medical procedures, including: 12,808 STD tests; 5,662 cervical cancer screenings; 7,060 Plan B (emergency contraception), 6,169 pregnancy tests; 2,174 HIV tests; and 287 colonoscopies. [Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, FY2010 Annual Report]
Hasner voted to define life at fertilization. In April 2008, Hasner voted for the Florida Unborn Victims of Violence Act, a bill to “require pregnant women to undergo ultrasound exams before getting an abortion … All women seeking to terminate their pregnancy would be required to pay for an ultrasound procedure – and view the results unless they signed a waiver – before having the abortion. The bill defined a “person” as any fertilized egg or beyond in a “fetal homicide” bill as a separate murder charge for anyone who caused a pregnancy to be terminated through an act of violence against a pregnant woman. The bill’s language would have changed the definition of a “viable” fetus and was criticized by abortion-rights advocates as opening an argument to set the same standards for abortions. The Orlando Sentinel reported, “‘It elevates a fetus and an egg, frankly, to the status of an adult person,’ said Adrienne Kimmell, executive director of Florida’s Planned Parenthood affiliates. ‘The purpose of this bill is to create tension with Roe v. Wade. It’s a chipping-away strategy we’ve seen for years now’.” [HB 513, Vote Seq. 387, 4/02/08; Orlando Sentinel, 4/03/08]
Hasner: Tea Party will “save our country.” Speaking at a Tea Party gathering in spring 2011, Hasner said, “I’m thankful for the Tea Party not only for saving the Republican Party in 2010, but for what it’s going to do to save our country in 2012.” [YouTube video, Hasner for Senate; retrieved 2/1/12]
