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What's at stake in South Dakota
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 @ 5:19 PM
South Dakota’s Legislature completed action Friday on a bill making abortion a felony unless it is the only way to save the mother’s life. Doctors could get five years in prison.
Backers say their objective is to provoke a legal challenge that would reach the Supreme Court, where a new majority might reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
South Dakota’s bill, currently awaiting the governor’s signature, would provide no exception for cases in which a woman’s health is endangered and no exception for victims of rape or incest.
Similar legislation has been introduced in at least five other states. While South Dakota is the first state to attempt such a sweeping ban on abortion in more than a decade, at least 15 other states have laws on the books criminalizing abortion.
These laws would immediately go into effect if Roe v. Wade is reversed by the Supreme Court.
Those states include Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana and – that’s right, ladies and gentlemen – Illinois.
People opposed to abortion give a noble reason for their position – they want to save lives.
But before you endorse the most draconian rollback of personal liberties in U.S. history, I’m going to ask you to consider and acknowledge the often overlooked complexities of reproductive rights.
In a perfect world, there would be no need for abortions.
Everyone would be educated about sex and conception, and everyone would have access to 100 percent effective birth control. There would be no unintended pregnancies, and all children would be wanted children.
Obviously, we don’t live in that world.
Some women have abortions because they have medical problems that make pregnancy and childbirth dangerous for them.
Some have abortions because they are in severe poverty, or are addicted to drugs, or are afraid of passing on HIV to their child.
Some women have abortions because they fear persecution from their families and from society.
After all, some parents have disowned, beaten, and even murdered daughters for becoming pregnant.
Some women have abortions because they are too young to take care of a child.
Some women have abortions because they have been traumatized by a sexual assault.
You might oppose abortion. You might feel that it is a terrible thing. You might have a deeply-held conviction that it is wrong.
You might have a religious belief that the choice to terminate a pregnancy is never the right choice.
But until you have actually been pregnant unintentionally – or against your will – you don’t have the right to make that choice for them.
No one does.
It is easy to condemn the faceless women who seek abortion every year. It is tempting to write them off by saying, “They had sex, so they should have to pay the price.”
It is easy to demand that they be punished. But it is not your place to punish them, and it is not the government’s.
After all, if conservative extremists succeed in banning abortion, it will be because the Supreme Court eliminates the notion of a constitutional right to privacy. This notion is the barrier that prevents government meddling in other areas where sex intersects with religious belief.
After all, before Roe v. Wade was established, states commonly dictated what forms of sex were acceptable, even between consenting adults. Some states criminalized the sale or use of contraception methods like birth control pills and condoms.
Even though abortion is a tragedy, making it illegal will not make it go away.
Every year, 10-20 million illegal abortions are performed worldwide. Illegal abortions are unsafe and account for 13% of all deaths of women because of serious complications.
Death from abortion is almost unknown in the countries where abortion is legally available.
Abortion is sad, but sometimes, it is absolutely necessary.
Women who are denied a safe, legal abortion will take matters into their own hands.
Our country already has its hands full with the War on Terror and the War on Drugs.
If you identify yourself as “pro-life,” please ask yourself if you’re ready to watch the United States government wage the War on Sex.
The Continuing Fight for Free Choice
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 @ 1:31 PM
Ninety years ago, a woman named Margaret Sanger was arrested and sent to jail for telling women about diaphragms. According to Ellen Chesler's book "Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America," Sanger spent a month in jail, but the experience only strengthened her resolve to teach women how to use diaphragms. She even taught diaphragm use to the women she was with in jail.
All throughout history, people have wanted to be able to decide if and when to have a child. Contraceptives have been used in one form or another for thousands of years. Today, 98% of American women have used some form of birth control during their lifetime, according to a 2005 report by the Guttmacher Institute.
Yes, women have put on their shoes and come out of the kitchen. But the fight for birth control continues. Unfortunately, 40 years after the Supreme Court struck down a law banning birth control, there are still many traditionalist, conservative, and fundamentalist individuals and groups trying to block women's access to contraception.
Some of the most vocal opponents of abortion are also opponents of birth control measures and sex education programs that would prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortions.
February 13-19 is National Contraceptive Awareness Week. Contraception is not only a woman's issue. It is not only an issue for people who are sexually active. Contraception is an important issue for anyone who wants every child in our country to be a wanted child.
There are a variety of contraception issues and disputes that deserve national attention.
According to NARAL, women have been waiting 1826 days for the FDA to approve emergency contraception, or the "morning-after" pill, for over-the-counter purchase.
In a decision the General Accounting Office (GAO) called "highly unusual," the FDA ignored the recommendations of two of its own advisory boards, and the opinions of outside experts - in declining to make EC available for over-the-counter purchase.
Joseph B. Stanford, who was appointed to the FDA committee by (who else?) George W. Bush, refuses to prescribe the birth control pill, saying it's "incompatible with Christian values."
Apparently, the opinions of medical health professionals are not going to be as important in determining the reproductive freedom of American citizens as the religious convictions of a few powerful men.
Even if a woman receives a prescription from her doctor for emergency contraception, renegade pharmacists across the country are refusing to fill legal, valid prescriptions for birth control.
If states decide that a pharmacist can refuse to fill a prescription for birth control, what will stop pharmacists from refusing to fill any other prescription. Some religions forbid the use of anti-depressants, some religions forbid the use of antibiotics. Most followers of these religions do not become pharmacists. They don't become pharmacists because pharmacists must accept that they have an obligation to fill prescriptions, even those they might not approve of.
Access to birth control also depends on affordability for many women. While most insurers generally cover prescription drugs, not all insurers cover prescription contraceptives.
Today, fewer than half of all states have laws ensuring that private
insurance companies treat prescription birth control the same as other prescription drugs.
Some insurance providers cover Viagra – but not birth control. You have to wonder - are any women working for them?
But the government hasn't only denied women access to contraception, it has also been working to eliminate women's access to information about contraception. At the federal and state level, money is being given to "abstinence-only" education, which often gives young people misleading - or just plain false - information about sex, pregnancy, and diseases.
Opponents to comprehensive safer-sex education claim that talking about birth control encourages teenagers to have sex, obviously forgetting the fact that teenagers really don't need any encouragement.
Comprehensive sexual education does not encourage teenagers to have sex. It encourages teenagers to consider the risks associated with sex, and to take precautions if and when they decide to have intercourse. Taking away young people's access to such important information only puts them in danger.
It's time to demand that the parties interferring with women's healthcare be held accountable. Resources are available on the web that make it easier than ever for citizens to make their voices heard. If Margaret Sanger could spend a month in jail for this belief, you can spend five minutes standing up for choice.
Dante-esque
Sunday, February 05, 2006 @ 6:51 PM
"I'M NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY!"
Its a brand new season and we all know that seasons always call for new wardrobes and apparels. So if you are looking for designer womens shoes such as top of the line steve madden shoes then you should visit Solestruck for the best selections. Solestruck is known for it's great quality shoe products and low prices on womens shoes. SoleStruck.com!
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