Scandal, which is written and produced by Shonda Rhimes, directly comments on national controversies. Back in March, Scandal aired the episode The Lawn Chair, where an unarmed 17-year-old African American boy was shot dead by a white police officer, directly reflecting on the unnecessary and violent deaths of young Americans like Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice.
In last week’s episode, Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Mellie Grant, the president’s ex-wife and now Virginia U.S. junior senator, filibustered* a bill that, if passed, would make Planned Parenthood funding discretionary, meaning that it could be chipped away at if the government was over budget.
*Filibuster: an effort to prevent action in a legislature (such as the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives) by making a long speech or series of speeches. Definition taken from Merriam-Webster dictionary.
(Character Mellie Grant, played by Bellamy Young, seen here filibustering a bill in Scandal)
Shonda Rhimes is no stranger to making a stand on controversial topics, and she assures the research done makes the stances taken in the show fully credible. Shonda Rhimes tweeted: “The #Scandal writers did their research—every budget item Mellie recites [is] actually REAL. #TGIT”
Below, find real stats that were cited in the show of government funded entities whose funding is NOT discretionary, meaning these expenses are guaranteed to be covered. All stats taken directly from the Scandal script.
$998 million on a missile defense system with only a 30% success rate,
$5 million for senate hair-care services,
$2 million to study the feasibility of wooden skyscrapers,
$1.24 million for tree-snake control in Guam,
$544 thousand for D.O.J.’s premium LinkedIn account,
$500 thousand to paint an Alaskan salmon on senator’s 737,
$400 thousand for a South Carolina museum to honor the historical significance of the teapot,
$331 thousand to study “hangry” individuals,
$175 thousand to determine if cocaine use leads to risky sexual activity among Japanese quail.
Most of Planned Parenthood’s business involves women’s health education, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, health insurance, and preventative birth control measures.
20 million American women depend on government services for access to birth control because they are under 20 years old or live below the poverty line.
Takeaway:
If you made it through all of those stats, congratulations, consider yourself educated. The point of this article is not to take a particular stance on a political subject, although you’re welcome to start a discussion in the comments below with your stances.
The point is to call attention to the issue Shonda Rhimes is pulling straight into the spotlight in this episode of Scandal, which is that millions of women depend on Planned Parenthood to gain access to various forms of birth control, preventing millions of unwanted pregnancies and potential abortions. De-funding Planned Parenthood would de-fund that access to birth control and would, in turn, cause the rate of unwanted pregnancies to rise, a result that no political party desires.
The fact that the government guarantees certain expenses that are not essential to the health and wellbeing of American citizens, like the $5 million for senate hair-care services (that I’m guessing the senators of the United States could afford to cover on their own salaries), shows that any defunding of Planned Parenthood would be the result of political agenda and not a lack of funds.
No matter what your stance is on abortion, or other services Planned Parenthood provides such as cancer screenings and quality health care, defunding Planned Parenthood would cause the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions to rise. Even those who identify as pro-choice do not wish for this outcome.
Something to consider next time you’re discussing or voting on a related issue.
