Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Legitimate Bodies

To hearken back
to a 2012 quote

from Todd Akin

apparently the body

does have "ways to try to shut
that whole thing down"
only in this case

that body
look a lot like

mostly-male House Republicans

and "that whole thing"
is Planned Parenthood

and perhaps the country's
life support system

including to some extent
their own

also known
as "the federal government"

on September 30.

Luckily Senate Democrats

had a way
to shut down

a bill that would have
banned abortion
after 20 weeks.

Pro-choice advocates
are less fearful

now that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
has scheduled a vote this Thursday
on a temporary spending measure

that would delay the shutdown
until December 11.

The measure is not expected
to have a rider
to defund Planned Parenthood

as the organization
has already received

all its allotted funding
until next April

and most Republicans
are trying a novel tack

and embracing logic.

Just like two years ago though

Ted Cruz
still seems a little "unchill"

so just in case
when the Pope visits Congress

His Holiness could dig in
to his latest store of contriteness
he has saved up

from those who terminated
their pregnancies
with such services

and get everybody
to shut up

(and perhaps even
consider caring about the lives
and resources

of people
older than a zygote).

This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.