Bush and Women’s Health

Jeb Bush: "I'm Not Sure We Need Half a Billion Dollars" for Women’s Health

By Becca Andrews

When he was governor of Florida, Jeb Bush vetoed state funding for Planned Parenthood. He thinks the next president should do the same—at the federal level.

That's what Bush said Tuesday at the Send North America conference, one of America's largest evangelical gatherings. He wasn't done talking about women's health care, though:

You could take dollar for dollar—although I'm not sure we need half a billion dollars—for women's health issues, but if you took dollar for dollar, there are many extraordinarily fine community health organizations that exist to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues. But abortion should not be funded by the government.

Reminder: This is what happens when Planned Parenthood is defunded.

UPDATE, Tuesday, August 4, 3:30 p.m.: Bush later issued a statement that he "misspoke." It reads: "There are countless community health centers, rural clinics, and other women’s health organizations that need to be fully funded. They provide critical services to all, but particularly low-income women who don’t have the access they need." He goes on to say that the "half a billion dollars" line only referred to Planned Parenthood.