Almost 100 years after the founder of Planned Parenthood was arrested for distributing birth control information, Republicans are attacking the group in an unprecedented fashion.
This week, the GOP members of a congressional committee subjected Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, to more than five hours of outrageous accusations -- repeatedly interrupting her, grilling her on her salary, disrespecting her and making very clear that their true intent is to turn back the clock on women's rights and women's health.
Those Republicans did prove one thing: they are clueless about women's health.
Republican after Republican badgered Richards about the lack of mammography equipment at Planned Parenthood clinics, even though that is the norm.
Since my GOP friends don't seem to understand how an OB-GYN appointment actually works, let me explain: Planned Parenthood and other primary care providers offer life-saving breast cancer screenings. But if a woman's doctor determines she needs a mammogram, the common practice is to refer her to an outside radiologist who administers the procedure and reports the results back.
But it wasn't just about mammograms. With question after question, Republicans distorted the facts.
At one point, Republican Chairman Jason Chaffetz turned to a chart -- created by anti-abortion activists -- which was about as deceptive as the discredited videos that fueled this latest witch hunt.
We know the people behind these videos. They are the same anti-abortion activists who have threatened doctors, one was convicted for attempting to bomb a clinic and another actually called a doctor's murder "justifiable."
These are the same people who would make abortion illegal in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in danger.
Earth to the GOP: You can try to use a phony chart and heavily-edited videos, but the facts are clear. The American people respect a woman's right to choose, which was established in 1973 in Roe v. Wade.
Unfortunately, instead of working with Planned Parenthood to help our families plan their future, House Republicans have three committees investigating Planned Parenthood and just announced their intent to create a fourth.
It is all part of a multi-pronged attack on Planned Parenthood and the women it serves.
When Republicans go after Planned Parenthood, they are really going after the nearly three million women and men who rely on Planned Parenthood every year.
They are going after the nearly 400,000 women who receive Pap tests.
They are going after the nearly 500,000 who get breast exams.
They are going after the women and men who have nowhere else to turn for the most basic and critical health care.
If this politically motivated investigation feels familiar, it should.
A few days ago, when asked to name a House GOP accomplishment, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said: "Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping."
He made clear that the GOP's taxpayer-funded investigation of Benghazi -- the longest congressional investigation in history -- is a political smear campaign designed to bring down Hillary Clinton.
Now, Republicans are trying the same tired tactics and this time, they are aiming at bringing down another political opponent - Planned Parenthood.
Their goal is not to improve women's health -- it is to take it away.
Their goal is not to expand women's rights -- it is to undermine them.
Their goal is not to move us forward, but to take us back to the days before Roe v. Wade.
They seem to forget that it's 2015 -- not 1915.
Almost 100 years ago, women won the right to vote. And it wasn't easy.
Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to the suffragettes, who marched and organized, who withstood jeers and taunts and threats, so that every woman in America could make their voice heard.
Almost a century later, it falls to us to use our voices to fight back against recent attacks on our health, our rights, our dignity and our lives.
That's what Cecile Richards did this week. That's what Hillary Clinton is doing. And all of us owe it to our daughters and granddaughters, our sons and grandsons, to do the same.