Missouri legislators solve major philosophical, ethical, moral, and scientific debate!

"The State of Missouri wants you to know that the life of your unborn child began at conception, and that your unborn child has protectable interests in his or her life, health, and well-being."

Thank you State of Missouri!

Missouri also likes doggies.

Mo. House Debates Abortion Restrictions Bill

On Thursday, March 5, the Missouri House debated HB 46 & 434. This piece of legislation creates the crime of "coercing" an abortion. Sure, we can all agree that no woman should ever be coerced to have an abortion. The problem with this bill is that it does not protect a woman against coercion. It tries to coerce her not to get one. Here is a part of the bill that I find troubling:

If the abortion provider has cause to believe that a woman has been a victim of a coerced abortion and the victim is:

Younger than 18 years of age, a report of suspected abuse must be made to the Department of Social Services;

An adult who has been abused or stalked by a family or household member, the abortion provider must give the woman information about orders of protection.

What about a woman who has been raped? What about a child who has been raped by a family member?

Rep. Sara Lampe offered an amendment to make an exception for rape and incest, but it was defeated.

A woman who has been raped has already had her choice taken away once. The failure of the Missouri House Republicans and some Democrats to include this amendment is despicable. They have clearly decided that a woman cannot make her own decisions and want to take her choice away a second time.

Luckily, the bill is likely to be killed in the Senate.

Here is the bill in case you're interested

Why are even smart, liberal men freaked out by abortion?

An interesting piece from AlterNet...it made me rethink my debate strategy. I've always said in arguments with anti-choicers that of course it would be emotionally-wrenching and that I would rather not have an abortion. But, if I get pregnant within in the next few years, you bet your bottom dollar that I'll be in a clinic as soon as possible. And I don't know that I'd be that upset about it. So I've been compromising to say it's a hard procedure to get through emotionally when it's not. Sure, some people will have hard times with it, but it seems like I'm giving in to the other side's basic assumption that abortion is evil, i.e. that the bunch of cells not viable outside the womb is a person. Interesting indeed.

--Kelsey

Obama may pull support for birth control

According to the Washington Independent, expanded Medicaid coverage of birth control may be pulled out of the proposed stimulus package. House leaders say that the Obama administration has requested that the Democrats take out the family planning section, which would have allowed states to provide birth control for low-income people under Medicaid, without having to ask the federal government for permission, which is how it stands now.

Anti-choice groups had a field day when it was first announced that this was part of the stimulus package. Already angry about the overturning of the global gag rule (booya!), Republicans are up in arms about this 'funding of the abortion industry.' They are arguing that the provision would not stimulate the economy; it was just a hand-out to Planned Parenthood, thanking them for their support of Obama. However, Democrats argue that this would help shore up the Medicaid program as well as create new health-care jobs, and the Congressional Budget Office (a non-partisan entity) stated that it would save money in the long run.

A decision is supposed to be announced tomorrow, so we'll just have to wait and see.

STIs Still on the Rise!

So it looks as if Mr. Bush's sex education policies haven't done much to curb the rate of STI infection among teens/young adults, women, and minorities. A recent article posted on CNN's website details the unsettling fact that rates of infection are increasing, including a 15.2 percent increase in Syphilis cases, a sexually transmitted infection that has recently resurfaced as a problem around 2001.

The facts show that we are still desperately in need of Planned Parenthood's services and education. If you haven't been tested for STIs recently get to your local health clinic, campus health center, or Planned Parenthood to be screened. The Mayo Clinic has a good reference of what to ask for/know before getting tested for STIs.

Remember, just because you don't have symptoms doesn't mean you're healthy! Scary/gross thought, I know, but its an important thing to think about.

When anti-choicers *coughBushcough* make you angry...

...donate!

President Bush has decided to leave us a nice little legacy with his 'right of conscience' rule that protects health care workers who refuse to provide certain medical services because of their religious beliefs.  According to the Washington Post:

The rule, which will cost more than $44 million to implement, gives more than 584,000 health-care organizations until Oct. 1 to provide written certification of their compliance. Those that do not comply face having their funding cut off or being required to return funding they have received.

Not only does it apply to those doctors, nurses, techs, janitors, and secretaries who are opposed to abortion, but they now also have the federally-enforced right to refuse to dispense Plan B emergency contraceptives or even birth control pills, provide infertility treatments to single women or lesbian couples, and any other form of contraception that is equated to abortion in their personal opinions.  It also can provide protection for health-care providers who oppose certain types of end-of-life care or withdrawal of care.  While laws provided protection for these employees since the 1970s, never has the government forced employers to allow their employees to withhold care or treatment due to a nonmedical judgement.  This could even stretch to ban abortion clinics from not hiring people who oppose some aspect of the services provided.

In one corner, we have the Family Research Council, Christian Medical Association, Concerned Women for America, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Catholic Health Association.  In the other corner, with have the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Hospital Association (not to mention Planned Parenthood, NARAL, 28 senators and 110 House representatives, and more than 12 state attorneys general).  Call me crazy, but shouldn't the AMA, ACOG, and AHA have more credibility?

So, when I feel like the world has been pulled closer to the dark side, I give what I can.  One of the great non-profit organizations is the Lilith Fund. It provides direct financial assistance and counseling to women seeking abortions, as well as education and outreach about reproductive rights.  Abortions can cost over $1,000, making it extremely difficult for lower socioeconomic statused women to obtain them.

And of course, you can always donate to Planned Parenthood.  If anyone has any other favorite organizations that promote reproductive rights, let me know and I'll link to it.

Church and State

I just found guidelines to churches and pastors in which it outlines how to discuss politics via the Missouri Right to Life. I am an advocate of the separation of church and state. Unfortunately, those lines are blurred in the United States. It is known that almost all churches are tax-exempt. They, however, cannot participate in political campaigns, but:

"Pastors and churches are free to discuss the positions of candidates on issues – including criticizing or praising them for their positions. This is called issue advocacy."

In other words, you can get away with discussing "moral" issues and stating that a candidate's stance on abortion, or stem cell research, or sex education is immoral. While they may not be endorsing a candidate directly, we can tell who they vote for. I find it an outrage that churches continue to be exempt from taxes. The very fact that there are guidelines that tell pastors and churches what they can get away with politically should be an indication that many churches are indeed political organizations.

I'm not questioning anyone's faith here, but religion has no place in government. They can be effectively used like political organizations, yet are exempt from being taxed!

One last link that I found entertaining from Saint Louis Abbey...one of the churches on the list of Missouri Right to Life sponsors. The article is titled "Why I Don't Preach Politics" written Oct. 28, 2008.

Here is a taste of the article and the hypocrisy within it:

"I understand that as your priest, it is not my job to tell you who to vote for. And I also understand that many good Catholics—good, loyal, loving, God-fearing, church-going, Catholics will weigh the issues and arguments of their parties and politicians and decide that the evil of abortion is outweighed by the evils at play in matters of immigration, health care, the economy…the War on Terror...” I understand that....But I don’t see how I can stand up here and preach on text which says, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Stand up here at this pivotal juncture in our nation’s history when so many Catholics find themselves so caught between so many weighty moral dilemmas—stand up here, preach on love of neighbor, and not point out that we as a nation have murdered 45 million children."

(Bold added by me)
http://www.stlouisabbey.org/publications/homilies/augustine20081026.pdf

Enjoy!