Moonhowlings

Ron Paul has enough flaws in his views on abortion that you could drive a truck though them. Life begins at conception but….so if someone is raped a shot of estrogen is ok.  Then why isn’t the morning after pill a good thing?  This guy is a medical doctor.  If I listened to him, I would be so confused.  

I have never met a single person who believes abortion is exceptable  acceptable [sorry about that, gang] at 9 months.  I doubt I ever will.  No one does.  Surely they mean a life or death of the mother situation.  I am tired of that even being part of the discussion.  Roe v. Wade does not find that acceptable either.  But the lies and confusion continue.

Mr. Libertarian sure wants to put some restrictions on women. His logic is non-existent.   Perhaps he isn’t really a libertarian.  It seems like behind the scenes this entire election is about abortion, contraception and planned parenthood rather than about recovery and jobs.

Richmond Timnes Dispatch:

Social conservatives emboldened by Republican gains in the General Assembly in November suffered a major setback Thursday when a Senate committee deadlocked on a bill to prohibit women from having an abortion beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy.

But today, the House of Delegates appears ready to pass a bill to defund state-paid abortions for low-income women expecting a child with “gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency” after the chamber advanced the measure Thursday.

The vote was 7-7 on Senate Bill 637 sponsored by Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg. Republicans hold an 8-7 majority on the committee, but Sen. Harry B. Blevins, R-Chesapeake, abstained, deadlocking the measure.

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Yes, Big Brother is watching.   Next time you hear Republicans complaining about government being too big, too expensive and too intrusive, remind them of what happened in Virginia this week.

This is perhaps the most offensive law passed since Roe vs Wade was decided.
The government needs to stay out of women’s wombs.
This is intimidation of the worst sort.

SB 484 passed 21-19.

Here is how the senators voted. Notice the one Democrat over in the list. Ours. Shame on Senator Colgan.

YEAS–Black, Blevins, Carrico, Colgan, Garrett, Hanger, Martin, McDougle, McWaters, Newman, Norment, Obenshain, Puckett, Reeves, Ruff, Smith, Stanley, Stosch, Stuart, Vogel, Wagner–21.

NAYS–Barker, Deeds, Ebbin, Edwards, Favola, Herring, Howell, Locke, Marsden, Marsh, McEachin, Miller, J.C., Miller, Y.B., Northam, Petersen, Puller, Saslaw, Watkins–18.

RULE 36–0.

NOT VOTING–Lucas–1.

Senator Howell was featured on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight.

Virginia is for Probing

Critical update!  Susan G Komen clarifies policy to exlude organization found guilty of criminal offense to be exluded from funding.   They will now continue funding critical services to at risk women through Planned Parenthood.  I hope they can recover from the media damage they inflicted upon themselves.

I take this story very personally. My mother is a breast cancer survivor, both my grandmothers died from breast cancer. I am at high risk for carrying a specific breast cancer gene. I use to be a huge supporter of the Susan G. Kohmen Foundation. That support  has ended as of today. Apparently their leadership has made a choice to cut off the most at risk women who require low cost health care from their funding.

Furor Erupts Over Susan G. Komen Halt Of Grants To Planned Parenthood

The reaction has been intense this evening to the news from The Associated Press that “the nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates.”

Much of it is highly critical of the charity, such as this message from Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.:

“Komen’s decision hurts women — it puts politics before women’s health. @komenforthecure should be ashamed.”

Or this tweet from political satirist and Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead:

“I am crying in a cab at this Komen decision. Tomorrow we will rally. Who is in this fight with me! You can no longer sit idly by.”

Read more…

Yesterday marked the 39th anniversary of Roe v Wade.  It went quietly unnoticed by many.  For those of us who grew up in a pre-Roe era, it didn’t go quite as quietly.  Vintage women all knew someone or several someones with a horrible abortion story that happened before January 22, 1973.

There was Robin, the girl I went to high school with who got an illegal abortion  from  some butcher over in Elkton, of all places.  She ended up in the hospital with serious complications and the story made the local paper.  It didn’t give Robin’s name but somehow it leaked out.  It wasn’t hard to figure out who was missing and in the hospital either.  Arrests were made.

Then there were the 3-4 young professional women I knew who got abortions, testing the nearly legal procedure in Washington, D.C.  The procedure was expensive and multi-stepped.  It involved lawyers, psychiatrists and doctors.  As I recall the entire cost was around $1000 in the early 70′s.  Those were big bucks in those days.

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From the Washington Post: 

2. Ninety percent of what Planned Parenthood does is provide abortions.

That is what Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said this month in a speech against federal support for Planned Parenthood; his staff later said his assertion was “not intended to be a factual statement.”

Here is a factual statement: Planned Parenthood’s abortion care represents 3 percent of its medical services — 332,000 terminations out of a total of 11.4 million services provided in 2009. Nearly all the care offered at Planned Parenthood health centers is preventive services and screenings, including contraception, testing for sexually transmitted infections, pap smears and breast exams. Title X funds cannot be used for abortion care at any time, for any reason. Federal Medicaid funds can be used to reimburse a provider for an abortion when the pregnancy would endanger the life of the woman or resulted from rape or incest.

States can use their local tax dollars to support abortion care for low-income women, and 17 states do so under Medicaid. The capital city did, too — until last week, when Congress overturned the District’s Medicaid abortion coverage.

Many of the so called “facts” about Planned Parenthood are not facts at all.  They are outright lies told because people want to mold reality to fit their political agenda.  The best way to prevent abortion is to prevent unwanted pregnancy.  It’s easier to believe a lie than work to learn the truth.

Many Planned Parenthood Centers do not even offer abortion services.

Stay tuned for more…..part 3 will dispell even more myths. 

Elena is now calling the initiatives to close down teen pregnancy prvention iniatives and Planned Parenthood, Pro-abortion measures.  I believe she is correct.

Over the past few years, I have heard so many myths and lies about Planned Parenthood that I could scream.  Most are made up  sound bites that exist to prove someone else’s not so hidden agenda.

This week we will be displaying the 5 Myths about Planned Parenthood from the Washington Post.  I plan on doing 1 or 2 a day which gives everyone time to digest and discuss each one. 

Washington Post:

1. Planned Parenthood’s federal funding frees up other money to pay for abortions.

Opponents of Planned Parenthood insist that giving the organization federal dollars allows it to spend other money in its budget to provide abortions. That is not possible — there is no other money.

Title X is a federal grant program that exists solely to help low-income and uninsured people access contraceptives and sexual health care; 5.2 million people use the program annually. But Congress has never appropriated enough money to take care of the estimated 17 million Americans who need publicly funded family-planning care. There always are more patients than subsidies.

Further, a Title X grant is designed to help with costs, not to fully cover them. So family-planning programs are required to find other money to support the Title X project — not the other way around. For patients who qualify for Medicaid, reimbursement rates for reproductive health services are lower than the cost of the care. A typical family-planning visit might cost upward of $200, including the exam, lab tests and contraceptive method, but the Medicaid reimbursement rate may be as low as $20. 

This information is something your anti choice legislators do not want you to know.  Usually those who oppose abortion also oppose contraception and/or programs that provide contraception to women and teens. 

Title X was authorized nearly 40 years ago and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. 

The best way to prevent abortion is to prevent unwanted pregnancy.  That sounds like an over-simplification of the obvious, but some people apparently do not get it.  As we approach Roe v Wade week which brings the circus to down. let’s keep focused on the real issues which would be to make sure abortions aren’t needed.  that would do away with most of the problem.  Keep abortion safe, legal, and infrequent. 

Stay tuned for parts 2-5 of Planned Parenthood myths.

Why is it that people who want to knock giant holes in abortion rights also want to knock out programs that exist to reduce unintended pregnancy?  Governor Robert McDonnell seems to be jumping on the stupidity bandwagon on this very subject.

According to the Washington Post:

McDonnell (R) wants to eliminate funding — $455,000 — for pregnancy prevention programs across the state that offer sex education and birth control to teenagers.

The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative funds programs at schools and clinics in seven health districts, including Alexandria, which have the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the state. 
McDonnell’s administration says that the money is being discontinued because the initiative has not worked — and that the localities continue to experience pregnancy rates above the state average.

Although Virginia’s teen pregnancy rate is below the national average, 28 cities and counties are above the national average. In 2010, 10,970 teen pregnancies were reported in Virginia.

“The elimination of this long-standing health program could have serious consequences for women and girls’ health,” said Katherine Greenier, director of the Patricia M. Arnold Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU of Virginia. “Teens need good information and services to make informed, healthy choices. To ensure a decline in teen pregnancy rates continue we must provide teens with the necessary information, education and resources.’’

The program worked with 4,642 teens in fiscal 2010, including those at the Teen Wellness Center at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, which serves youths 12 to 19.

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Huffington Post:

President Barack Obama said Thursday it was just common sense to keep girls under the age of 17 from being able to buy a morning-after contraceptive pill off a drugstore shelf. Citing his own two daughters, Obama said: “I think most parents would probably feel the same way.”

Plenty of pediatric leaders and women’s advocacy groups did not, as reaction flowed in to the administration’s decision to prevent the over-the-counter sale of the anti-pregnancy drug to sexually active girls of younger ages.

Critics said politics had trumped science, again.

Yes, pretty much.  President Obama, when he took office, pledged a commitment to scientific integrity.  President Obama has said that he had nothing to do with the decision but does support Sebelius. 

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has over-ruled the recommendations of the FDA and ‘the morning after’ pill (or Plan B) will not be made available to everyone as an OTC product.  Girls must be 17 years or older to buy the product without a prescription. 

From Huffington Post:

The Food and Drug Administration recommended on Wednesday that Plan B One-Step, commonly referred to as the “morning-after pill,” be made available over the counter without age restrictions, but an Obama administration official overturned that recommendation.

After ten months of reviewing scientific data, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg decided on Wednesday that emergency contraception should be made available to everyone over the counter.

“There is adequate and reasonable, well-supported, and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of child-bearing potential,” she said in a statement.

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From the Huffington Post:

If Mississippians vote to pass an unprecedented initiative on Tuesday that would declare a fertilized egg a legal person under the state Constitution, nobody — including the authors of the initiative — knows exactly how that law would be interpreted and enforced. But legal and medical experts are concerned that the “personhood” amendment could spur a litany of expensive court battles, bogus lawsuits and moral and political conundrums beyond the scope of women’s choice.

If Proposition 26 passes, it would ban all abortion for any reason.  Additionally, it would probably ban all hormonal contraception like pills, rings loops, etc.  It could easily affect in vitro fertilization, as well as throw suspicion on spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) and ectopic pregnancy.  Rape, incest and fetal anomaly would have no bearing on easing restrictions. 

Obviously Proposition 26 would currently be unconstitutional and would end up in the court system.  It is unfathomable that Mississippi would proceed with such an absurd law, yet they are out voting on it today. 

The inception of Proposition 26 didn’t start in Mississippi.  The idea for it was apparently conceived by a group in Colorado.  Mississippi is a test run of sorts.  The state  was probably chosen because it ranks 49th in education and is one of, if not the poorest state in the union based on median household income.  The less people understand about biology and the difference in fertilization and conception, the easier it will be to pass an amendment this absurd in 2011.   Doing away with modern birth control is probably the worst way to end abortion.

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40 Days Pro-Life Parents:

Love your children. Care for your children.   Keep them off of Sudley Road.  

Friday  I was in the vicinity of your demonstration around  5 pm.  There were four or five school age kids out there flapping signs and acting like they were at a car wash.  Most of the  adults were standing around talking and obviously allowing the kids to do whatever it is kids do when their parents don’t have them under control  .  I wish I had had my camera.  They weren’t being bad.  They were being kids and it is a dangerous situation out there on that section of Sudley Road.  A kid can fall off the curb, a driver can be distracted and run up on the curb, or a driver can hit someone in front and cause a chain reaction. 

Your children and others are in danger when you allow them to hop up and down near the curb, waving signs at drivers who should be  watching the road and the cars in front of them.  There is a traffic light some 75 feet from where you are standing.  Drivers have to be very aware of  the traffic situation, not what is going on on the side of the road.

Adults can do what they feel they need to do.  I have no problem with the adult demonstrations. What I don’t understand is why do you want to involve your children and put them in harm’s way?  Is it going to take a child being injured or killed or another wreck to make some of you all do the responsible thing?   My heart was in my throat as I watched them from a nearby building.  Being pro-life means being pro-all life, especially your cute little kids who were out there having a good time. 

Where are the Manassas City police?  The behavior I saw on Friday made me question if a uniform officer ought to be standing watch over all demonstrations.  It just isn’t safe to have children out there on a road as busy and heavily trafficed as Sudley Road. 

Love and peace,

Grandmother Moon-howler

This particular session is the Romney version.  Rachel Maddow hosts a man-cave session so that the male politicians understand female parts, pregnancy and birth control and how legislation that defines life beginning at conception or fertilization will outlaw contraception.  It could even make miscarriage suspicious  and open to investigation by authorities.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Mitt Romney is not the only person who is agreeing to legislation he really doesn’t understand. Most people don’t understand the unintended consequence of their words. Romney is just playing to his base. He doesn’t understand that his words would medically make contraception, which he believes in, illegal. Local politicians like Jackson Miller have voted for similartype legislation. Jackson also supports contraception and isnt aware of the unintended consequences.

One exception is too-long -in-office Delegate Bob Marshall, who originally ran on a term limits ticket when he first became a delegate. Bob Marshall has continually pushed for legislation that defines when life begins. He has sponsored legislation that goes back further than conception to include life beginning at the moment of fertilization or union of sperm and egg. Unlike Mitt Romney and Jackson Miller, Bob Marshall knows exactly what he is saying and doing. He has made a life time career out of attempting to outlaw not only abortion but also the use of contraception. He and his buddy at American Life League, Judie Brown, set out years ago to trick voters and the uninformed into passing legislation that would, in essence, make using contraception illegal.  Don’t be caught off guard.

American Life League is located in Stafford, Virginia.  Bob Marshall was involved in the formation of the organization, along with long time leader, Judie Brown.  ALL is most definitely anti abortion AND anti contraception.  If you queston Bob Marshall about wanting to outlaw contraception at one of the meet the candidates nights, he will not deny the charge.  He just won’t bring it up and let the voters know his true intentions.

It is time for Delegate Bob to retire.  His term limits have expired.  Send his opponent Carl Genthner to Richmond.  Carl supports the women of Virginia making their own contraception decisions and won’t try to trick them with defining life.

Candidate Chris Royse is running for supervisor of the Woodbridge Magisterial District and has challenged Supervisor Frank Principi, again.  Royse did something a few years ago that I haven’t quite gotten over–something I think was unconscionable for a public office seeker to do.  He called on the leaders of the Arlington Diocese to withhold communion from both Supervisor Principi and Congressman Gerry Connolly.  What a nerve!

Royse identified both men as Catholics and accused them in a public letter in the News and Messenger of “supporting pro-choice agendas in direct violation of church teachings.”  In the first place, since when did Royse become the ” mind police or the arbiter of  who is and who is not right with the Church?”  What pro-choice agenda has Frank Principi supported as a supervisor in Prince William County?  What does Prince William County have to do with abortion services?  Do we have a hidden clinic no one has heard of? 

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Emboldened by recent wins at the polls, House Republicans, led by Rep. Stearns of Florida has demanded 10 years worth of records from Planned Parenthood in order to shut them down. 

I thought McCarthyism was over.  Congress wastes more time getting involved in football, baseball, steroid use with atheletes and women’s reproduction.  They need to work on the economy and creating jobs.