Mitt Romney says women are free to have health care

Tue Mar 20, 2012 at 09:08 AM PDT

 ... as long as they can afford it

by Kaili Joy Gray

In Mitt Romney's "free society," you're free to do whatever you want—as long as he approves.
(Jim Young/Reuters)

Just because Mitt Romney wants to "get rid of" Planned Parenthood doesn't mean he doesn't have compassion for women who rely on it for their health care. In fact, he and his wife are on a charm offensive through Illinois right now, proving just how much they "love it that women are upset too" and golly, aren't soccer moms the bestest? So when asked where millions of women who rely on Planned Parenthood for their health care would have to go if President Mitt Romney had his way, Mitt displayed his usual compassion:

“Well, they can go wherever they’d like to go,” Romney told her. “This is a free society. But here’s what I’d say, which is the federal government should not tax these people to pay for Planned Parenthood.… The idea of the federal government funding Planned Parenthood, I’m going to say no, we’re going to stop that.”

Right. It's a free society. So that means low-income women who rely on Planned Parenthood for their basic health care needs are free to go anywhere they want—as long as it isn't the one place they can afford to go.