GOP Senator Under Fire For Breast Cancer ‘Joke’
‘I Sure Don’t Want My Mammogram Benefits Taken Away’
Conservative Republican Senator Pat Roberts is taking fire and being accused of mocking breast cancer survivors, suggesting only women get breast cancer, and he shouldn’t have to pay for it. The Kansas lawmaker was asked by a reporter Thursday afternoon if he’s concerned about eliminating Obamacare’s Essential Health Benefits rule, which mandates that all health insurance plans include basic coverage for prescription drugs, hospital stays, mental health care and prenatal/maternity coverage.
“I sure don’t want my mammogram benefits taken away,” Sen. Roberts told Talking Points Memo’s Alice Ollstein. The Capitol Hill reporter in an article says Roberts “deadpanned” his remarks.
I asked Sen. Roberts if he supports scrapping Essential Health Benefits. “I wouldn’t want to lose my mammograms,” he snarked. #AHCA
— Alice Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) March 23, 2017
Senator Roberts apparently doesn’t even know that mammograms are not part of ObamaCare’s Essential Health Benefits rule. Nor does he know that in addition to more than 40,000 women, thousands of men die from breast cancer every year, and mammograms are one way of detecting breast cancer in both women and men.
Many on social media lashed out:
California Democrat Jackie Speierâ€:
.@AliceOllstein @SenPatRoberts I don’t want to lose my prostate cancer screenings either. #AHCA #Trumpcare
— Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) March 23, 2017
This makes me want to squish Pat Roberts’ man parts between two plates and radiate them once a year. https://t.co/aaL3kk9s75
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) March 23, 2017
Sen. @PatRoberts, did you know men get breast cancer in America, and one of the most affected groups are veterans? It’s true. Marines. https://t.co/u5oZq7nFR9
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) March 23, 2017
@xeni @SenPatRoberts I only ever knew my maternal grandfather as one-armed. Turns out he lost the other one to late-stage male breast cancer
— Joanbeam3000 (@Joanbeam3000) March 23, 2017
.@SenPatRoberts that you could be so callously disconnected from the sacredness of American lives causes me to doubt your faith.
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) March 23, 2017
An open letter to @SenPatRoberts . #SavetheACA pic.twitter.com/IaMdwjvMSS
— Deborah Wolfson (@HowlinWolfson) March 23, 2017
@SenPatRoberts Your flippant comment was a direct insult to anyone who has lost a loved one to breast cancer or is fighting it themselves
— Logan Smith (@LoganJames) March 23, 2017
Sen. Robertson ultimately apologized, in a way. That did not satisfy many:
@SenPatRoberts Breast cancer has killed people in my family. You are cruel and heartless.
— Lockup: Mar-a-Lago (@OutHouseAtty) March 23, 2017
@SenPatRoberts astonishing that you represent the people. Start doing your job please.
— Lori Nothwang (@ReadingWithBean) March 23, 2017
@SenPatRoberts You deeply regret nothing but the bad press. Shame on you.
— harrison markey (@harrisonmarkey) March 23, 2017
@SenPatRoberts Context was “Hey, I don’t need mammograms so who cares?” Women’s health is an issue you ACTIVELY do not care about.
— Grunkle Mary 🤘 (@sailortweek) March 23, 2017
Sen. Roberts stunningly offered a Democratic Senator “a Valium pill” during the confirmation hearing for Trump Treasury pick  Steven Mnuchin, also causing outrage. He also infamously blocked for months the nomination of Eric Fanning to become the first openly-gay Secretary of the Army.
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