Why The GOP’s Anti-Abortion Bill Is A Tax Hike On Gays And Lesbians
Despite months and months of promises to focus on “jobs, jobs, jobs!,” the GOP has not put forth a single bill that will create a single job. Instead, this year they are wasting their entire time as the majority in the House, as are their counterparts, the Republican minority in the Senate, by focusing on repealing every Democratic law in sight and moving forward their conservative, anti-gay, anti-women, anti-environment, anti-middle class, anti-growth agenda. First, they voted to repeal health care reform. Now, they are fighting like mad to enact strong anti-abortion legislation that will be a tax hike for many American men and women, including many gay men and lesbians across America.
Abortion has been legal in America since Roe v. Wade, January 22, 1973. The infamous Hyde Amendment, enacted in 1976, bans the use of federal funds for abortion. The end. Except the GOP refuses to believe that, and now, not only are they trying to make abortions harder to get, like trying to force women to go through waiting periods, force women to see sonograms of their unborn fetuses, force women to listen to a doctor verbally describe the fetus’ body parts, they are now trying to enact legislation that would prohibit anyone from taking the usual deductions on their income taxes for medical expenses if their insurance policy covers abortions.
Let me repeat that.
Two of the GOP bills the House will vote on, and likely pass, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” and the “Protect Life Act” (and the Senate versions, which likely will pass as well) would take away tax deductions from all taxpayers if their medical plan covers abortions. Not if they have an abortion, or visit the doctor to discuss an abortion. This would apply to all men and women, gay or straight, who are in the “unfortunate” situation of having an insurance policy that covers abortion.
So, the GOP, who claims it wants smaller government, and lower taxes, wants a government big enough to, as Rachel Maddow often says, monitor the uterus of every woman in America. Furthermore, the GOP wants to repeal health care reform, making it harder for the American people to get health insurance (never mind affordable health insurance!) and increase taxes on the American people who are lucky enough to have insurance, because their insurance policy covers abortion services.
For example, a single man who works for a company, who can only get insurance through his employer, would lose all tax deductions for any medical expenses his insurance company doesn’t pay (co-pay, deductibles, transportation, etc.) because his plan covers the women and families in his company who might want the option of having an abortion. Even in the case of incest or rape.
Nick Baumann at Mother Jones says, “the law is a sweeping attack on tax benefits and deductions that affect abortion,” ad adds that it “would, for example, forbid self-employed people from deducting abortion costs as medical expenses and would outlaw the use of funds from tax-exempt Health Savings Accounts to pay for abortions. In effect, this would raise the taxes of nearly anyone who had an abortion or purchased insurance that covered abortion.”
Now, I don’t want to make this an LGBTQ issue, but surely, as I write about LGBTQ issues, you can understand my point of view, and recognize that gay men and lesbians rarely want abortions. So this GOP anti-abortion bill is in a sense an automatic tax hike on the entire LGBTQ community.
I mention this because as it is, we are unable to access the 1138 federal benefits that our heterosexual brothers and sisters are afforded merely by virtue of their birth. Heck, we’ve been subsidizing straight marriages since the dawn of time!
Most gay men and lesbians I know are pro-choice and actively against curtailing any civil right, including abortion. Not because it affects us directly or not, but because we believe in fighting for what’s right. And we work to elect strong pro-choice Democrats who will support civil rights for all, and not “allow hospitals to refuse to provide abortion care to women who will die without it.” (Unlike Republicans who are generally abortion foes and don’t care about women’s rights or civil rights.)
Oh. About that whole faux “jobs” focus? How’s this for conservative spin? “I think it’s [curtailing abortion rights] completely in line with the desire to focus on jobs, because we are in a financial crisis, so this ensures that federal taxpayer funds are going to things that are important to the American people and not to something like abortion,” says Kellie Fiedorek, a staff attorney for the antiabortion organization Americans United for Life (AUL), who wants to “defund Planned Parenthood.” because defunding Planned Parenthood will… increase healthcare costs for all Americans.
The GOP doesn’t care about jobs. They don’t care about the results of their actions. They only want to further their social agenda so they can fill up their campaign war chests. And if it means increasing the taxes on the people they care about least, the LGBTQ community? Heck, that’s just a bonus for them!
(image)
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
All three states considered to be the Pacific Northwest of the United States are ranked in the top 10 when it comes to anti-Black hate crimes.
The new study produced by the Mendoza Law Firm, which specializes in immigration, ranked all 50 states based on the average number of anti-Black hate crimes per 100,000 members of the Black population. While Vermont ranked No. 1 in the study with 240.6 crimes per 100,000 people, there are only 7,316 Black residents of the state.
Of the Pacific Northwest states, Oregon ranked the highest—No. 2 overall—with 121 crimes per 100,000 people. Idaho ranked No. 4 with 91 crimes per 100,000 people, and Washington state ranked No. 9 with 44.4 crimes. However, Washington had the highest Black population out of the top 10 states with 311,435 residents. Oregon has the second-highest of the top 10 with 82,453 residents.
Conversely, many southern states ranked at the bottom. Mississippi has the lowest number of anti-Black hate crimes with just 0.9 crimes per 100,000 people, followed by Arkansas and Florida with 1.6, and Georgia and Louisiana with 1.7. Though these southern states have much larger Black populations—for example, of the bottom five, all but Arkansas have well over 1 million Black residents with Georgia and Florida both having over 3 million—the number of hate crimes in those states is also lower than both Washington and Oregon.
The study looked at FBI anti-Black hate crime statistics between 2021 and 2025. The number of hate crimes over these five years was then averaged and compared versus the average Black population between 2020 and 2024.
While things may look bleak for the Pacific Northwest, it’s worth noting that in Washington, the number of hate crimes has steadily dropped over the past five years. Washington had 185 crimes in 2021, which dropped to 107 crimes in 2025. Oregon and Idaho’s numbers stayed relatively steady, however; Oregon had between 94 and 105 crimes during that five-year span. Idaho had a low of 7 crimes in 2021, but that jumped up to between 13 and 18 for the following four years.
Washington state is in the process of starting a hate crime hotline. The service will fully launch at the start of 2027, however, the pilot program launched in July 2025 will continue until the end of this year, according to Cleveland Jewish News. The hotline is designed to provide support to victims rather than receive incident reports. It’s under the purview of the state’s Attorney General’s Office, which does not have the authority to investigate crimes. However, it can provide victims assistance in reporting hate crimes to police. Police are also compelled to provide victims the hotline’s number and website for support.
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie, an activist minister with the United Church of Christ, has called on the Regal Entertainment chain of movie theaters to stop running a Department of Defense promotional video before films.
In an open letter posted to social media, Currie says that when he went to see the latest Steven Spielberg film Disclosure Day at a Portland, Oregon theater, he was “forced to watch an advertisement touting the leadership of Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and the so-called Department of War.”
“It was like we were at a movie theater in Russia or North Korea. Democracies do not do this. The audience loudly booed,” Currie wrote.
READ MORE: Trump Promotes Chilling Iran War Op-Ed Warning of What Could Be Coming Next
“We routinely see videos at Regal promoting careers in the military. This was not that,” he continued. “This was an advertisement promoting the political views of Donald Trump. It was not promoting our military. It was not promoting America’s greatest strength: our diversity. This was a MAGA campaign commercial highlighting a fake cabinet agency, the Department of War, which is actually called the Defense Department, and the MAGA America First platform.”
The video run before the film was likely this video first released to YouTube on Saturday. The video description calls it the first advertisement by the DoD since it was re-christened the Department of War. The clip touts President Donald Trump’s “Peace Through Strength” slogan. It features footage of soldiers intercut with images of Trump while audio of a speech by the president plays in the background.
The video was also shown during Sunday evening’s Freedom 250 UFC Fight at the White House.
“Regal’s decision to show this video can only be construed as an endorsement of Donald Trump, his failed war in Iran, and the white Christian nationalism advocated by Secretary Hegseth,” Currie wrote. “Again, I must demand that Regal stop showing this video immediately. Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Currie has been an outspoken progressive activist for years. In 2019, he even received death threats for his work, according to the Oregonian. Florida dentist Richard Glenn Kantwill told Currie, as well as other public figures, he would torture and kill him. Kantwill also called Currie an “immoral degenerate” and a fraud.
In 2025, Kantwill was sentenced to two years in prison for making the threats after pleading guilty in court.
Image by Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel via the U.S. Army.
Longtime Never-Trump critic turned Democratic congressional candidate George Conway is mocking President Donald Trump in a campaign video and a social media post while the White House targets him in a highly critical attack.
“Hi, Donald, it’s me, George Conway,” Conway, a conservative attorney, says in his video. “I cost you 88 f —— million dollars, and I’ve only just gotten started.”
“I know you like putting your name on everything from your plane to the Kennedy Center,” he continues. “But the only thing your name is gonna be left on when I’m done with you is the orange jumpsuit you’re going to have to wear in prison.”
“And you see that building back there?” he says over an image of Congress. “That’s where we’re gonna hold your third and final impeachment trial. The one that’s gonna put you away for good. And I’m gonna enjoy every minute of that.”
“We’ve got a lot of serious problems in this country, including, and especially, the price of gas — which is hitting $6 a gallon in some places, and that’s all because of you, Donald Trump. We can’t fix those problems until we impeach you and convict you. And that’s why I’m running for Congress.”
In a statement to Fox News, the White House blasted Conway.
“Lightweight George Conway is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person,” a spokesperson said. “His severe and debilitating disease known as Trump Derangement syndrome has melted his brain and made him crazy in the head.”
Conway is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project and was considered for a post as Trump’s Solicitor General at the start of his first administration. Conway withdrew his name from consideration.
On social media, Conway further mocked President Trump.
“Here’s our TV ad that poor wittle Donnie (@realDonaldTrump) didn’t wike and had to compwain to Fox ‘News’ about,” Conway wrote. “Sad! I feel so bad for him.”
Conway is running for a reliably blue seat in Manhattan.
“Conway, who previously lived in Bethesda, Md., before launching his congressional campaign, faces an uphill battle in the race for the heavily Democratic seat vacated by longtime Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who is retiring,” Fox News reported.
Earlier this year, Conway warned, “The way things are going in America, it should be clear we don’t have much time.”
“We certainly don’t have three years,” he said in February. “We need to help ourselves by pushing for impeachment and removal as hard as we can and carrying it out as soon as humanly possible.”
Here’s the ad they’re talking about! pic.twitter.com/vtk80dQ6Af
— George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 (@gtconway3d) June 15, 2026
A Letter From Florida Has a Blunt Verdict on the MAGA Movement: It’s ‘Dying’
Red State Democrats Sound 2026 Warning Over ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’
‘I Feel So Bad for Him’: George Conway Trolls Trump Amid White House Attack
Activist Minister Slams Regal Movie Theaters for Running War ‘Propaganda’ Before Films
Anti-Black Hate Crimes Per Capita Highest in Pacific Northwest Than Rest of U.S.
Anti-Black Hate Crimes Per Capita Highest in Pacific Northwest Than Rest of U.S.
Activist Minister Slams Regal Movie Theaters for Running War ‘Propaganda’ Before Films
‘I Feel So Bad for Him’: George Conway Trolls Trump Amid White House Attack
A Letter From Florida Has a Blunt Verdict on the MAGA Movement: It’s ‘Dying’
Red State Democrats Sound 2026 Warning Over ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’
News4 days agoConservative Columnist Torches Trump ‘Cultists’ Over Their ‘Two-Step Around Reality’
News4 days agoLetter From Deep Red Florida Torches ‘Low Self-Esteem’ MAGA Voters
News4 days agoConservative Insider Throws Cold Water on GOP’s Midterm Confidence
News21 hours agoA Letter From Florida Has a Blunt Verdict on the MAGA Movement: It’s ‘Dying’
News24 hours agoRed State Democrats Sound 2026 Warning Over ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’
News19 hours ago‘I Feel So Bad for Him’: George Conway Trolls Trump Amid White House Attack
News1 day agoGOP Lawmakers Turn on Trump: ‘Trying to Undermine Our Institutions’
News1 day agoCan America Stage a ‘Remarkable Comeback’ After Trump’s ‘Bread and Circuses’: Kristol
