Stephen Colbert’s got Jon Kyl’s back!
Senate Republicans aren’t required by…….well, anyone, to actually tell the truth and give factual statements on the floor of the United States Senate. Just ask Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, who last week berated the federal funding provided to women’s health care provider Planned Parenthood, saying—on the Senate floor—that abortions accounted for “over 90% of what they do.”
Not true. Not even close, according to Politifact.org.
According to the actual facts (provided by the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein), abortion accounts for only 3% of what Planned Parenthood does. So Jon Kyl was only 87% off.
Public funding does not go towards that 3% of the services that Planned Parenthood provides. It’s illegal. The Hyde Amendment has made sure of that since 1976.
What Planned Parenthood does do is provide cancer screening and prevention; provide affordable access to contraception (including birth control pills, which can be expensive); STD testing and prevention; pap smears………
When called on his gross misstatement of the facts, Kyl’s office released a statement saying that Senator Kyl’s “remark was not intended to be a factual statement.”
But perhaps the best thing to come out of this whole debacle is Stephen Colbert’s response in “support” of Senator Kyl. See for yourself below:
