They don't deserve it...but we'll give it to them anyway

I am very disappointed in New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg for his comments at a Planned Parenthood rally on March 22nd. He was talking in front of an Englewood, NJ Planned Parenthood clinic with many New Jersey state senators and other lawmakers, defending the tax payer funding of Planned Parenthood that is currently in jeopardy. In reference to the people who want to defund Planned Parenthood, Sen. Lautenberg said, "These people don't deserve the freedoms in the Constitution, but we'll give it to them anyway."

Well, isn't that nice of him.My opinion differs from yours and therefore I don't deserve the rights protected in the Constitution, but your a nice guy so you'll allow me to have them anyway. It also seems like there's a veiled threat here that he holds the power and could take away my freedoms at any time, because I didn't really deserve them to begin with. Sen. Lautenberg refers to distinct groups (they don't deserve them; we'll give it to them) and I'm curious who exactly these groups are. He is speaking to a pro-abortion rights group, so are the groups defined by their stance on abortion? However, he is directly referring to the effort in Congress to stop taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood which is led mostly by Republicans, so maybe that is the group division. Even though I'm unclear how exactly he defines who is worthy to be protected by the Constitution, it is clear that the only reason those people are undeserving is because of their differing view point from his.

I find it odd that while people who uphold the dignity of all life are trying to help others understand that everyone should be protected by the Constitution, no matter what race, religion, ideology, gender, or stage of development, Sen. Lautenberg seems to be denying that they are not even worthy of those freedoms, let alone the people they are fighting for.

Here's a short video of the quote: