Reproductive Health

I had to post this. Madame Secretary provides some really helpful talking points on the issue of global reproductive justice:

Yes we did!

Thank you.

The anti-choice ballot measures in Colorado, South Dakota, and California went down. As of this entry, however, Prop 8 in California and 102 in Arizona are winning. Ack! I'm hoping against hope that when all the dust settles these measures will also go down.

More on anti-choice initatives (Updated w/video)

This time? Ohio. The state legislature has a bill aimed at outlawing all abortions, including those necessary to protect the woman's life. While you and I know this is unconstitutional, and probably an attempt to test Roe at the Supreme Court level, it is still an outrageous and shameful bill. Indeed it reminds me of the Clinic Defense chant I learned back in the early 90's: "Pro-life is a lie, you don't care if women die." And by die, we meant either by illegal abortion or for the sake of the fetus. Ugh.


What to do? Sign this petition showing your support for legal, safe, and accessible abortions in Ohio, and, as always, vote Obama/Biden (duh!).

h/t ProgressOhio.org

Colorado's 48

I realize I've been so myopically focused on the anti-LGBT initiatives that I let this one slip right past me:

Amendment 48 would define the term person to include a fertilized egg in our state constitution. This Amendment is the first of its kind being pushed by a narrow minority with an extreme political agenda and would threaten quality health care and patient privacy.

WTF?
Yes, you read that right: it would give equal, human rights to a fertilized egg. Christina Page at Huffington Post has a good piece on this piece o' crap amendment. From the No on 48 campaign:

Some possible results of Amendment 48:

• Clogged Courts: 48 would impact laws ranging from when property rights are granted, to inheritance rights, to who can file a lawsuit.
• Ban All Abortion: 48 would ban abortion—even for victims of rape and incest or when a woman’s life is at risk.
• Outlaw Emergency Contraception: 48 is so bad it could outlaw emergency contraception, the birth control pill, and other methods of birth control because they can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.
• Restrict Health Care: A woman with cancer could be refused life-saving medical treatment because it could put a fertilized egg in danger.

What to do? Vote HELL NO on 48 if you live in Colorado, donate time/money to the No on 48 campaign, sign a pledge to oppose 48 here, visit Birth Control Watch to track and counter anti-choice/anti-birth control issues, and do whatever else you can think of to stop this outrageous amendment from passing.

Outrageous Reproductive Wrongs

Two issues today:

Ohio HB 287 - would require paternal (yes, that's right, paternal) identification and consent prior to a woman obtaining an abortion. So, basically, if the man says "No" the pregnancy cannot be terminated. The minutia of the bill is ridiculous and a very big ol' slap in the face to all women. Nice.

Bush is proposing a Health and Human Services rule change - not open to debate or subject to a vote of any kind - that will funnel tax dollars into anti-choice "crisis pregnancy centers" and, per Feministing,

The Bush administration wants to require all recipients of aid under federal health programs to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control.

Under the draft of a proposed rule, hospitals, clinics, researchers and medical schools would have to sign "written certifications" as a prerequisite to getting money under any program run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The rule defines "abortion" so broadly that it could also apply to birth control pills and emergency contraception. And because the rule would apply to federal health programs, low-income and uninsured women will be most affected.

Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Here's how you can help:

To stop the insanity in Ohio, click here.

To give Bush a piece of your mind, click here.