Russell Moore Defends Jeb Bush's Comments on Women's Health Funding
Evangelical leader Russell Moore has come to the defense of GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush after the former governor of Florida received criticism for comments he made regarding women's health care funding.
Bush received criticism following off-handed comments he made in an interview with Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, on Tuesday.
During the interview, Bush said "I'm not sure we need half a billion dollars for women's health issues" during a discussion on federal Planned Parenthood funding.
Democratic 2016 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton jumped on Bush's remarks, saying during a Tuesday evening event in Denver, Colorado that Bush's comments show the GOP position on women's issues.
"Just today we got another window into what Republican candidates really believe. Jeb Bush said he's not sure we need half a billion dollars for women's health issues," Clinton said.
"Now, he's got no problem giving billions of dollars away to super-wealthy and powerful corporations, but I guess women's health just isn't a priority for him."
Moore has sought to defend the former Florida governor's comments, saying that Bush was evidently referencing the defunding of Planned Parenthood as an abortion provider and was not referring to other important health care needs for women.
"In context I think most people in the auditorium understood what Governor Bush meant, which is that we shouldn't be funding Planned Parenthood," Moore told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday evening.
"[Planned Parenthood is] an organization that is obviously violent and barbaric and instead we ought to be funding other worthy organizations," Moore added.
