Imagine a teenage girl having sex. I know, I know, she's had sex ed and been told not to. Which has been proven to be as effective as the legal drinking age of 21. So, as so many of us have done, she waits anxiously for her period, and it doesn't come. Either she can or she can't tell her parents. Or she can but she doesn't know that.
She doesn't say anything, except maybe to her boyfriend, who suddenly starts avoiding her.
If she goes to her guidance counselor, her parents will find out.
She can't go to a doctor, because the doctor would insist on telling her parents.
There was once a time, or should have been a time, or should currently be, clinics where teens can get accurate information about pregnancy, and told objectively about the options. But that doesn't exist.
She tells a friend, who tells another friend, and, as Kurt Vonnegut might have said, so it goes. The friends try to piece information together. Somebody has heard that drugs for animals can cause abortions. Another friend has heard of someone who swallowed lye. Someone else suggested that she throw herself down the stairs. They all agreed that she should wait and see; sometimes you just miss a period.
When there is absolutely no doubt that she is pregnant, she looks up some family clinic phone numbers.
At this point, when she turns the problem over to the adults, there is still no certainty that she will end up with accurate information and an objective counselor to go over her options. If she is determined to have an abortion, she may not have the money. She may end up talking to anti-abortion counselors who give her bad information. She may not be able to get to an abortion provider. Or she may end up, in desperation, swallowing lye.
Meanwhile, she has been depressed, distracted. She may have continued to go to classes, but her grades have suffered.
Perhaps at some point her parents figure it out. Recriminations followed by an insistence that she has the baby: you got yourself into this. She tries to believe this is the best thing. Her mother is supportive one minute, angry the next. Her father says she can stay at home with the baby, but then complains that he will have to take care of her and her kid.
If staying with her parents is intolerable, she may decide to go out on her own. In some states, there is no health care available, or it is minimal and hard to find. She can't get housing or food stamps. There is no child care. She takes what welfare she can, but it is hard to figure out where to go and how to apply. When she does get assistance, it is not anywhere near enough to survive. She doesn't eat well, she doesn't sleep well, she has never learned how to budget and has no resources to help her. And she surely has no idea how to take care of a baby.
Lindsey Graham sent out an email yesterday bragging on the upcoming "fast-tracked" abortion ban vote. This is part of an all-out blitzkrieg on women's reproductive rights in conjunction with voting to defund Planned Parenthood. Once again, holding the government hostage by threatening a shutdown if Planned Parenthood is not defunded. A Sophie's choice of which most desperately needed programs are going to be killed.
After Wednesday's republican debate, the media heralded Carly Fiorina as the "winner," because she was poised and spoke in complete sentences. Women cheered her on for confronting Donald Trump for his crack about her face. On the other hand, her comments about Planned Parenthood were complete fabrications. Which fact-checking has gone pretty much unnoticed.
In this fictional right-wing world, it is all about saving "lives." The government should be small and we should all celebrate our "freedom." Unless we are women, or obstetricians. Or teenage girls.
Accurate information and objective reporting or counseling has no place in 2015 America.
Here in South Carolina, where our legislature has finally passed a bill requiring accurate sex education be taught in the schools, the same determination is going into thwarting that law as that which went into civil rights laws integrating schools. Charleston County, which is supposed to be a shining star in the redneck firmament which is South Carolina, has been outstanding in its efforts to avoid telling the truth to our teens regarding their bodies.
So that girl who makes the mistake of having unprotected sex is easily forgiven. She is living in a world of denial and of falsehood. She has nowhere that she knows she can turn because anyone that might help her find her way is threatened with firing or defunding.
Our choice. Not hers.
Showing posts with label 20 Week Abortion Ban. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 20 Week Abortion Ban. Show all posts
Friday, September 18, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
Men Debating Abortion Moves Forward
In an excellent summary of the insane debate going on in the South Carolina Senate over H 3114, the bill that would ban abortion at twenty weeks, we have the cretins explaining science and morality. Lee Bright continues to tear his little heart out over the thought that 20-week fetuses are feeling pain. No doubt he spends many nights lying awake thinking about those same fetuses being denied the right to experience sexual pleasure in the womb. Danny Verdin, another example of imaginations gone wild, can't get past the pain a fetus must be going through during an abortion.
Jeez guys, you must have been a riot in your high school biology classes. Should we really have men who are so prone to hysteria that they readily distort facts be making legislative decisions about... well, anything?
And while they relate to a fetus as though it is a cute little kitty, they have absolutely no concept of pain in reality. The pain of a woman whose pregnancy has gone horribly wrong. The pain of carrying a fetus who has severe abnormalities to term, and then giving birth to an infant who also will THEN live in pain until death. The pain of a woman being unable to care for herself or other family members because she is being forced to carry a life that it has been determined will require the draining of resources, emotional and financial. The tragedy of forcing life when maybe God has created a system wherein some pregnancies fail so that others can flower.
False science and hysteria rule the day in Columbia.
But we have some fearless souls on the other side who are attempting to bring reason and proper analysis to this fascist enterprise.
Senator Joel Lourie sums it up:
“We’re a bunch of men sitting up here trying to tell a woman whether it’s right or not to terminate a pregnancy at 20 versus 24 weeks. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves that we’re going to impose our own value system and interfere with the relationship between a woman, her physician, her spiritual adviser and her family.”
We're not even talking about the fact that that infinitesimal percentage of doctors who have testified as "experts" in favor of this bill have had center stage against professional organizations like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We've had testimony by people who have said they "just know" a fetus at twenty week feels pain. Proud to be a member of such an august legislative body that would consider that "evidence."
But then there's God. The legislators themselves have toned down the religious rhetoric, substituting it with false science claims so that they can pretend they are keeping church and state separate. But there has been more than enough religious fervor that has crept in via "witnesses."
So that the argument is not really whether a woman should be allowed to decide for herself about terminating a pregnancy. It is really about the fact that because some women of faith chose to have the baby, all women should be prevented from having a choice. It is because small-minded hypocrites like Lee Bright want to be heralded by the church as the man that saved "unborn babies" from being "killed" while defending abusers rights to carry guns. It is about misogynists like Danny Verdin telling us that allowing exceptions to a 20-week abortion law for rape and incest would be encouraging women to lie.
Basically, it is the ugliest of motives, control of women, combined with voyeurism and government surveillance, that gives continued voice to these abortion bills.
This twenty week abortion ban, that in a world ruled by reason and true concern would have been laughed out of any governing body, will come for a Senate vote soon. The criminal domestic violence bill, which would truly save lives, is being held hostage while those same "pro-life" legislators fight about whether abusers should have their guns taken away.
But we can still be heard. We can thank and encourage those Senators who are fighting for women's right to reproductive health and privacy, and we can write and call our own State Senators to tell them in no uncertain terms to vote no to this bill.
Thanks to Brad Hutto and Joel Lourie and others who are fighting to keep the government out of women's private lives.
Go to the Statehouse website to send an email to let each senator know how you feel about this bill.
This is the email I sent to all senators:
I urge you to vote NO on the bill that would prevent women from deciding on whether to have an abortion after twenty weeks. Science has proven that at 20-24 weeks a fetus has not developed the ability to experience pain.
Also, this is an extremely rare procedure (estimated 30 per year) which occurs in the course of wanted pregnancies where fetal abnormalities are detected.
This should be a decision between a woman and a medical professional. Government intrusion in such a private and personal matter is unacceptable.
Vote NO on H 3114.
I hope you will all join me in making your voice heard.
Jeez guys, you must have been a riot in your high school biology classes. Should we really have men who are so prone to hysteria that they readily distort facts be making legislative decisions about... well, anything?
And while they relate to a fetus as though it is a cute little kitty, they have absolutely no concept of pain in reality. The pain of a woman whose pregnancy has gone horribly wrong. The pain of carrying a fetus who has severe abnormalities to term, and then giving birth to an infant who also will THEN live in pain until death. The pain of a woman being unable to care for herself or other family members because she is being forced to carry a life that it has been determined will require the draining of resources, emotional and financial. The tragedy of forcing life when maybe God has created a system wherein some pregnancies fail so that others can flower.
False science and hysteria rule the day in Columbia.
But we have some fearless souls on the other side who are attempting to bring reason and proper analysis to this fascist enterprise.
Senator Joel Lourie sums it up:
“We’re a bunch of men sitting up here trying to tell a woman whether it’s right or not to terminate a pregnancy at 20 versus 24 weeks. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves that we’re going to impose our own value system and interfere with the relationship between a woman, her physician, her spiritual adviser and her family.”
We're not even talking about the fact that that infinitesimal percentage of doctors who have testified as "experts" in favor of this bill have had center stage against professional organizations like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We've had testimony by people who have said they "just know" a fetus at twenty week feels pain. Proud to be a member of such an august legislative body that would consider that "evidence."
But then there's God. The legislators themselves have toned down the religious rhetoric, substituting it with false science claims so that they can pretend they are keeping church and state separate. But there has been more than enough religious fervor that has crept in via "witnesses."
So that the argument is not really whether a woman should be allowed to decide for herself about terminating a pregnancy. It is really about the fact that because some women of faith chose to have the baby, all women should be prevented from having a choice. It is because small-minded hypocrites like Lee Bright want to be heralded by the church as the man that saved "unborn babies" from being "killed" while defending abusers rights to carry guns. It is about misogynists like Danny Verdin telling us that allowing exceptions to a 20-week abortion law for rape and incest would be encouraging women to lie.
Basically, it is the ugliest of motives, control of women, combined with voyeurism and government surveillance, that gives continued voice to these abortion bills.
This twenty week abortion ban, that in a world ruled by reason and true concern would have been laughed out of any governing body, will come for a Senate vote soon. The criminal domestic violence bill, which would truly save lives, is being held hostage while those same "pro-life" legislators fight about whether abusers should have their guns taken away.
But we can still be heard. We can thank and encourage those Senators who are fighting for women's right to reproductive health and privacy, and we can write and call our own State Senators to tell them in no uncertain terms to vote no to this bill.
Thanks to Brad Hutto and Joel Lourie and others who are fighting to keep the government out of women's private lives.
Go to the Statehouse website to send an email to let each senator know how you feel about this bill.
This is the email I sent to all senators:
I urge you to vote NO on the bill that would prevent women from deciding on whether to have an abortion after twenty weeks. Science has proven that at 20-24 weeks a fetus has not developed the ability to experience pain.
Also, this is an extremely rare procedure (estimated 30 per year) which occurs in the course of wanted pregnancies where fetal abnormalities are detected.
This should be a decision between a woman and a medical professional. Government intrusion in such a private and personal matter is unacceptable.
Vote NO on H 3114.
I hope you will all join me in making your voice heard.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Big Anti-Abortion Rally in the SC Senate
On Wednesday, April 1, the South Carolina Senate is going to hear not one, not two, but four anti-abortion bills. This will be the Medical Affairs Subcommittee, at 9 a.m. in 207 Gressette. The bills are: H 3114, S 25, S 28, and S 130. These are all basically the same bill, the 20-week ban that pretends to be science by claiming that fetuses at 20 weeks can feel pain.
Is this a last ditch effort to pass one of these god-awful bills before recess? It has the feel of a back-room plot, with old white men smoking big smelly cigars, doesn't it? Just determined, before the break for the big religious holiday, to do something to get a wink and a back-slap from their Guy in Heaven.
I would like to understand why there are four of the same bills floating around, some with the same sponsors. It makes no sense, which is at least consistent with the content of the bills. Maybe it's a case of dueling egos, but if there is a rationale for flooding the Senate with copies of the same bill, I sure would like to be on top of it.
Let's just hope that a couple of the sane members of this subcommittee are planning some evasive action.
Here's one thing, though. We can't expect our guys to fight this ugly fight without our support. And we need those nasty women-haters to know we aren't going to sit by while they plan to keep us barefoot and pregnant.
So we need to call and email. Every one of them. Once, twice, as often as possible.
You know those anti-abortion wackos that block the Charleston Women's Medical Center? The ones who show up at ACLU meetings, Planned Parenthood events, and pretty much any other place where people might gather to talk about preserving individual freedom? They are tireless. There aren't all that many of them, but the way they show up, Zelig-like, they seem to be everywhere.
That is the presence -- and the passion -- that we need to project. Politicians may be bought, and they may have their own pet projects that disregard the needs of their constituents, but if you make enough noise, they will worry about their futures. And those guys in the Senate who do support women's reproductive freedom and privacy need to know there are gazillions of us behind them, cheering them on.
So here's the thing.
Women of reproductive age, and the men who are also affected by these attempts to control their lives, need to shout the loudest, because they have the most to lose. Be sure to tell these young women and men exactly what is going on this Wednesday. The 20-week abortion ban seeks to prevent women from making critical medical decisions about their welfare and that of their families. After the anti-abortion gang was able to get 24-week abortions banned with their "partial birth" false science, the 20-week abortion ban was next on their checklist. And be assured that if this becomes law, they will be energized and will pursue ever more restrictive measures. The goal is not just total ban on abortion, but a ban on contraception as well.
If you can be there on Wednesday, do it. Your presence at the statehouse will be noticed.
Whether you are there or not, call and / or email the members of the Medical Affairs Committee. You can do that from scstatehouse.gov by going to the Senate link, and then to the email link. You can send individual emails, or an email to all Senate members. I don't think it's possible to overdo your voice or your message.
You can also go to this ACLU link:
https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu/issues/alert/?alertid=64213171&type=CU&ms=fb_150316_aff_SC_reproductive_rights
Feel free to add your own words to the prepared text. And don't worry about how well you write; it is the message that matters.
If there is enough noise, it is possible that some committee members will be less eager to push these bills through.
Finally, spread this message through Facebook, Twitter, and your email lists. The sad truth is that when these terrible bills do pass, it is a surprise to far too many of us. Let's not let that happen.
And let's not let Lee Bright and Wendy Nanney dictate what happens in our doctors' offices.
Is this a last ditch effort to pass one of these god-awful bills before recess? It has the feel of a back-room plot, with old white men smoking big smelly cigars, doesn't it? Just determined, before the break for the big religious holiday, to do something to get a wink and a back-slap from their Guy in Heaven.
I would like to understand why there are four of the same bills floating around, some with the same sponsors. It makes no sense, which is at least consistent with the content of the bills. Maybe it's a case of dueling egos, but if there is a rationale for flooding the Senate with copies of the same bill, I sure would like to be on top of it.
Let's just hope that a couple of the sane members of this subcommittee are planning some evasive action.
Here's one thing, though. We can't expect our guys to fight this ugly fight without our support. And we need those nasty women-haters to know we aren't going to sit by while they plan to keep us barefoot and pregnant.
So we need to call and email. Every one of them. Once, twice, as often as possible.
You know those anti-abortion wackos that block the Charleston Women's Medical Center? The ones who show up at ACLU meetings, Planned Parenthood events, and pretty much any other place where people might gather to talk about preserving individual freedom? They are tireless. There aren't all that many of them, but the way they show up, Zelig-like, they seem to be everywhere.
That is the presence -- and the passion -- that we need to project. Politicians may be bought, and they may have their own pet projects that disregard the needs of their constituents, but if you make enough noise, they will worry about their futures. And those guys in the Senate who do support women's reproductive freedom and privacy need to know there are gazillions of us behind them, cheering them on.
So here's the thing.
Women of reproductive age, and the men who are also affected by these attempts to control their lives, need to shout the loudest, because they have the most to lose. Be sure to tell these young women and men exactly what is going on this Wednesday. The 20-week abortion ban seeks to prevent women from making critical medical decisions about their welfare and that of their families. After the anti-abortion gang was able to get 24-week abortions banned with their "partial birth" false science, the 20-week abortion ban was next on their checklist. And be assured that if this becomes law, they will be energized and will pursue ever more restrictive measures. The goal is not just total ban on abortion, but a ban on contraception as well.
If you can be there on Wednesday, do it. Your presence at the statehouse will be noticed.
Whether you are there or not, call and / or email the members of the Medical Affairs Committee. You can do that from scstatehouse.gov by going to the Senate link, and then to the email link. You can send individual emails, or an email to all Senate members. I don't think it's possible to overdo your voice or your message.
You can also go to this ACLU link:
https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu/issues/alert/?alertid=64213171&type=CU&ms=fb_150316_aff_SC_reproductive_rights
Feel free to add your own words to the prepared text. And don't worry about how well you write; it is the message that matters.
If there is enough noise, it is possible that some committee members will be less eager to push these bills through.
Finally, spread this message through Facebook, Twitter, and your email lists. The sad truth is that when these terrible bills do pass, it is a surprise to far too many of us. Let's not let that happen.
And let's not let Lee Bright and Wendy Nanney dictate what happens in our doctors' offices.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Abortion Opponents Rehearsed and Camera Ready
This is what I thought about as I tossed and turned for several hours last night:
H 3114, the deceitfully titled, "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," went before the SC Senate yesterday. That afternoon, The State ran a video of a woman -- and her daughter Savannah's -- testimony. Wendy Duke is dignified and well-spoken, and her remarks were carefully prepared. She has written an inspirational book about her daughter's first years, and she is a blogger. She introduces her daughter early on, and 14 1/2 year old Savannah comes to sit by her while her mother continues.
At 21 weeks, Ms. Duke's doctor informed her that there were potentially severe fetal abnormalities. At first glance, it sounds like the recommendation was based on the fact that one leg would be significantly shorter than the other. Listen carefully, though, because it turns out there was also "significant brain abnormality," so the recommendation to consider an abortion was more than responsible and justified.
Before she turns the microphone over to Savannah, Duke concludes, "At 21 weeks gestation, this former fetus' personality had already been established."
Well, no. And therein lies what is outrageous about this testimony. An emotional appeal mixing feelings with facts, combining the terms "fetus" and "personality" as though they actually made sense together, just does not belong in the South Carolina legislature.
Duke's comments were followed by a brief religious screed by her daughter. The camera panned on an anti-abortion pin that she wore prominently, with a photo of something that looked more like a premature infant than a fetus, saying, "20 week preborn child -- Please protect me."
National anti-abortion organizations advising the states have been careful not to frame legislation in religious terms and rather resort to nonsensical medical terms, hence "pain capable" and my favorite, "pre-born." We have heard legislators across this country claim such idiocy as because male fetuses have erections it is an obvious indication of pleasure, so therefore must feel pain. We have been constantly inundated with claims that the fetus appearing to flinch in response to stimuli assumes pain, although pain receptors have not yet been developed.
And here we have the testimony of a truly inspirational parent, and her truly amazing daughter, claiming that without this proposed law, her daughter would not exist. Also not true.
But it is well orchestrated and heart-wrenching. And here it is on video, and making it to the State website.
If you read to the end of the piece, though, you will find testimony by another woman, Jennifer Lane, describing the tremendously difficult decision she had to make in similar circumstances. With a five-year-old daughter, she had to make decisions based on not just the severe brain abnormalities, but also on whether she could care for a child with such limitations while also caring for her young daughter.
It is apparent that Ms Duke had the resources to give great amounts of time, pay for years of medical treatments, and nurture her disabled child without sacrificing her own health. She was able to provide well for her daughter, and to give her all the support that would assure she would excel in her endeavors. She is an exceptional woman, but she also had the freedom to assess her situation and make the best choice for her.
Yet here she is judging other women, each with unique situations -- financial, familial, emotional -- by testifying that there should be a law preventing them from being able to make the choice that she was allowed to make.
To their credit, the subcommittee has asked for medical professionals to make recommendations on an amendment for exceptions for fetal abnormalities and the health of the woman. On the other hand, it assumes that this procedure has been done excessively and frivolously and that a law is needed. And they also seem to have accepted the erroneous claim that this ban is necessary because of fetal pain.
In any event, the subcommittee will be meeting again around April 1, a fitting time for fools to meet. And it will give me a few days to catch up on my sleep.
H 3114, the deceitfully titled, "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," went before the SC Senate yesterday. That afternoon, The State ran a video of a woman -- and her daughter Savannah's -- testimony. Wendy Duke is dignified and well-spoken, and her remarks were carefully prepared. She has written an inspirational book about her daughter's first years, and she is a blogger. She introduces her daughter early on, and 14 1/2 year old Savannah comes to sit by her while her mother continues.
At 21 weeks, Ms. Duke's doctor informed her that there were potentially severe fetal abnormalities. At first glance, it sounds like the recommendation was based on the fact that one leg would be significantly shorter than the other. Listen carefully, though, because it turns out there was also "significant brain abnormality," so the recommendation to consider an abortion was more than responsible and justified.
Before she turns the microphone over to Savannah, Duke concludes, "At 21 weeks gestation, this former fetus' personality had already been established."
Well, no. And therein lies what is outrageous about this testimony. An emotional appeal mixing feelings with facts, combining the terms "fetus" and "personality" as though they actually made sense together, just does not belong in the South Carolina legislature.
Duke's comments were followed by a brief religious screed by her daughter. The camera panned on an anti-abortion pin that she wore prominently, with a photo of something that looked more like a premature infant than a fetus, saying, "20 week preborn child -- Please protect me."
National anti-abortion organizations advising the states have been careful not to frame legislation in religious terms and rather resort to nonsensical medical terms, hence "pain capable" and my favorite, "pre-born." We have heard legislators across this country claim such idiocy as because male fetuses have erections it is an obvious indication of pleasure, so therefore must feel pain. We have been constantly inundated with claims that the fetus appearing to flinch in response to stimuli assumes pain, although pain receptors have not yet been developed.
And here we have the testimony of a truly inspirational parent, and her truly amazing daughter, claiming that without this proposed law, her daughter would not exist. Also not true.
But it is well orchestrated and heart-wrenching. And here it is on video, and making it to the State website.
If you read to the end of the piece, though, you will find testimony by another woman, Jennifer Lane, describing the tremendously difficult decision she had to make in similar circumstances. With a five-year-old daughter, she had to make decisions based on not just the severe brain abnormalities, but also on whether she could care for a child with such limitations while also caring for her young daughter.
It is apparent that Ms Duke had the resources to give great amounts of time, pay for years of medical treatments, and nurture her disabled child without sacrificing her own health. She was able to provide well for her daughter, and to give her all the support that would assure she would excel in her endeavors. She is an exceptional woman, but she also had the freedom to assess her situation and make the best choice for her.
Yet here she is judging other women, each with unique situations -- financial, familial, emotional -- by testifying that there should be a law preventing them from being able to make the choice that she was allowed to make.
To their credit, the subcommittee has asked for medical professionals to make recommendations on an amendment for exceptions for fetal abnormalities and the health of the woman. On the other hand, it assumes that this procedure has been done excessively and frivolously and that a law is needed. And they also seem to have accepted the erroneous claim that this ban is necessary because of fetal pain.
In any event, the subcommittee will be meeting again around April 1, a fitting time for fools to meet. And it will give me a few days to catch up on my sleep.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
When 20-Week Abortions Are Banned
There are some rumors that H 3114, the bill that would ban abortion at twenty weeks, could come to a vote in the South Carolina House this week. Debate began on it last week and was adjourned to this Wednesday, February 11. I know I have only been tracking bills in South Carolina for a couple of years, but it seems to me that some bills just don't want to be tracked, and there are ways to keep the public from learning when and where and what happens next. This is one of those bills.
The twenty week ban is a sneaky proposition. Its premise, the "pain-capable" nonsense is false science; legislators, prompted by a National Right to Life model bill, bring up the same outlier research, and ignore the consensus of the medical and scientific community, that is, that pain receptors are not developed until 24 weeks at the earliest. This is the kind of fake science that slings about emotional and suspect terms like "unborn baby" and "preborn" (which never fails to remind me of the "pre-owned" leased-car-for-sale euphemism).
This is the kind of science that is used when cigarette manufacturers try to prove cigarettes don't cause cancer, and fracking doesn't pollute the environment. A doctor, a scientist, a "medical expert" is paraded about. (Remember the joke about "What do they call the medical student that graduates at the bottom of the class?" "Doctor.") And the testimony is repeated, and becomes "fact."
And then there are the not just false, but crazy, claims that we have heard from actually elected officials, of masturbating fetuses: "If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to believe they feel pain?" Yes, laugh so we don't cry at the horror of these bizarre fantasies wending their way into legislation which could destroy lives.
If this bill passes in South Carolina, what effect would it have? In fact, for most of us, it would have no effect at all. Because the reality is that an abortion at or after twenty weeks is extremely rare. It occurs when there are severe complications in a wanted pregnancy.
Let me repeat that: At twenty weeks or later, an abortion is extremely rare, and occurs when there are severe complications in a wanted pregnancy.
But the inflammatory rhetoric has resulted in most of us assuming that late-term abortions happen all the time, that they are frivolous, and that actual viable human life is snuffed out at the whim of the woman and her abortion doctor.
It was exactly this type of deception that brought us the "partial birth abortion" con job, and the subsequent federal law of 2003 which the Supreme Court upheld in 2007. The term "partial birth" is not a medical term but a successfully inflammatory political one. Given its success, it is not surprising that the next step on the war to ban abortion would be to save the "pain capable" twenty week fetus.
And what would happen if that bill were to pass? For most of us, nothing. Because the procedure is rare, it would not affect most of us. But for the small percentage of women who suffer through the awareness that something serious is wrong with their pregnancy, this law would be a travesty and a tragedy. It means doctors feeling the cold breath of the law watching and demanding documentation, and the possibility that they will be falsely accused of committing murder. For the woman, it will mean adding to the crisis the fact that the government is surveilling her medical decisions. It may mean that she is unable to make the decision to abort as soon as possible, adding days and weeks of agony to this already horrific situation. It could mean that she is not allowed to have the abortion at all.
In Georgia the law grudgingly allows for "medically futile" pregnancies, but not for exemptions for a woman's emotional or mental condition. State Representative Terry England felt that there should be no exceptions:
“Life gives us many experiences,” England said in response to concerns that a woman would have to carry a fetus to term that was not expected to live. “I’ve had the experience of delivering calves, dead and alive -- delivering pigs, dead and alive. … It breaks our hearts to see those animals not make it.”
And in the US House of Representatives, Texas idiot Louis Gohmert agrees, actually telling a witness during hearings that she should have carried her pregnancy to term even though it had been determined that the fetus had no brain function.
This nightmare scenario that dim-witted legislators and the anti-abortion movement like to call life-affirming, means the possibility of carrying a fetus to term that will not be able to sustain life, or will be so severely disabled that it would require a life-until-death of pain and surgical interventions. It would mean a family torn to shreds in emotional despair and financially devastated.
None of us begin a pregnancy assuming the worst could happen. If it does, the last thing we need is Wendy Nanney or Lee Bright telling us what we should do about it.
So we need to shout, all of us, against this bill. We need to call and email our legislators, over and over, and tell them why this bill is false science, and that it is not the business of our legislators to determine medical issues. We need to fight for those who may need someday to have the freedom to choose a late-term abortion. It is indeed a rare occurrence, but it is something that could happen to any of us.
Spread the word by email, Facebook or Twitter. Write or call your legislators. Write or call any legislators you know. We people of reason really do outnumber those on the other side of this war on women's medical freedom and privacy. Now is the time to let them know it.
The twenty week ban is a sneaky proposition. Its premise, the "pain-capable" nonsense is false science; legislators, prompted by a National Right to Life model bill, bring up the same outlier research, and ignore the consensus of the medical and scientific community, that is, that pain receptors are not developed until 24 weeks at the earliest. This is the kind of fake science that slings about emotional and suspect terms like "unborn baby" and "preborn" (which never fails to remind me of the "pre-owned" leased-car-for-sale euphemism).
This is the kind of science that is used when cigarette manufacturers try to prove cigarettes don't cause cancer, and fracking doesn't pollute the environment. A doctor, a scientist, a "medical expert" is paraded about. (Remember the joke about "What do they call the medical student that graduates at the bottom of the class?" "Doctor.") And the testimony is repeated, and becomes "fact."
And then there are the not just false, but crazy, claims that we have heard from actually elected officials, of masturbating fetuses: "If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to believe they feel pain?" Yes, laugh so we don't cry at the horror of these bizarre fantasies wending their way into legislation which could destroy lives.
If this bill passes in South Carolina, what effect would it have? In fact, for most of us, it would have no effect at all. Because the reality is that an abortion at or after twenty weeks is extremely rare. It occurs when there are severe complications in a wanted pregnancy.
Let me repeat that: At twenty weeks or later, an abortion is extremely rare, and occurs when there are severe complications in a wanted pregnancy.
But the inflammatory rhetoric has resulted in most of us assuming that late-term abortions happen all the time, that they are frivolous, and that actual viable human life is snuffed out at the whim of the woman and her abortion doctor.
It was exactly this type of deception that brought us the "partial birth abortion" con job, and the subsequent federal law of 2003 which the Supreme Court upheld in 2007. The term "partial birth" is not a medical term but a successfully inflammatory political one. Given its success, it is not surprising that the next step on the war to ban abortion would be to save the "pain capable" twenty week fetus.
And what would happen if that bill were to pass? For most of us, nothing. Because the procedure is rare, it would not affect most of us. But for the small percentage of women who suffer through the awareness that something serious is wrong with their pregnancy, this law would be a travesty and a tragedy. It means doctors feeling the cold breath of the law watching and demanding documentation, and the possibility that they will be falsely accused of committing murder. For the woman, it will mean adding to the crisis the fact that the government is surveilling her medical decisions. It may mean that she is unable to make the decision to abort as soon as possible, adding days and weeks of agony to this already horrific situation. It could mean that she is not allowed to have the abortion at all.
In Georgia the law grudgingly allows for "medically futile" pregnancies, but not for exemptions for a woman's emotional or mental condition. State Representative Terry England felt that there should be no exceptions:
“Life gives us many experiences,” England said in response to concerns that a woman would have to carry a fetus to term that was not expected to live. “I’ve had the experience of delivering calves, dead and alive -- delivering pigs, dead and alive. … It breaks our hearts to see those animals not make it.”
And in the US House of Representatives, Texas idiot Louis Gohmert agrees, actually telling a witness during hearings that she should have carried her pregnancy to term even though it had been determined that the fetus had no brain function.
This nightmare scenario that dim-witted legislators and the anti-abortion movement like to call life-affirming, means the possibility of carrying a fetus to term that will not be able to sustain life, or will be so severely disabled that it would require a life-until-death of pain and surgical interventions. It would mean a family torn to shreds in emotional despair and financially devastated.
None of us begin a pregnancy assuming the worst could happen. If it does, the last thing we need is Wendy Nanney or Lee Bright telling us what we should do about it.
So we need to shout, all of us, against this bill. We need to call and email our legislators, over and over, and tell them why this bill is false science, and that it is not the business of our legislators to determine medical issues. We need to fight for those who may need someday to have the freedom to choose a late-term abortion. It is indeed a rare occurrence, but it is something that could happen to any of us.
Spread the word by email, Facebook or Twitter. Write or call your legislators. Write or call any legislators you know. We people of reason really do outnumber those on the other side of this war on women's medical freedom and privacy. Now is the time to let them know it.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
The Last Gasp of the Columbian Mammoth
I don't want to suggest that making the Columbian Mammoth the state fossil wasn't a hard fought victory; after all, it came to having to decide once and for all whether the earth is 6,000 years old. But we managed a compromise between religion and science and we can rest easy about our State Fossil. Which thankfully continues to make science in this great state a matter of opinion.
But still on the horizon are some horrendous and stinky bills, that are being pushed through in the last weeks of the session. This week coming up are anti-abortion bills that masquerade as anything from protecting women from assault to protecting 20-week-old fetuses from feeling pain that they are physiologically incapable of feeling. And just added to the roster is a bill that would add regulations to birth centers that would restrict the practice of midwives. And another bill proposes to protect the rights of public schools to display religious symbols that represent holidays, once again keeping Christmas safe.
So here is a brief rundown:
In the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, Thursday 4/10, 9:30, 407 Gressette:
But still on the horizon are some horrendous and stinky bills, that are being pushed through in the last weeks of the session. This week coming up are anti-abortion bills that masquerade as anything from protecting women from assault to protecting 20-week-old fetuses from feeling pain that they are physiologically incapable of feeling. And just added to the roster is a bill that would add regulations to birth centers that would restrict the practice of midwives. And another bill proposes to protect the rights of public schools to display religious symbols that represent holidays, once again keeping Christmas safe.
So here is a brief rundown:
In the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, Thursday 4/10, 9:30, 407 Gressette:
S 83 is the personhood bill, stating that life begins at fertilization.
S 457 is pretty much the same nonsense, as far as I can tell.
S 527 pretends that it wants to protect pregnant women from violence by allowing them use deadly force against an assailant. THE TRICK IS THAT THE FETUS IS DEFINED AS AN UNBORN CHILD, WHICH SETS THE PRECEDENT FOR PERSONHOOD IF PASSED. Nice try, sleazoids.Subcommittee members are: Campsen (ch), Hutto, Gregory, Allen, Hembree.
* * * * *
Also in the Senate, the Medical Affairs Subcommittee Wednesday, 4/9, at 9 a.m., will hear debate on H 4223. This is the 20-week abortion ban, falsely called the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act." THIS BILL HAS PASSED THE HOUSE. It is crucial that we be heard in the Senate on this bill. Members of the subcommittee are: Ray Cleary (ch), Hutto, Bright, Tom Davis, Kevin Johnson.
* * * * *
H 4458 will be heard by the House Committee on Education and Public Works. This bill, which goes by the inoffensive title of "Winter Holidays" opens the door to religious symbolism in public schools, pretending that all religions would get equal representation, and that this is for the purpose of education rather than indoctrination. This meeting will be held on Wednesday, 4/9.
* * * * *
H 5002 is a late-to-the-party attempt to restrict midwives through "accreditation" and "addressing professional requirements for staff members (at birth centers) who provide patient care." You can't convince me that this doesn't also have an anti-abortion/contraception hidden agenda, although I can't prove it.
* * * * *
At the risk of sounding like Pollyanna, I am going to end with some potentially good news.
H 3435, the Comprehensive Health Education Act, has had its first reading on the House floor and could be called up for a vote as early as Tuesday. This bill proposes upgrading school standards for health education to "medically accurate." This is a good thing, and it seems to have a bit of momentum. Which means you should call your legislators in the House and give them that little extra encouragement to vote yes, and bring our health education system out of the Stone Age, which is even older than the age of our State Fossil.
Finally, I would like to apologize for any errors. I find this whole process terrible confusing, and wonder if that is part of the grand plan.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Pathways to Censorship
Well, the South Carolina House took a break from is persecution of women yesterday to weigh in on college reading lists. According to our representatives, a licensed physician needs to be regulated by our legislators and so do our university professors.
Wait a minute! Are these the guys (and Nanney) who are constantly harping on freedom and how regulation is destroying our country -- God bless America, hallelujah!? Apparently, this bunch has done a bit of research and found that there are some areas, none of which would adversely affect themselves, where we citizens need to be instructed -- by them.
For example, Wendy Nanney has it on good faith (faith being the instructive word) that at twenty weeks a fetus feels pain. So she has another God-fearing expert testify to that effect, and wins out handily against the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
And now we have a budget amendment that would have part of a university's funding held up until they ban using "pornographic content" in classes. Representative Mac Toole from Lexington adds that "pornographic content" is not defined because we will know it when we see it.
Oh, my, if only Molly Ivins were here to do justice to this state of affairs. She was the go-to gal on ignorance in the Texas lege. She once said about a state legislator from Dallas: "If his IQ slips any lower, we'll have to water him twice a day." And now that I think of it, taking care of infirm legislators here in SC could be considered a jobs bill.
While we are whiling away our time, setting around trying to make ends meet, we do have hard working legislators making sure we don't step out of line. Freedom is okay, as long as it's accompanied by lots of campaign contributions. After all, money is speech. Which is exactly what they want us to understand about our colleges. The politicians have the money, so they own the speech.
I am thinking this might be one of those instances where we might just sit back and watch censorship in action. After all, we'll know it when we see it.
Wait a minute! Are these the guys (and Nanney) who are constantly harping on freedom and how regulation is destroying our country -- God bless America, hallelujah!? Apparently, this bunch has done a bit of research and found that there are some areas, none of which would adversely affect themselves, where we citizens need to be instructed -- by them.
For example, Wendy Nanney has it on good faith (faith being the instructive word) that at twenty weeks a fetus feels pain. So she has another God-fearing expert testify to that effect, and wins out handily against the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
And now we have a budget amendment that would have part of a university's funding held up until they ban using "pornographic content" in classes. Representative Mac Toole from Lexington adds that "pornographic content" is not defined because we will know it when we see it.
Oh, my, if only Molly Ivins were here to do justice to this state of affairs. She was the go-to gal on ignorance in the Texas lege. She once said about a state legislator from Dallas: "If his IQ slips any lower, we'll have to water him twice a day." And now that I think of it, taking care of infirm legislators here in SC could be considered a jobs bill.
While we are whiling away our time, setting around trying to make ends meet, we do have hard working legislators making sure we don't step out of line. Freedom is okay, as long as it's accompanied by lots of campaign contributions. After all, money is speech. Which is exactly what they want us to understand about our colleges. The politicians have the money, so they own the speech.
I am thinking this might be one of those instances where we might just sit back and watch censorship in action. After all, we'll know it when we see it.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Twenty-Week Abortion Ban Bill -- Update
I am on my way out of town -- and a needed respite from politics -- but I want to send out important information about H 4223, the falsely named "pain capable" abortion bill.
At this point, after an extensive subcommittee hearing, the bill was approved by a vote of 2-1, and now goes to the House Judiciary, which may hear this bill as early as next week.
You can find a list of the members of the Judiciary Committee at SC Statehouse. Here is how to send a message:
Click on a name to get to their page.
Click on "Send Message to..."
Type in your message. (Note: You can write your message in Word, then copy and paste it in the message area. This way, you can copy the same message to as many members as you like. The more you can contact, the better.)
Send.
I urge you to send messages to: your own representatives, any representatives who may know you personally, representatives who may be more receptive to the message.
Here are some important points:
First of all, The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has testified that a fetus cannot feel pain until 29-30 weeks, at which time thalamocortical connections have been developed.
Only a very small percentage (1%) of abortions occur this late. Those that occur are because of serious abnormalities discovered that indicate risk to the woman, or fetal impairment, miscarriage or stillbirth. Due to these life-threatening complications, such late abortions occur in what would otherwise be wanted pregnancies.
It is imperative that a physician be allowed to exercise their professional expertise and judgment, without fear of governmental reprisal, in advising a woman of these potential risks and recommending the best possible course of action.
It is essential that a woman experiencing complications during pregnancy has access to the best possible medical care, without fear of government interference.
There is no place in a woman's pregnancy that should be determined by government mandate.
Write your representatives. Write a letter to the editor. Talk to your friends, family, co-workers.
Let's all work to stop this intrusive piece of legislation.
At this point, after an extensive subcommittee hearing, the bill was approved by a vote of 2-1, and now goes to the House Judiciary, which may hear this bill as early as next week.
You can find a list of the members of the Judiciary Committee at SC Statehouse. Here is how to send a message:
Click on a name to get to their page.
Click on "Send Message to..."
Type in your message. (Note: You can write your message in Word, then copy and paste it in the message area. This way, you can copy the same message to as many members as you like. The more you can contact, the better.)
Send.
I urge you to send messages to: your own representatives, any representatives who may know you personally, representatives who may be more receptive to the message.
Here are some important points:
First of all, The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has testified that a fetus cannot feel pain until 29-30 weeks, at which time thalamocortical connections have been developed.
Only a very small percentage (1%) of abortions occur this late. Those that occur are because of serious abnormalities discovered that indicate risk to the woman, or fetal impairment, miscarriage or stillbirth. Due to these life-threatening complications, such late abortions occur in what would otherwise be wanted pregnancies.
It is imperative that a physician be allowed to exercise their professional expertise and judgment, without fear of governmental reprisal, in advising a woman of these potential risks and recommending the best possible course of action.
It is essential that a woman experiencing complications during pregnancy has access to the best possible medical care, without fear of government interference.
There is no place in a woman's pregnancy that should be determined by government mandate.
Write your representatives. Write a letter to the editor. Talk to your friends, family, co-workers.
Let's all work to stop this intrusive piece of legislation.
Monday, February 3, 2014
A Truly Painful Abortion Ban
South Carolina's Lindsey Graham has taken up the important question of who is more willing to stand up against women's medical rights by championing the twenty-week abortion ban in the U.S. Senate. Thankfully, in this 2014 Senate the bill won't pass.
However, here in South Carolina, legislators are rabid to get on board the Tea Party Express to hell before the primaries. They have shown passion if not reason in their quest to control women. But there are really only a few of these crazed fanatics in our legislature. Others who would vote in favor of these bills opposing women's reproductive rights do so because they fear repercussions, and really don't have a grasp of the issues.
Thursday at 9 a.m. there will be a hearing in Columbia on H 4223, what is erroneously called the "Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Bill," in Room 516 of the Blatt Office Building. The ACLU will be there giving testimony. If you can make it there in support, if you or someone you know has testimony you can give about why passage of this bill would be wrong, please be there.
I urge you to contact your legislators in the House. You can find out who that is, as well as contact information, at SC Statehouse. It is important to let your legislator know that you live in their district. Some legislators pay more attention to actual snail mail, because of the extra time and attention it takes to send a message that way. Individually written messages are more likely to get attention as opposed to mass emails. On the other hand, do whatever you are able; any contact at all is better than none.
That said, here are a few important points that you can make when you contact your legislator:
Twenty week abortions are rare. They are undertaken when a problem has occurred in the pregnancy that either could not be detected or was unclear earlier in the pregnancy. Most often these are wanted pregnancies, and the decision is extremely difficult.
The diagnosis of the medical problem and determination of whether or not to proceed with the pregnancy requires expert analysis. The recommendation of trained physicians is critical. There have been instances elsewhere in which, due to an existing anti-abortion law, women have been forced to continue with a pregnancy despite medical indications of extreme trauma, only to give birth to a severely impaired infant who dies (in pain) shortly thereafter.
The decision where there is a possible serious problem needs to be made by a woman who has been well-informed by a knowledgeable medical professional. I would not ever want to be in the position of making this critical decision, and neither should our legislators.
Regarding the issue of pain, solid science has determined that thalamocortical connections, which are not developed until week 29/30 at the earliest, are necessary for the experience of pain. Until that time, although there may be reflexive movement, there is no feeling of pain.
Whereas, and I have to emphasize this fact, if a pregnancy is continued despite evidence of severe trauma, it may well result in undue pain by mother and a child who is not capable of survival, and possibly the death of the mother.
And again, twenty week abortions happen rarely, and in desperate circumstances, and under the advice of a medical professional.
So H 4223 is not only unnecessary as it addresses a problem that occurs very rarely, but it prevents licensed medical professionals from making critical recommendations during the course of problems that arise during the pregnancy.Please speak out to your legislators, and talk to family and friends and educate them about what the real issues are in this proposed twenty-week abortion ban.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)