WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans on Tuesday make their most concerted effort of the year to change federal abortion law with legislation that would ban almost all abortions after a fetus reaches the age of 20 weeks.
The “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” expected to pass by a comfortable margin late Tuesday, would be a direct challenge to the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions up to the time a fetus becomes viable. Fetal viability is generally considered to be at least 24 weeks into the pregnancy.
The measure will be ignored by the Democratic-led Senate and the White House, saying the bill is “an assault on a woman’s right to choose,” has issued a veto threat.
Even if the policy were to become law, it would almost certainly face a legal challenge. That’s a prospect supporters hope for as part of the ultimate goal of overturning Roe v. Wade.
These folks have told one lie after the other. As a matter of fact, many of the women’s reproductive rights groups were hotting mad at Kathleen Sebelius and President Obama because girls under 15 had to have parental permission to get the morning after pill.
The Fox News watchdogs over at Media Matters have flagged another clip of conservative commentator Laura Ingraham saying something “outrageous,” which is a bit like flagging a clip of the sky being blue, but in the process, they missed the big, fat lie that Fox and Friends‘ Steve Doocy told about President Obama‘s policy on Plan B emergency contraception. The Justice Department has dropped its appeal of a judge’s ruling that the drug be made available over-the-counter, without age restrictions, which Ingraham called a “good deal for pedophiles” and statutory rapists.
Make no mistake about it. Kermit Gosnell is a back alley abortionist and was performing illegal abortions. In fact, this blog put out a message about him at the time of his arrest. There is nothing redeeming about this man or his practice.
All the regulation in the world wouldn’t stop this criminal. Sean Carney is simply wrong about increased regulation. His smug look sickened me since I doubt he has ever sat up with a friend who agonized over the possibility of unwanted pregnancy or the possibility of an abortion.
It makes as much sense to act like over-regulation would have stopped Gosnell as it does to suggest that we should ask a thug with a stolen .38 special to show us his concealed weapon permit. Criminals don’t follow the rules.
Desperate women do not need to be put in the position of feeling like they need to go to places that practice bad medicine. Reproductive services should be available, safe, and affordable. That drives the Kermit Gosnells out of business. Restrictions and lack of available services guarantee that another Kermit Gosnell will pop up to prey on more desperate women.
Unfortunately, Karnamaya Mongar paid with her life. That is unacceptable in a country where legal, safe abortion is the law of the land.
The Washington Post has posted its opinion. Here is the background part for your consideration:
WHEN U.S. District Judge Edward Korman ruled last month that the government had to allow unrestricted, over-the-counter access to the emergency contraceptive Plan B, it seemed as though the Obama administration had stumbled its way out of a political quandary. Scientists say that the drug is safe for over-the-counter sale; in fact, the judge noted, it would be among the safest of over-the-counter drugs. But many parents — President Obama included, by his own account — are queasy about children being allowed to buy emergency contraceptives without oversight. The court forced the government to act on evidence, not queasiness.
Two sets of parents, one little girl. One set of parents in South Carolina, the other in Oklahoma. Both want the child. The birth mother chose the South Carolina couple, the Capobiancos. The Oklahoma couple is comprised of the biological father, aka sperm donor and his wife. The biological father had texted earlier that he gave up any claim to the child.
The Capobiancos, chosen by the birth mother, took care of baby Veronica from the moment of her birth until she was 27 months old. It was then that the courts. basing their decision on tribal law, gave Baby Veronica to her birth father. The Supreme Court hears the case this week.
RICHMOND — The Virginia Board of Health voted Friday to require clinics that perform abortions to meet strict, hospital-style building codes that operators say could put many of them out of business.
The 11 to 2 vote represented the board’s final say on the matter, which has taken unexpected twists and turns since the General Assembly voted in 2011 to regulate abortion clinics like outpatient surgical centers. The regulations went straight to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R), who quickly certified them. They now go to two state agencies and Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), who is expected to sign off on them.
Make no mistake, these TRAP laws do not make abortion safer nor do they protect women. TRAP laws simply make it more difficult and expensive to provide safe, legal abortion. Anyone who thinks differently has been misled by political opponents who want to end legal abortion.
Boston College is cracking down on condoms. According to the New York Times the Jesuit University is threatening a group, the Boston College students for sexual health, with expulsion for handing out free condoms. Something they’ve been doing since 2009. But last month the group received a letter from the dean of students that stated,
“The distribution of condoms is not congruent with our values and traditions….” Boston College is a Jesuit College.
So why are students giving away free condoms? According to newyorktimes.com:
NEWTON, Mass. — Chelsea Lennox, a junior at Boston College, the Gothic university overlooking this natty Boston suburb, picked up a bouquet of brightly colored condom packages and put them into the envelope that she views as a tiny beacon of sexual health resources at the deeply Catholic institution.
Hello, Governor McDonnell’s non-partisan office. How may we bully you?
So I called the Govenors office, not the first I have done this mind you, and spoke with the most obnoxious young man. He wanted to bully me into a debate. I will add, every other time I have called the Govenor’s office, I have spoken with a perfectly lovely black woman. She is always polite. Well, what a difference this experience was for me.
I wish I had asked his name now. He answered the phone and I told him I was calling about the amendment that would inhibit women buying abortion coverage with their own money in the insurance exchange. I asked him, rhetorically of course, why republicans always seemed to rally around the premise of small government, but when it comes to a womans vagina/i.e. reproductive system, they were more than happy to use government power to justify their means.
He then proceeded to interupt me and instead of asking me for my name etc, he wanted to debate me on the subject. I told him I had no interest in debating him, that I simply called to register my disgust. Well, he proceeded to tell me that I had “called a non partisan office”. Can someone please tell me how Govenor McDonnell’s office is non partisan. Isn’t he a republican? Am I in the some twighlight zone episode?
Gov. McDonnell won’t rest until abortion access is completely eliminated in the Commonwealth.
Late last night, Gov. McDonnell added an anti-abortion amendment to SB921 and HB1900, bills to implement Virginia’s new health-insurance exchange as set out under the Affordable Care Act. McDonnell’s new amendment seeks to ban abortion coverage from all private plans sold in Virginia’s federally run health-insurance exchange, and if passed, will block thousands of Virginian women from purchasing comprehensive health care with their own private dollars.
By banning women from using their own money to purchase private insurance plans that include this one common benefit, Gov. McDonnell is attempting to restrict Virginians’ personal economic decisions as well as their access to affordable comprehensive health care. Let’s be clear – despite what you will hear from anti-choice groups, this amendment is not a matter of eliminating public funding for abortion. Instead, McDonnell’s amendment would block Virginia women from spending their own private dollars to purchase an insurance policy with abortion coverage. In addition, the governor’s amendment would take away basic coverage currently included in a vast majority of Virginia’s private insurance plans.
Well, North Dakota’s legislature has approved the first Personhood Amendment. So this is what American “taliban” looks like in my opinion.
North Dakota lawmakers voted on Friday afternoon to pass a “personhood” abortion ban, which would endow fertilized eggs with all the rights of U.S. citizens and effectively outlaw abortion. The measure, which passed the Senate last month, passed the House by a 57-35 vote and now heads to a ballot vote, likely in the next November election.
A personhood ban could have far-reaching consequences even beyond abortion care, since it will charge doctors who damage embryos with criminal negligence. Doctors in the state say it will also prevent them from performing in vitro fertilization, and some medical professionals have vowed to leave the state if it is signed into law.
So if I were to go to the CVS and buy a pregnancy test, do I have to register the results? If I have a spontaneous abortion, will my doctor have to go before a legal committee and defend the cycle of nature?
The key word here is SOME. Not one delegate from Prince William County was a signatory on the letter written to Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius. Granted, the GOP delegates who sent the letter appear to be the more modern of the Republicans in the Delegate Assembly but I still smell a rat…actually, I smell a Trojan Horse.
Several Republicans in the House of Delegates have urged federal health officials to allow birth control to be sold without a prescription to adults.
More than two dozen legislators wrote U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius seeking a policy change they called “a reform that makes sense and is something the Obama administration could quickly move on with bipartisan support.”
Catholic bishops on Thursday rejected the White House’s latest attempt at compromise on contraception, saying it did not adequately accommodate religious organizations that object to covering free contraception in employee health plans.
“Throughout the past year, we have been assured by the administration that we will not have to refer, pay for, or negotiate for the mandated coverage,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement. “We remain eager for the administration to fulfill that pledge.”
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday proposed yet another compromise to address strenuous objections from religious organizations about a policy requiring health insurance plans to provide free contraceptives, but the change did not end the political furor or legal fight over the issue.
The proposal could expand the number of groups that do not need to pay directly for birth control coverage, encompassing not only churches and other religious organizations, but also some religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and social service agencies. Health insurance companies would pay for the coverage.
Most Americans remain opposed to overturning the controversial Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which 40 years ago legalized abortion at least in the first three months of pregnancy, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The poll by the Pew Research Center found that 63 percent of Americans believe that Roe v. Wade should not be completely overturned, compared to 29 percent who believe it should be. These opinions have changed little from surveys conducted in 2003 and 1992, Pew reported.
While many of the social issues have changed over the years, American opinions really haven’t changed all that much. Accessibility to abortion has certainly gotten tighter. 4 states are down to having one clinic left and if anti-choice activists have their way, there will be no abortion services in Mississippi, South Dakota, Arkansas, or North Dakota. Clinic directors and doctors are often stalked. In no other business would this kind of behavior be legally allowed.
Senator Ralph Northam introduced a bill in the Virginia Senate to give legislators the opportunity to redeem themselves and to remove Virginia from the embarrassment list. His efforts failed. It was last year during the legislative session that Virginia became the laughing stock of the nation, especially late at night because of their governor, Governor Ultra-Sound.
In all, the members of the Senate Health and Education Committee, had 3 reproductive rights bills to consider. Only 1 made it out of committee. 2 were staked by an 8-7 Republican vote.
According to the Huffingtonpost.com:
A Republican-controlled committee in the Virginia State Senate voted 8-7 on Thursday to block Democrats’ efforts to repeal a new mandatory ultrasound law and a set of regulations that could shut down many abortion clinics in the state. The committee also voted down a new anti-abortion bill that would have prevented Medicaid from paying for low-income women’s abortions in cases where there is a severe fetal anomaly.
Senator Ralph Northam introduced a bill in the Virginia Senate to give legislators the opportunity to redeem themselves and to remove Virginia from the embarrassment list. His efforts failed. It was last year during the legislative session that Virginia became the laughing stock of the nation, especially late at night because of their governor, Governor Ultra-Sound.