Number of the Day

72: The number of hours in a mandated "waiting period" for abortion-seekers being proposed in Utah by state representative Steve Eliason, who is a Republican, of course.

Utah Rep. Steve Eliason (R) has proposed a bill (HB 461 [pdf]) that would require women to wait 72 hours before receiving abortion care, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Under current law, women must wait 24 hours before receiving abortion services. If approved, Utah would have the same waiting period as South Dakota, which currently has the longest waiting period in the U.S.

Planned Parenthood Association of Utah has filed a lawsuit to overturn the law, arguing that it violates Roe v. Wade. The group said South Dakota's 72-hour waiting period puts an undue burden on women, who often have to travel long distances to reach the two abortion clinics in the state.

Eliason said the extension would give women the same amount of time "to make a major life decision" as "any consumer has to consider cancelling a mortgage."

I am really running out of ways to make the point that women and other people with uteri are not infants who are ignorant of their options (even though Republican-favored abstinence-only sex ed programs endeavor to turn them into exactly that). We don't need time to "really think it through" or "consider alternatives" or whatevthefuck Rep. Dipshit and the rest of the nation's Mendacious Band of Anti-Choice Fuckheads are alleging will happen in the three days they delay us from terminating a pregnancy.

Forcing a person to wait three days will not change the fact that zie does not want to have a child. Even if it changes hir mind about terminating the pregnancy, it doesn't change whatever circumstances brought hir to an abortion clinic in the first place.

Zie'll still walk out just as devoid of choices, just as un- or underemployed, just as broke, just as in debt, just as uninsured, just as lacking daycare, just as unable to care for hirself and/or hir existing children, just as in need of medication that zie can't take while pregnant, just as enmeshed in an unhealthy or abusive relationship, just the same as zie was when zie walked in.

Zie'll just have been guilted into making sacrifices zie doesn't want to make, to honor someone else's mistaken perceptions about hir morality.

All of these absurd barriers to termination are utter hogwash, rooted in the damnable fairy tale that women and other people with uteri are incapable of making the best decisions for themselves and their own bodies (and, frequently, for the children they already have).

The reality is this: There is an inextricable link between the economy, the funding of social services, and abortion. If "pro-lifers" really wanted women to want to have babies, they would start arguing for universal healthcare, just for a fucking start, considering about one-fourth of women seeking abortions cite their own health or possible health problems with the fetus as reasons for the termination, owing to concerns including "a lack of prenatal care."

But they're not pro-life. They're just anti-women.

And they can caterwaul about how that's not true all they fucking want, but, the truth is, they refuse to listen to women, and other people with uteri, to the millions of women who are telling them they don't need waiting periods or ultrasounds or parental/spousal consent or anti-abortion counselors or any of the other disincentives being proposed to deter them from terminating unwanted pregnancy, but do need jobs and healthcare and childcare and parental leave laws and associated institutional framework that supports successful parenthood.

And when you refuse to listen to women, your argument that you're not explicitly anti-women holds precious little water.

Particularly when your state has failed utterly to fund a robust social safety net, but has been trying, with various degrees of success, to chip away at Roe virtually since the decision granted people with uteri the right to terminate pregnancies.

[Via Steph Herold.]

Reproductive Rights Updates: KS, TX, PA, VA, NB, MS, TN, FL, National

Are you ready for, well, a lot of depressing and infuriating news? Because I have it. A lot of it.

Always leading the pack in taking away autonomy from people, the state of Kansas is up first:

Kansas lawmakers have been given six days to consider one of the most sweeping state anti-abortion bills to be introduced.

A Kansas House committee is scheduled to take up a bill Wednesday that would exempt doctors from malpractice suits if they withheld medical information to prevent an abortion. The measure would also take away tax credits for abortion providers, remove tax deductions for the purchase of abortion-related insurance coverage and require women to hear the fetal heartbeat. The bill includes several provisions, which passed in other states and now face federal lawsuits. The bill would also require women be told about potential breast cancer risks from abortions, even though medical experts discount such a connection.

[...]

Among the most contested provisions of the bill is the section that would exempt a doctor from a medical malpractice suit if a woman claims the physician withheld information about potential birth defects to prevent her from having an abortion. In addition, a woman would not be able to sue if she suffers health damage from a pregnancy as a result of information withheld from her to prevent an abortion. A wrongful death suit could still be filed, however, if the mother died.

Oh well gee. Small favors and all that. Even for Kansas this is a hideously appalling, outright hateful piece of legislation. Not being able to sue for malpractice when a doctor refused to disclose that a pregnancy could cause damage--and did? WHAT. Just WHAT.

****

In Texas, Judge Sam Sparks says he "had no choice" but to dismiss a suit against the ultrasound law:

Sparks said his hands were tied by last month's federal appeals court ruling that found the sonogram law to be an appropriate exercise of the state's power to regulate the practice of medicine.

But in his order dismissing the lawsuit by abortion providers, Sparks took issue with the appeals court ruling, saying it "eviscerated" the free speech rights of doctors to support a law that improperly limits a physician's ability to exercise medical judgment.

"The act requires doctors to attempt to discourage their patients from obtaining abortions ... even in cases where the doctors have determined that an abortion is, for any number of reasons, the best medical option," he said in his order.

"This court believes Texas overstepped its legitimate authority when it substituted its medical judgment for that of doctors, and imposed a uniform method of treatment for all patients, rather than allowing physicians to make medically appropriate, case-by-case determinations."

[...]

In Monday's order, Sparks said the law seemed designed to make abortions more difficult to provide and receive, not to inform women about the procedure.

"Informed consent requirements exist to protect the rights of patients and to honor their autonomy, not to provide states with an excuse to impose heavy-handed, paternalistic and impractical restrictions on the practice of medicine," Sparks wrote.

Right the fuck on!

The state reportedly informed clinics that the ultrasound law would start being enforced immediately.

***
In Pennsylvania, the House Health Committee as moved forward Monday with the Orwellian "Women's Right to Know Act", which is a mandatory ultrasound bill:

The Pennsylvania House Health Committee voted yesterday to advance something they’re calling the “Women’s Right to Know Act,” which would allow a woman to take a look at an ultrasound and listen to the fetus’ heartbeat before getting an abortion.

[...]

According to the legislation, the doctor performing the procedure is required to “Position the screen so that the patient is able to view the ultrasound test in its entirety, with a view of her unborn child, while that test is being conducted to determine gestational age,” although, “The patient is not required to view the screen.” Then, two prints of the ultrasound are made. The woman seeking the abortion and the doctor providing the procedure both get a copy. The doctor must tell the woman how old the fetus is and if the heartbeat is normal.

The sonogram is required 24 hours before an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, emergency or when the pregnancy is less than eight weeks gestation.

***

In Virginia, a couple things. One, a few days ago the senate passed a mandatory sonogram bill, which now goes to the House of Delegates.

Second, that House has passed legislation that cuts off Medicaid funding for abortions.

[The legislation] conforms state policy for Medicaid recipients to a longstanding federal law known as the Hyde Amendment, which forbids government funding for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or the mother’s life.

Virginia is among several states that allow Medicaid to cover abortions, but does so using only state funds.

Democrats said it unfairly singles out low-income women who learn of grossly incapacitating fetal deformities but would have to give birth anyway while wealthier women could terminate their pregnancies under such tragic circumstances.

How much does the GOP hate poor people? SO MUCH. SOOOOOOO MUCH.

***

In Nebraska, they're attempting an administrative run-around to providing funds to Planned Parenthood (see: Ohio, Texas, for other examples).

The bill (LB540) would require the state Department of Health and Human Services to apply for a Medicaid waiver or an amendment to an existing waiver to provide medical assistance for family planning services for low-income residents who earn 185 percent or less of the federal poverty level.

An amendment offered by the Health and Human Services Committee would have provided that no state funds be used to pay for abortions.

Then Lincoln Sen. Tony Fulton dropped another amendment into the mix. Not only could none of the money be spent for abortions, but it could not go to any entity that performs or promotes elective abortions or that affiliates with one that does.

[...]

When asked by Omaha Sen. Brenda Council whether Fulton was targeting Planned Parenthood, he said no, although he understood Planned Parenthood would be the largest organization affected.

"Can you identify any other entity that would fit the description other than Planned Parenthood?" she asked.

"Off the top of my head, I can't," he said.

There could be another one in Omaha, or one that would qualify in the future, he said.

"I think it's problematic that we're singling out an organization, and in many communities, mine included … the only Medicaid providers for low-income women happen to be Planned Parenthood," Council said.

According to Guttmacher, in the state of Nebraska (in 2006) there were this many clinics:

Health department clinics: 0
Community health centers: 1
Planned Parenthood clinics: 5
Hospital outpatient clinics: 8
Other independent clinics: 18

And they provided this many people with contraceptive care (just one--big!--aspect of family planning):

Health department clinics: 0
Community health centers: 1,850
Planned Parenthood clinics: 17,750
Hospital outpatient clinics: 2,500
Other independent clinics: 15,410

Planned Parenthood provided nearly as many clients with care in their five clinics as twenty-seven other clinics combined.

***

In Mississippi, the House there has approved legislation which is called the "Child Protection Act". Besides addressing issues of sexual abuse in schools, it also deals with abortion and minors:

Additionally, House Bill 16 would reaffirm parental consent requirements for minors seeking abortions, and physicians who perform abortions on girls younger than 14 would be required to preserve fetal tissue for DNA to be used in statutory rape or other prosecutorial cases.

"This is a documented problem and this is (another) way to detect abuse," Gipson [Andy, R-Braxton] said.

Gipson said he does not know how much it will cost the state to carry out the effort if it becomes law.

BTW, the state of MS already has pretty much all of these laws on the books.

***

Tennessee, if you recall, voted to defund Planned Parenthood last summer. Last year Shelby County TN was made the news with the fact that they opted to cut off Planned Parenthood and now force the resident poor and un/under-insured to go to a religious group for health care. Well, Planned Parenthood is suing the state:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Affiliates of Planned Parenthood are suing the state Health Department to have their funding restored.

Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee and Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region filed the lawsuit Thursday to restore preventive care funding under the HIV Prevention Services and the Syphilis Elimination grant programs.

Planned Parenthood, which also provides abortions, said in a news release that no reason was given for the contracts being terminated in December. It also said no provider was identified as a replacement.

Of course no provider was identified! Because how much does the GOP hate poor people? SOOOOOOO MUCH.

***

In both Florida and national news, today the US House will mark up a bill--that has 78 co-sponsors!--that bans abortion "based on race and sex". Because that's so not a total waste of time and utter bullshit, amirite? How it relates to Florida is that two state congresspeople are attempting to do the same thing:

The United States House of Representatives will today mark up a bill that would outlaw abortions sought because of race or sex.

Late last year, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. introduced the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011, which would “prohibit discrimination against the unborn on the basis of sex or race, and for other purposes.”

Florida legislators are moving forward a bill that mimics Frank’s proposal. So far, sponsors have not been able to justify a need for the bill, but rather claim it is an effort to protect Florida from becoming a “safe haven” for race- or sex-based abortions.

Yes. I'm totally sure that's exactly what will happen, Florida. You'll become a snowbird AND abortion tourist mecca. Sure.

The "Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011? WHAT. "Prenatal nondiscrimination"? Really? OFFS. Using Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass as representatives of the sort of people you're "protecting"? I have an idea: how about passing the ERA and not passing onerous voter id laws? Or, here's a wild idea (prepare yourself): how about jobs? Oh, that's right, you have "priorities".

Quote of the Day

"Just like a pro-abortion group to turn a cancer orgs decision into a political bomb throw. Cry me a freaking river." -- Jade Morey, on Twitter. Who is Jade Morey? I do not know. However I do know who retweeted, and thus supported and endorsed that sentiment: Karen Handel (that's a link to the screenshot, as Handel tried to scrub it later by deleting it).

Karen Handel is the Senior Vice President of Public Policy at Susan G. Komen For The Cure. She is also a failed gubernatorial candidate for the state of Georgia, anti-choice, and a supporter of de-funding Planned Parenthood (as she promised to do so if she became governor). Incidentally, she was hired on less than a year ago.

The Morals and the Ethics of it

[Content Note: medical procedure descriptions]

Last Wednesday, Newt Gingrich engaged in some ridiculous hyperbole in order to woo anti-science fundamentalists in today's Florida primary. Which is not particularly news, true. The topic Gingrich was speaking on was Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) and he said that ESCR is “the use of science to desensitize society over the killing of babies” (unsurprisingly this is contrary to what he's said in the past, as WaPo points out). Gingrich wants a commission to investigate IVF clinics in regards to embryos, storage, and disposal--to overall "investigate their ethics". Gingrich's is an opinion shared by not a few people--and thus why he trotted it out to try and garner votes. Also, rather ironically, that same week, news broke that there are signs of promise in using embryonic stem cells in the treatment of blindness.

For all the talk about ESCR and other embryonic research, it seems not many know just what can occur or what can be studied or what real outcomes have the potential to be. Well, here is one concrete example, of which Gingrich would no doubt--now, for conservative votes-- regard as wanton "baby killing".

At the start of this month (January), I became a participant in a research study regarding mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disease; I started the process of being an egg donor*.

For further explanation (from my paperwork from the study):

In human cells, including a female’s egg cells, there are two main types of genetic materials present. These materials, called genes or DNA, are passed on from parent to child and help determine the make-up of the child’s body and mind.

Nuclear Genes/DNA are housed in structures called chromosomes in a cell part called the nucleus. The vast majority of a cell’s DNA is this type. Humans have about 25,000 nuclear genes per cell.

Mitochondrial (mt) DNA is found in mitochondria, a different cell compartment than the nucleus. This type of DNA is passed only from mother to child. The father normally does not pass it on. This type of DNA ensures that the mitochondria are able to do their job as the energy makers of the cell. Humans have only 37 genes in their mitochondria.

When there are mutations (defects) in the mtDNA and the mother passes it on to the child, very serious human disorders can result, including seizures, strokes, dementia, liver failure, muscle weakness, blindness, deafness and diabetes. Available treatments can only improve symptoms and slow down the diseases. There are currently no cures for mitochondrial disorders.

The point of the study is to see if it is possible in humans--as has been proven possible in rhesus monkeys--to transplant nuclear DNA from an affected egg to a healthy egg and thus enable a child to be born who is not affected by mitochondrial disease. If this is hard to imagine, think of a chicken egg where the nuclear DNA is the yolk and mitochondrial DNA is the white. It's a yolk transplant into a non-affected egg white. Eventually the egg would then be fertilized and potentially (hopefully) develop into a non-mtDNA disease affected person.

The study is the first ever of its sort in humans. Gene line therapy is not yet approved by the FDA, the goal now is to: 1. see if the procedure works in human genetic material; 2. make sure that it is safe and effective. None of these donated eggs will ever become part of a pregnancy. After fertilization in the lab, some will be destroyed and others will go on to:

...[B]e used to derive embryonic stem (ES) cells. ES cells are a type of cell that have the ability to form many different types of cells. They also do not stop regenerating. ES cells are made by growing embryos with feeder cells in a Petri dish. These special feeder cells cause the embryo to keep growing as a cluster of cells instead of developing into a human fetus. Because the ES cells do not stop regenerating themselves, they will provide a renewable source of cells that will allow us to conduct a variety of safety studies on germ line gene therapy. We hope that this study will generate the critical information needed to obtain the FDA’s approval of germ line gene therapy and to support future clinical trials

To Newt's current opinion and those people he's trying to court votes from, all of this is terrible. Evil. "Playing God". "Killing babies". They do not see if for what it is and can be: helping save babies. Save people. Many children born with mtDNA disease do not live long; they are born seemingly typical and their bodies shut down slowly over time. To Newt et al, I say watch this video:



You can also read the Shaprio family's story here. From Stephanie Shaprio:

I am aware my children will die some day in the near future. I have attended the funerals of far too many children. I have sat during services praying my children won't be next.

For us, every day is a gift. Through awareness and research, I do see a day where parents will receive a diagnosis and continue to save for college rather than their child's funeral.

I pray for a cure. I hope and pray other families do not have to go through the heartache we have endured. Currently there is no cure for mitochondrial disease.

It is a nasty, progressive monster. In the five years since my family has begun this journey, I have watched research towards a cure increase, as well as awareness. This is the proof of a better future for children and adults struggling with this disease. It is proof tomorrow can be a better day.

Now let's talk about who is ultimately "killing babies", Newt.

Video transcript:

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Playing god is a criticism often directed at those pushing the boundaries of genetic science. You could say these baby monkeys are the product of just such a push. You could say they’re the next frontier to prevent genetic disease in humans.

Stephanie Shapiro: We never in a million years though that we would be in this type of a situation. We just thought that we would have this houseful of these beautiful, healthy children and that would be the end of it.

Dad (taking son): Hey buddy.

Stephanie: (picks up food & medical equipment) All right, I got his food. You lead the way.

(Stephanie voiceover as they show part of day routine) Hannah and Jake are on twenty-four hour feeding tubes. They’re fed through a tube in their stomach.

Stephanie: (talking to Jake) Awww, it’s ok. (to camera) That’s a seizure.

(Stephanie voiceover) They can have 300 to 500 seizures a day.

Stephanie The rule in our house is “is she pink? is she pink? has she turned blue yet?" .... That’s basically our idea of how bad the seizures are.


Gupta (voiceover): This is what parenting looks like when your children have mitochondrial disease.

Stephanie: When we got the official diagnosis on Hannah, I was eight months pregnant with our son. I said: “Mito-? Mito-what? This is what she has?”. And the doctor pointed at my belly and he said: "If you had known then what you know now, would you have made different reproductive choices? Because that child probably has it too." And...and that’s when we knew that it’s genetically linked.

Gupta (voiceover during Jake’s play therapy): Mitochondrial diseases sometimes pass from mother to child, as in Stephanie’s case. It affects multiple organs because mitochondria, that’s the part of the cell that generates energy, are found in almost every cell in the body. Without mitochondria, the body would stop functioning. The disease is under-diagnosed because the symptoms are extremely diverse and often mistaken for other diseases.

In fact, Stephanie has the disease but does not have any symptoms.

Stephanie: We have a room that is our Medical Supply Room. (opening cabinets) And these are all of our daily things that we need to have: formula, syringes, suction equipment... (holds up package) This is a g-tube kit. Gauzes...

Gupta (voiceover): Treatment only reduces symptoms and there is no cure. It is a progressive disease which means you get sicker as you get older.

(At Oregon Health Science University; Portland, Oregon)

Dr. Shoukhrat Mitalipov: So how many [garbled] today?

Research Assistant: About sixty.

Doctor: Wow.

Gupta (voiceover): Scientists in the state of Oregon recently pioneered a breakthrough technique with women like Stephanie in mind.

Dr. Mitalipov (Lead Scientist): What’s exciting for me is that even if we find treatment that will cure one disease--or even just one person--I think that’s a really big achievement.

Gupta (voiceover, monkeys): Baby monkeys, Mito and Tracker, were made from the genetic material from two mothers. That’s an advance that could one day help women with mitochondrial disease have healthy children. The technique allowed Mito and Tracker’s mother to pass on most of her genetic material minus that damaged mitochondrial DNA.

Dr. Mitalipov (on smartboard or similar): What we have is egg from a patient...

Gupta (voiceover): If this were ever possible in humans, it would mean a mother with a mitochondrial mutation could still pass on inherited genetic characteristics like eye color, hair color, and range of intelligence without passing on the disease.

(animated depiction of procedure) Here’s what the procedure looks like....

A mother’s egg has it’s healthy nuclear DNA removed and transplanted into a healthy donor egg. The donor’s egg nuclear DNA is eliminated because it’s not needed but its mitochondrial DNA remains intact. Now since the mother’s mitochondrial DNA is damaged, it’s not transferred. The egg is then fertilized by the father’s sperm and will become the biological child of the parents free from internal mutations.

Dr. Mitalipov: This is main embryology lab. This is where the...all...magic is done.

Gupta (voiceover): Here monkey eggs undergo the mitochondrial gene replacement procedure. The manipulated eggs are then fertilized and in a few days, those eggs are ready for transplantation.

Dr. Mitalipov (pointing at slide): You can see the small, tiny drop? There’s actually about 20 eggs there.

Gupta (voiceover): Tiny tools hold the eggs steady. A laser penetrates a microscopic hole in the egg. And then a micro-pipette enters and removes the egg’s nucleus for the genes that are being transferred to the donor egg.

Dr. Mitalipov: Every disease...it is better to prevent it. To treat before it actually happens.

Gupta (voiceover): The work is not without controversy. And if it’s one day applied to humans, there could be children with three genetic parents. And that could create the potential for legal and social conflicts. And critics worry that genetic manipulation could give rise to a market in elective genetic enhancements.

(Back to Stephanie reading Where the Wild Things Are)

But for Stephanie, the possibility is enticing.

Stephanie: We definitely want to have more children. But it’s a really difficult choice for our family to make.

I just can’t risk it. It scares me. It scares me, so we have to look at other alternatives to having a child.

The idea that we could take my DNA and make it healthy....is really exciting. Certainly people are going to say that there’s moral issues and there’s ethics issues in that and and a part of me says you know what? Come spend a day at my house and then we’ll talk about the morals and the ethics of it.

* I did not finish the donation cycle because, unfortunately, the stimulation medication did not stimulate egg production enough (there were plenty of them but they weren't growing fast enough), at the very end.

Quote of the Day

"President Obama's record of support for abortion is radical and extreme."—Rick Santorum, in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal about his unassailable anti-choiceyness.

LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! Etc.

If only!

I can't imagine a better way to celebrate the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade than with a presidential election in which a candidate who has remained silent while a record number of anti-abortion restrictions have been passed all across the country is cast as a "radical and extreme" defender of abortion rights by a candidate who would consign women to forced pregnancies and unsafe abortions and calls himself pro-life.

What a great country we live in!

By the way, there are loads of great quotes in that piece. I also really loved this one: "I am disappointed that President Obama, who rightfully fights for civil rights, refuses to recognize the civil rights of the unborn in his country."

Yes, how terrible. So let us elect someone who doesn't give a flying flunderton about the civil rights of half the nation's population. Awesome.

Quote of the Day

[Content Note: Reproductive rights encroachments.]

"Burden schmurden!"—Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. That is not actually a direct quote, but it may as well be.

Have I mentioned that the anti-choice movement, having gained momentum with the unilateral support of no less than the Republican Party, parts of the Democratic Party, and 4-5 members of the Supreme Court, is nothing less than state-sponsored terrorism in defense of an inherently violent ideology? 'Cuz it is.

[H/T to Misty.]

Reproductive Rights Updates: New Hampshire, Ohio, Kansas, Texas

First up we have New Hampshire. Last year the state made news because it denied contract with Planned Parenthood (and thus, clinics couldn't dispense contraception). The federal government stepped in on that one. Well, enter round two of this.

A bill banning public funding of Planned Parenthood and other groups that provide elective abortions passed out of the New Hampshire House yesterday with a 60-vote majority, as Republicans rejected a report by the committee assigned to study the issue but fell short of the support needed to override a potential veto by the governor.

[...]

"For many New Hampshire women, Planned Parenthood is the only affordable option for health care. This legislation puts at risk basic access to cost-effective, preventive services such as cancer screenings, breast exams, access to birth control and other disease prevention services," said Jennifer Frizzell, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England's senior policy adviser, in a statement after the vote.[...]

Republican Rep. Susan DeLemus of Rochester was first to speak on the floor in support of the bill.

"As a sovereign citizen, I do not ever want to contribute to the stopping of a baby's heart with my tax dollars," she said.

First, "sovereign citizen"? What? Who talks like that? Second: problem! See, Medicaid covers abortion in very, very, very limited cases. Your legislation?

The bill prevents the Department of Health and Human Services from entering into a contract with any organization that provides abortions not funded by Medicaid, which covers the procedure in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is in danger.

So your tax dollars? Never funded any abortion at Planned Parenthood (or other clinic, office, or hospital) that wasn't already covered--and still covered & paid for--by Medicaid. Your "tax dollars", oh Sovereign Citizen, are STILL paying for abortion in the limited cases that they were already. Whooops! You don't know what you're talking about are supporting legislation that you appear to be ignorant of!

The House, in passing this bill, blew off its own committee (made up of a 2:1 republican majority) report that recommended killing it. The bill now goes to the Senate. Governor John Lynch is outright opposed to the legislation and the House did not provide a veto-proof vote.

***

In Ohio, the asinine "heartbeat" legislation is going to get another hearing in the state senate after the primaries:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The leader of the Ohio Senate says hearings on a bill that would impose the nation's strictest abortion limit will resume after the state's March 6 primary.

Senate President Tom Niehaus (NEE'-hows) told reporters on Wednesday that his chamber would take up the measure after the primary contests. He did not further explain the timing or decision.

So now you know what I will be writing about come March!

***

In Kansas, where abortion and draining the state of funds via lawsuits over legislation appear to be an obsession with certain legislators, the state House is moving forward with the odious "personhood" nonsense.

More than two dozen members of the Kansas House of Representatives have endorsed an amendment to the state constitution that would make abortion illegal in the state, potentially posing a constitutional challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court precedent set by Roe v. Wade.

The proposed amendment, which is expected to be introduced in the House this session, is the latest set of "personhood" legislation being weighed by state lawmakers. If passed by voters in November, the amendment would guarantee the rights of "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" to individuals of all ages -- including the unborn -- by declaring that life begins the moment a woman's egg is fertilized.

Same tired stuff there. BUT! Check out what they're putting ON THE BALLOT (emphasis mine):

An explanation of the measure that would printed on the ballot in November emphasizes that a vote against it would not amend the state constitution, meaning "the current federally mandated legal status of preborn humans would remain that of a class of human beings that can intentionally be killed."

ON. THE. BALLOT. Gee, that's NOT AT ALL misleading, biased bullshit now it it?

The bill, however, has to pass by 2/3 majority before voters get to see that garbage nightmare of leading, emotionally-charged bullshit.

The article ends with noting:

Personhood efforts have recently been introduced in Virginia, Nevada, and Ohio. Similar efforts are also underway in California, Montana, Arkansas, Florida and Colorado.

***

Deep in the heart of Texas, poor, un- and under-insured people are SOL. This is according to a report released by the Dept. of State Health Services.

Following a legislative session where lawmakers slashed funding for family planning and targeted Planned Parenthood, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has released a much-reduced list of organizations that will receive state dollars to provide birth control, STD testing and cervical and breast cancer screenings for the state's poorest women.

Between now and March 31, 2013, 41 womens' health providers will receive a total of $12.4 million, down from 71 agencies in the last biennium.

[...]

In the last legislative session, lawmakers gutted family planning funding for all providers by two-thirds, from $111.5 million during the 2010-2011 biennium to $37.9 million over the next two years.

[...]

DSHS reported that 12 women's health applicants were denied funding because their regions were already covered by “tier one” providers. For instance, the Lone Star Community Health Center clinics in Montgomery County didn’t receive funding because their area is already covered by clinics associated with the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

Williams said even though Planned Parenthood clinics are not on the list of the agency's 41 official contractors, three Planned Parenthood chapters are receiving some temporary funding over the next few months. In those cases, either no one else from their regions applied, or other applicants didn't meet the criteria for funding. Williams said the state still has about $2 million available in its family planning budget, and has posted a request for additional applicants for that money.

“We want to make sure that we are adhering to legislative intent and that women are able to get care seamlessly,” Williams said. “The re-compete is to make sure other entities, such as associations, were aware of the opportunity to apply for these funds.”

[...]

Even among those who received a grant, there are concerns that the state cut too deeply into a program that used to serve 220,000 women every year. Under the current budget, DSHS estimates about 60,000 people will be able to continue to receive birth control and disease testing.

Lone Star Circle of Care, an FQHC with clinics throughout Central Texas, will receive $322,488 over the next 14 months — enough to cover only 20 percent of the family planning costs the clinic incurred in 2011. The state used to provide enough funding to cover between 70 to 80 percent of the clinic's services.

“It’s not enough compared to the demand we have for these services, so we’re seeking alternative sources of funding to cover the shortfall,” said Rebekah Haynes, Lone Star’s spokeswoman.

But at least Planned Parenthood is barely getting any money, amirite?!?!

***

In related news, a new study that was published today in the Lancet shows that abortion rates--particularly unsafe abortions--are higher where contraception is hard to come by and where abortion has been made illegal.

Abortion rates are higher in countries where the procedure is illegal and nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, with the vast majority in developing countries, a new study concludes.

Experts couldn't say whether more liberal laws led to fewer procedures, but said good access to birth control in those countries resulted in fewer unwanted pregnancies.

The global abortion rate remained virtually unchanged from 2003 to 2008, at about 28 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, a total of about 43.8 million abortions, according to the study. The rate had previously been dropping since 1995.

About 47,000 women died from unsafe abortions in 2008, and another 8.5 million women had serious medical complications. Almost all unsafe abortions were in developing countries, where family planning and contraceptive programs have mostly levelled off.

[...]

Abortion rates were lowest in Western Europe 12 per 1,000 and highest in Eastern Europe 43 per 1,000. The rate in North America was 19 per 1,000. Sedgh [Gilda, senior researcher at the Guttmacher Institute] said she and colleagues found a link between higher abortion rates and regions with more restrictive legislation, such as in Latin America and Africa. They also found that 95 to 97 per cent of abortions in those regions were unsafe.

The authors defined unsafe abortion as any procedure done by people lacking needed skills or in places that don't meet minimal medical standards. Sedgh said some women in Africa resort to using broken soda bottles or taking strong doses of medicines or herbal drugs to induce abortions.

"It is precisely where abortion is illegal that it must become safer," wrote Beverly Winikoff and Wendy R. Sheldon of the Gynuity Health Projects in New York, in an accompanying commentary.

Experts said increasing birth control options for women in poor countries, like providing long-acting implants, would make a big difference.

"Wherever we have made better contraception available in the countries where we work, hundreds of women will walk hours to get it," said Dana Hovig, CEO of Marie Stopes International, a family planning organization. He was not connected to the study.

All across this country, legislators are attempting to reduce access to contraception and eliminate abortion entirely (as a legal and safe procedure). They defy logic and science and general humanity. And they do not care.


As an aside, none of these posts would exist if SOPA and PIPA were to pass. None.

Not Terrorism (But Should Be)

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism.]

Fred Clark at Slacktivist has an important follow-up to my post yesterday about the arrest of Bobby Joe Rogers for setting the fire at a women's clinic in Pensacola, Florida. Fred looks at what happened and what the definition of domestic terrorism in the US Code is, and asks: "How is that not domestic terrorism?"

Good question.

There's still time for federal authorities to amend the charges. Let us hope that they do.

Otherwise, feminist women and our pro-choice allies might get the impression that our government doesn't give a fuck about us. Ahem.

Not a Terrorist

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism.]

On Tuesday, I wrote about a fire at a women's clinic in Pensacola, Florida, which had previously been bombed twice and was the site of the fatal shootings of Dr. John Britton and clinic escort James Barrett.

Today, Bobby Joe Rogers, 41, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was arrested and federally charged with one count of Damaging a Building by Fire or Explosive, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

He is (allegedly) a terrorist. This was terrorism.

Reproductive Rights Updates: Alabama, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas

[Content Note: This post discusses state-sponsored anti-choice measures.]

First up is Alabama where new legislation went into effect Sunday:

New abortion reporting requirements will also go into effect Sunday under a law passed in the final hours of the 2011 regular session by the Alabama Legislature.

The law, sponsored by state Rep. Kerry Rich, R-Albertville, bans abortions from 20 weeks after "probable post-fertilization" ex­cept in cases of medical emergency. Previously, abortion was banned after fetal viability, defined by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade as occurring be­tween the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy.

The State Center for Health Statistics said 70 of the 10,280 abortions in Ala­bama in 2010 -- 0.6 percent of the procedures -- took place at the 20th week of gestation or after, the prior definition of abortion.

The ban went into effect in September; the added re­porting requirements go into effect Sunday. Among other changes, physicians who per­form abortions after 20 weeks will be required to list the medical reason for the abortion and whether the method used provided the opportunity to save the fetus.

So along with this new statute, Alabama is getting on the "personhood" train:

Republican State Senator Phil Williams is the sponsor of the Alabama personhood bill SB5 which has been prefiled for the February 2012 Regular Session.

“I personally believe that life begins at conception. I believe the majority of Alabamians also share that belief and I think it's high time that we did more than just talk in the privacy of our own homes about what we believe, but go ahead and act on that. That's why this particular bill is actually being revised. It will be substituted in the form of a constitutional amendment to allow the citizens of Alabama to vote on it," said Williams.

[...]

“The heart of the bill; ‘shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization and implantation into the womb’ is nonsense,” said Tipton [Sean, of American Society for Reproductive Medicine]. “There is no ‘moment’ of conception. It is a process that takes several hours at least. Implantation in the womb occurs at different time, and different place, than conception. So this wording is to say the least, unclear.”

"It's not okay because it's not an anti-abortion bill. It's not what they mean it to be it's ultimately affecting so many women's issues," said Jessica Sasser [volunteer with the National Infertility Association:RESOLVE].

Ms. Sasser, it wouldn't be ok even if it was "just" an anti-abortion bill.

***

In Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood has been shut out of providing or coordinating well woman care for some uninsured people:

Planned Parenthood will no longer be coordinating a local health-care program for uninsured women.

Winnebago County will be taking over outreach and education services for the Wisconsin Well Woman Program in a four-county area that includes Fond du Lac County.

The announcement was made Dec. 23 by Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith. The program had been hanging in limbo since Dec. 1, when Planned Parenthood was contacted by an employee at DHS and told that as of the new year the agency would no longer be facilitating the program for Fond du Lac, Winnebago, Outagamie and Sheboygan counties.

Gov. Scott Walker said the move was made because Planned Parenthood is “too controversial.”

“There are many clinics that are not as controversial as Planned Parenthood, and our goal was to make sure low-income women had access to those sorts of screenings from other providers around the state that don’t carry the controversy you get with Planned Parenthood,” he told reporters.

So! Planned Parenthood is "controversial" to a particular segment of voters, therefore, you & your health department decided uninsured people cannot get necessary care there. I see.


***

In Ohio, anti-autonomy jackasses are celebrating a banner year while looking forward to enacting more measures to reduce women to less-than-persons status:

The anti-abortion movement scored an array of legislative victories in Ohio in 2011, but even after a record year, abortion foes are advocating for tighter restrictions in 2012.

[...]

On Friday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine certified a petition by anti-abortion supporters allowing them to collect signatures for a “personhood” amendment that seeks to bestow fertilized human eggs with full personal rights.

[...]

“Never in the history of the pro-life movement have we had so many legislative measures enacted in one year,” Gonidakis [Mike, president of Ohio Right to Life] said.

New state laws prohibit public hospitals from performing abortions and ban abortion coverage in the insurance plans of local public employees.

Under new rules, the director of the Ohio Department of Health must apply for federal grants to fund abstinence education with the goal of cutting down on unplanned pregnancies. Anti-abortion student groups on college campuses now cannot be denied use of school funds or facilities.

Kasich also signed legislation that makes it harder for minors to get abortions without parental consent, and a law forbidding health insurance plans through the new federal health care law from providing coverage for abortions, except when the woman’s life is at risk or if she is a victim of rape or incest.

Lawmakers also passed a bill outlawing abortions that take place after 20 weeks if a doctor determines the fetus can live outside the womb.

This law was the “highlight” of the year, and imposes some of the most significant restrictions on abortions in decades, said Coudron [Paul, director], with Dayton Right to Life.

[...]

Emboldened by last year’s successes, Ohio Right to Life said it hopes this year to kill funding to Planned Parenthood, appropriate funds to centers that provide pregnant women with counseling and prenatal care and help elect a U.S. president and senator who share their views.

They say their goal is for an anti-abortion U.S. president and Senate to help seat Supreme Court justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade.

Right to Life groups also want state or federal lawmakers to pass a bill that requires pregnant women to either hear or see the fetal heartbeat before having an abortion.

Ohio isn't the only state with pro-forced-pregnancy groups looking forward to pushing for less rights for actual people. Kansas, of course, is another.

***

Kansas, apparently feeling that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight legislation in 2011 wasn't enough, is vowing to pass more legislation that will inevitably cost the state:

Anti-abortion leaders in the Republican-controlled Legislature said they plan to strengthen legal protections for physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals who don't want to participate in abortions or dispense abortion-inducing drugs. They hope to prevent even indirect taxpayer support for abortions and to add new requirements to a law spelling out what information doctors must provide to women seeking abortions.

[...]

...[L]eading anti-abortion legislators and Kansans for Life, the group with the most visible presence at the Statehouse, want to concentrate on proposals that are far more likely to pass and making measurable gains that stand."This is like a good ground game in football," said Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, discussing its strategy of pursuing incremental legislative gains. "I don't believe that we have finished fleshing out every law that we can that is currently constitutional."

Chip, chip, chip. Anyone who dares to proclaim the tired ass phrase "But Roe!!!", needs to read that right there. Anyway:

Just as in 2011, Brownback, a Republican abortion opponent, doesn't plant to propose any legislation, preferring to concentrate on fiscal issues, but he'll sign anti-abortion measures that reach his desk, spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag said.

[...]

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican, said he and fellow abortion opponents will push for a proposed "conscience" act to supplement a law saying no person can be required to participate in an abortion. Previous versions declared that health care professionals can't be punished by their employers for refusing to participate in abortions or dispensing abortion-inducing drugs and "artificial" birth control.

[...]

Kinzer also is promoting legislation to add to the state's general ban on taxpayer funded abortion by declaring that companies or groups can't get tax credits or deductions against abortion-related expenditures. [...]

Pilcher-Cook [Mary, Senator R-Shawnee] said she also wants to make sure that doctors give women seeking abortions a detailed description of each potential abortion procedure, including "what it does to the unborn child."

Oh 2012. You look so much like 2011.

Today in Totally Not Terrorism

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism.]

There are a lot of things that don't get called terrorism in this country, but chief among them is the anti-choice movement, which is the most brazen, unapologetic terrorist campaign in the US, its co-ordination and orchestration done right out in the open, where no one in the media or politics will call it what it is. It is an inherently violent ideology, backed by a decades-long campaign of intimidation, harassment and violence directed at abortion providers and abortion seekers, that is ignored by one party and mainstreamed as a central plank of its party platform by the other.

And still, every goddamn episode of blatant terrorism against women's clinics is treated like an isolated incident.

Today, another story about a fire at a women's clinic in Pensacola, Florida—a clinic which has already been bombed twice and was the site of the fatal shootings of Dr. John Britton and clinic escort James Barrett—and CNN manages to report it without ever using the word "terrorism" in its piece.

Again, this despite the fact that it has already been the site of two terrorist attacks, and in spite of Pensacola Police Chief Chip Simmons having told the Pensacola News-Journal that to call the fire suspicious "would be an understatement."

"Obviously somebody doesn't like abortion," resident Danielle Moulden told WEAR. "I'm against it myself, but I'd never go that far."

Well, at least we got to hear from someone who's against abortion. That's the important thing.

[H/T to @OnTheIssues.]