In a remarkable statement on the floor of the Senate yesterday, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) accused opponents of taxpayer funded abortions – including a number of her own Democrat Senate colleagues – of showing “a lack of respect for women.” To watch Boxer’s statement, click here.

Boxer’s accusation was in reaction to an amendment to the Senate health care bill that places restrictions on federal funds going toward abortion services – an amendment that was offered by Boxer’s fellow Democrat colleague, U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Last year, nine Democrat Senators – including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and current Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar (D-CO) – voted for an amendment similar to Nelson’s provision aimed at prohibiting taxpayer-funded abortions in the Indian Health Service bill.

“Barbara Boxer’s accusation that the opponents of taxpayer-funded abortions are showing a ‘lack of respect’ for women is insulting and offensive. This is yet another example of Boxer appealing to the fringe of her party and standing to the left of even her fellow Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson Marchand.

“Californians deserve to voice their concerns about the way their hard-earned dollars are spent in the Democrats’ massive $2.5 trillion government-run health care plan, and Barbara Boxer will be forced to answer for her divisive, partisan rhetoric when voters cast their ballots next November,” Wilkerson Marchand concluded.

Boxer’s recent allegation about opponents of taxpayer funded abortions comes in the wake of her highly-publicized belittling of a decorated military official, as well as her public spat with the head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce during a committee hearing on global warming.