I'm flabbergasted. Have you seen
THIS? If you're not sure what this means - go read what
Mike the Mad Biologist has to say about it. Follow his links - scary, scary world out there.
O.K. O.K. I understand that pro-life advocates would like to stop abortions from happening in the US and to some extent, I can understand that some people would think that it is a good idea to place an extra tax on an insurance policy that covers this "elective" procedure. The problem that I have with this is that victims of rape and incest would have to submit legal proof of their abuse to the IRS (the IRS!!! WT
beeeeeeeep???) in order to avoid that tax.
When I posted the petition on Facebook, my friend Diane responded;
"
Ok we have government that is having trouble doing their jobs already, and now we are going to add yet another "job"...and to all people the IRS...If those governing are against abortion, then go to through the court system and challenge Roe vs. Wade....isn't that the proper channel?"
She's right. Having an actual hearing on Roe vs. Wade would be one proper channel to address the abortion problem here in the U.S. I suspect that they aren't really interested in just having a reasonable, fair and democratic discussion of RoeWade. Instead they would rather try all sorts of back alley alternatives that have the potential to subject countless women to all sorts of abusive, government induced humiliation.
ALL of these GOP sponsored anti-abortion bills either explicitly or implicitly target women who have either been raped or victimized and/or who have trouble carrying a pregnancy to term. Georgia had a bill on the books that would have required women who suffer a miscarriage to present their medical records to local law enforcement to assure that they did not seek illegal abortions. Women who miscarried "illegally" would have been at risk for the death sentence. (Seriously! These people are freaking brainless women hating Zealots.)
The IF (infertility) community is following this trend very carefully and doctors & lawyers working closely with IF advocates are warning that these laws the GOP are pushing to try to prevent abortion will make basic women's health care and especially health care for women who suffer from IF much more difficult to access and in some cases, completely inaccessible. Kieko Zoll has a few more pertinent articles and links on her blog - she is a young infertility advocate who is in the thick of the IF Family Planning Nightmare and having to advocate pretty hard for herself to get the care she needs so she stays very current with these issues.
Those supporting these laws and legislators are probably unaware of the potential consequences because they aren't reading the whole legislation. They just hear that it is supposed to limit access to abortion and that makes them happy, because they believe that abortion is the worst possible choice. And, in general, I agree with them on that. The problem is that they aren't thinking about all the possible scenarios.
How about the heatbroken woman who has had 8 miscarriages over the course of years of IF therapy and still hasn't been able to grow her family and NOW she has to hire a lawyer because she's being investigated for murder and at risk of being placed on death row for "illegal abortions" in Georgia?
How about the little girl in Texas who is abused, becomes pregnant and when her family decides that the best course of action is an abortion, she is
subjected to an invasive vaginal exam in
order to show her pictures of the fetus to inspire guilt designed to make her change her mind. How is that humane? How does that protect the rights of children?
Or how about me? A
D&C is a procedure commonly associated with abortions. It is also something that those of us who suffer from endometriosis and other forms of IF have to undergo every few years. It pretty much isn't fun but it does alleviate a LOT of my other symptoms when things are getting really, really bad. It is also used to diagnose cancers and other diseases of the female reproductive system. If H.R. 3 passes, will I have to document my non-abortion need for a D&C? Should the IRS need to worry about my IF care? Do I WANT to have to rehash my extensive gynecological medical history with the TAX MAN every few years??? No Thank You.
If the GOP get their way and start making more headway in womens' reproductive rights, will a D&C suddenly become unavailable to me eliminate one useful, relatively safe medical procedure that actually decreases my suffering and helps prevent the progression of my disease (including potentially reducing my risk of endometrial cancer)? Could very well be.
You know what? If you are really, really concerned about abortions in the U.S. and you want them to stop, how about you start looking at some other ways to diminish the NEED for abortions instead of intruding on my rights and privacy and that of millions of other American women. I contend that abortions are in high demand in the U.S. because women still (and increasingly) lack the respect and protection of society and because we do not train our Young Men to treat women in a respectful way. Have a listen to this
On Point program about women on college campuses. (There. Now are you scared to send your baby to school? You should be.) Go out and read
Gail Dines' book. (Are you sick yet?) Stop supporting businesses like Marriott who
pretend to be clean but who have been raking in the Big Porn cash for decades. (How convenient.)
And when you're ready, ask me about step two. That's all about poor women and their families who have no shot at good educations and good jobs and who don't know where their next meal is coming from. It is about a dramatic restructuring of society so that ALL have access to basic needs and opportunities and so that NONE are victimized or powerless. Abortion would decrease dramatically if there really were no poor among us. Sadly, our society isn't really ready to talk about that yet.
We need to stop pretending that the way to end abortion in America is as simple as making women feel guilty/embarrassed/ashamed or afraid for seeking them. If you look at abortion as the symptom of societal disease, addressing that disease at the end stages is the worst possible approach. It is like trying to cure cancer in the hospice ward. Just about all of your patients are going to die anyway and your treatments will only increase their suffering. A good doctor addresses disease prevention before their patient ever becomes sick.
Start preventing abortion in your own family by raising kids with knowledge of and respect for their reproductive capacity.
Start preventing abortion in your neighborhood by doing what you can to make sure that every kid has access to education, health care, shelter, food and something that inspires them to their greatness. If your neighborhood has got that down, then see what you can do for your further neighbors.
Start preventing abortion by recognizing, calling out and rejecting those who distribute and profit from the
sexualization of girls and
victimization of women. (reader beware - the feminist fatale link shows actual advertisements that will turn your stomach - or turn you on if your a mysogynst.)
Let's get out of this fantasy land where punishing already victimized women will help prevent the loss of unborn lives and start fighting this war where it begins. In the minds and hearts of our children and in the basic consumer driven values of our society.
There. Rant done. But I don't really feel better.
