“An Idaho state senator has come under fire after yelling and complaining at college students who traveled hundreds of miles to discuss birth control bills with lawmakers. Republican Senator Dan Foreman was captured on video belligerently saying “abortion is murder” to the students who drove seven hours to make their scheduled 9am appointment. The students however, had not come to discuss abortion at all and were there to lobby for two bills ― one that allows women to receive up to a 12-month supply of prescribed birth control, and another that updates the state’s decades-old sex education law.
Foreman reportedly canceled the meeting with the students at the last minute after they had already arrived. The students later saw Foreman in the hallway, triggering the shocking exchange. “I’m a Roman Catholic and a conservative Republican. I think what you guys are doing stinks,” Foreman told the group, as seen in the video. He added that he would call law enforcement if the students ever tried to visit his office again. Paul Dillon, a public affairs director of Planned Parenthood, said, “Foreman’s diatribe was unhinged,” he continued, “even if you disagree with what we have to say, there’s no excuse for that kind of behavior. He was being a bully.”
It did not take long for the video to go viral on twitter. One of the students posted the video with the caption, “This is how Senator Dan Foreman, Idaho District 5, treats his constituents. We drove seven hours to meet with him and he threatened to call the police if we entered his office.” The video now has over twenty thousand retweets. One twitter user responded saying, “Whatever happened to the separation of church and state?” Another wrote, “Every politician should be willing to speak to their constituents regardless of political affiliation.”
Many spoke out to voice their opinion on the matter, and the majority of the responses were in support of the students. In this situation, it is difficult to say that the students are at fault for the argument that occured. A senator’s job is to listen to the people they represent and take into consideration every viewpoint.
