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.