Abortion is not the problem, the anti-choicers are

Ta-Nehisi Coates is amazing, take a break from what you are doing and go read everything you can find by him, then come back. I have no love for Ross Douthat; I think he is at best a clickbaiter and at worst a bigot. Coates points readers to Eyal Press’ profile of Dr. Steven Brigham in the New Yorker, which shows the readers what back-alley abortions would look like because we live in a world where they already exist.

The profile gives a scary look at what patients have to endure to have a medical abortion. It presents the story of Dr. Brigham beginning in 2010. It lays out some rules physicians have to follow if providing an abortion to a patient in New Jersey after 14 weeks, which is essentially, take the patient to Maryland. The piece gives an example of a patient being driven from Delaware to Maryland with two physicians where an abortion was performed in an unmarked storefront in Elkton, Maryland. There were complications to the surgery where the woman’s uterus was perforated and her bowel damaged. She was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital. One of the physicians was Dr. Steven Brigham, who as an Elkton detective would come to find out was not licensed to practice medicine in Maryland.

The police got a warrant and proceeded to search the premises where they found some truly horrifying things. The dingy storefront had a freezer with red biohazard bags containing thirty-five advanced advanced-gestation fetuses, which hadn’t yet been disposed of. Several of the fetuses were past the viability mark. Dr. Brigham was arrested in December 2011 with ten counts of murder; he was released a week or so later after posting a half million dollar bail.

The story is a horror show. Brigham claims to be trained, but the people he says trained him don’t remember him. Additionally, he overcharged patients taking jewelry and personal property as collateral. Finally, he hurt women. Of course this makes us all think of Kermit Gosnell. Dr. LeRoy Carhart, 72, who worked with Dr. George Tiller, says there is a huge profit margin for abortion services when a clinic uses methotrexate. Dr. Carhart is based in Omaha and flies around the states to perform surgery.

Dr. Tiller’s murder left four doctors in the US who openly provide third-trimester abortions. Dr. Carhart also said, “When George died, that was the last time I had time off.” Abortion providers have declined, which Carhart attributes to the protestors. Carhart says, “Now you have two types of doctors doing abortions—the doctors who are totally committed to women’s health and are going to do them even if they never get another dime, and the people that just want to take advantage of the situation and milk everything they can out of it.”

Coates concludes that sometimes terrorism works, the murder of Dr. Tiller has encouraged physicians from practicing. Coates goes on to say that the murders in the 80s, 90s, and today are bad press for the anti-choicers, but I disagree. I think that is exactly the kind of press these zealots want. They want physicians, women, supporters to live in fear to believe you have to take your life in your hands when you enter a clinic. They are aiming to convert more violent zealots and what better way than to show the new/potential recruits how important they’ll be by murdering people. Pro-life, shenanigans! Read the fine print, Pro-life-if-you-live-the-way-we-deem-fit.

Of course, Douthat had to reply.

@AdamSerwer @jbouie Or: Over time, a profession that dismembers human beings tends to attract only misguided idealists and monsters.
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) January 29, 2014

I find his response particularly disgusting. I would argue that the anti-choicers are the people attracting other misguided violent monsters and giving them cover. Also, Douthat appears to be absolving people who murder living breathing people. Sure, some zealots view fetuses as people who deserve more rights than the women carrying them, but surely we can all agree that a grown man is a human, yes?

I did read Douthat’s article, which is garbage, per usual. He believes marriage will raise people out of poverty, well son, we have about eighteen years of research on welfare that disproves that theory. Because you know, two incomes will raise people out of poverty, but only if both partners can find living wages. See, there was this great article about a married couple who lost welfare benefits after getting married. She had a low-wage job, and he, well he had a felony and couldn’t find work. But sure, marriage keeps people with privilege out of poverty.

Douthat pretty much says women (I’ll expand to all birth capable persons) taking control of their reproduction ruined marriage because men could choose to be included in the family or not. He actually suggests a second-trimester abortion ban. This man graduated from a ridiculous mockery of journalism to dangerous. He concludes with a statement about moral absolutes being understandable.

Oh Ohio, you’re at it again

Sometimes I think of Ohio as a child. Wait hear me out. We seem to be stuck doing the same thing over and over again, and despite having these conversations or bills being defeated, they keep passing them.

Erik Eckholm wrote a piece on Ohio’s abortion restrictions for The New York Times. Spoiler, it is bad. The article begins by discussing the actual experience of a woman who is accidentally pregnant and has a history of severe post-partum depression (you’ll remember the woman who allegedly tried to drive onto the White House lawn, among many other incidents). However, the Ohio law that took effect this month says women have to have and see the ultrasound and watch the heartbeat. The woman in question wasn’t thrilled about it.

Ohio has been test running a lot of anti-choice legislation, which push the boundaries of Supreme Court guidelines, but never actually break the law, really close though, and of course making women’s lives harder. All these abortion restrictions really started after Gov. John R. Kasich took office. He also considers these restrictions to be “reasonable.” Take a minute and think about the woman who wants to kill herself because she’s pregnant and depressed, but has to wait 48 hours for a chemical induced abortion. Gee, I wonder what she’s going to do. Well, there was the woman in Indiana who was arrested for the attempted murder of her fetus when she tried to kill herself. Because obviously, the fetus takes priority over the woman housing it, and instead of mental healthcare this woman got jail time.

Of course, Ohio isn’t the only state doing this: Arkansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Texas, etc. Perhaps the more difficult part of this to swallow is that the national conversation doesn’t really care about this at all. Those who are in favor of these laws claim they are “rightly making women think twice before ending pregnancy and ensuring clinic safety.” And those opposed see this as “imposing heartless obstacles and guilt on women who are seeking a legal procedure.” The aim of these restrictions are to make abortion harder to get while not actually banning them because that would be illegal. As if they are easy now with the protesters who frequently yell at the women.

On Wednesday of last week, The American Civil Liberties Union filed a challenge in state court against the heartbeat bill and other restrictions, which are allegedly in violation of the Ohio Constitution’s “single subject” rule because it was part of an unrelated budget. We have weird budget rules in Ohio.

The article has a great quote from Chrisse France, the executive director of Preterm, a large nonprofit abortion clinic on Cleveland’s East Side (HOME!), “If you can’t outlaw abortion outright, just make it harder and harder to get. They say they’re doing this to protect women’s health, but some of the laws are actually harmful, and some are just cruel.” Preach.

Eckholm noted that while the patients at Preterm had a variety of reactions to the mandated waiting period, but no one was changing their minds.

Upcoming restrictions included in the budget this year will include: women seeking an abortion be told the probability of their pregnancy coming to terms, diversions of federal money to so-called crisis pregnancy centers; new financing for rape-crisis centers on the condition they don’t provide abortion referrals, and tightening parental consent for minors (also it was ruled a foster teen by the Kansas Supreme Court she was too immature to decide to have an abortion, but motherhood that she’s mature enough for).

They are also targeting the Planned Parenthood, which is bad for so many reasons that actually deal with women’s health because you know women need to see doctors all the time so the medical industrial complex can make cash. A bit of an aside and perhaps too much information. I have been forced to get unnecessary tests including a pap exam every year in exchange for a birth control prescription. This is now over because insurance rules are changing under Obamacare, which forces employers to comp the costs of birth control and the regulations are reigning in unnecessary procedures. Amazingly doctors are starting to follow the ACOG’s recommendations, which state pap exams only are necessary if there is a problem for women my age or every three years. So points for socialized medicine. The Planned Parenthood was more in line with ACOG’s recommendations from the get go. Back to the Planned Parenthood’s funding. Ohio has ended competitive bidding for federal family planning money, which leaves the Planned Parenthood and hella lot of clinics with a lack of funds.

Other fun restrictions: doctors facing jail time. In 2011, the state banned abortions (except when the woman’s life is in danger, also they use the term mother, oh the implications) once the fetus is viable so clinic doctors have stopped performing abortions after 22 weeks unless there is a serious medical condition present, which I think is a bit early for “viable.” The doctors could be arrested for performing an abortion after the fetus is viable.

Everyone with a basic understanding of women’s health call these restrictions, dangerous, outdated, and ineffective. But don’t worry a dude from Ohio’s Right to Life (they are too extreme for the national Right to Life) is on Ohio’s medical board. What a relief, let me tell you. Someone with no medical training or experience, but hey, who knows, maybe god speaks to him.

The anti-choice group preaches adoption, but as a reminder, it is very difficult to adopt children of color because we live in a racist society that values whiteness. Abortions rates are increasing among women of color. However, abortions across the board have been going down because the restrictions, but it probably has more to do with access to contraception. Well for now. I’m sure they’ll come for birth control eventually. These are the people who want to control women, their bodies, their education, and their earning power. Gee, sounds kind of like someone else (definitely not equating just point out those who would control women while clinging to power). It would be really great if people remembered that real women are suffering under these restrictions and the end goal is to limit the rights of women.

Ohio fails again.

Late last night, Gov. John Kasich signed perhaps the most damning legislation for women yet without any thought of the consequences for women. Way to go pro-lifers, women are going to die because of this law. Kasich signed the two-year $62 billion budget, which means we can’t fight back via ballot measure.

This guts the Planned Parenthood by taking $1.4 million in federal family dollars away from Planned Parenthood by reprioritizing who can receive the funds. This bill also includes provisions requiring all abortion clinics have a transfer agreement with a hospital, requires doctors perform an external ultrasound prior to an abortion to search for a heartbeat and tell the woman, the doctor has to tell the woman the chances of the fetus to surviving to full term, and redefines a fetus as “developing from the moment of conception,” rather than when a fertilized egg has been implanted in the uterus.

Ohio, redefining medicine without the input of any physicians. How could this possibly go wrong? I don’t know how a state can redefine a word…wait it can’t. Idiots, but I for one think we should get a Dan Savage like thing going so when you Google Kasich’s name something about murdering women comes up.

Many hospitals in Ohio are private and have a religious affiliation so you know they will be unwilling to work with clinics. The ultrasounds are unnecessary and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposes them.

The bill includes the funding of the pregnancy crisis centers, which straight up lie to women, they also mislead them and prevent them from actual medical care. Ohio’s House Bill 200, which was introduced by 35 House republicans on June 13^th extended waiting periods for access to safe and legal abortions, ultrasounds the woman pays for, and requires doctors to lie to their patients.

Kasich did veto the language on the Medicaid expansion, which according to Kasich allows him to be flexible moving forward. The budget ignores Kasich’s call to expand Medicaid to cover an additional 275,000 low-income Ohioans and brings $13 billion in federal funding over the next seven years. The budget is effective today.

Kasich vetoed 22 items in the budget, but left the anti-choice crap in there. Fortunately, Ohio State University’s STAR House (a homeless shelter for youth) kept its $665,000 a year funding. The budget includes a $2.7 billion tax cut over three-years through an income-tax cut that starts at 8.5% this year and phases into 10% in 2015, plus 50% tax deduction for business owners with income up to $250,000. It increases the sales tax by a quarter percentage point, eliminates new levies on the 12.5% paid by the state on property taxes, and eliminates for seniors earning more the $30,000 who have not reached age 65 by the end of the year.

Kasich and his elk think tax cuts are the way to fix the economy, they’d be wrong. Austerity kills, but hey that seems to be the end game. Get rid of the poor, women, people of color, and you’ll be living in a place Kasich feels comfortable.

Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life said, “It took great compassion and courage for our governor and pro-life legislature to stand up to the abortion industry and blatantly pressure them.”

If there was a for real abortion industry, I’d be employed by them. Just saying. 

Reminder, Texas is set up for round two this afternoon. 

This photo blew up on the Interwebs today. Kasich surrounded by men as he signs the GOP's anti-women budget.

 

Texas Rep. Wendy Davis is speaking against SB5 right now

Rep. Davis is filibustering SB5, the super anti-woman, anti-choice bill that one of the sponsors equated rape kits with abortion. Because I hate my life.

Rep. Davis called out her colleagues for trying to go around their two-third majority rule and push this bill through. That is why she is doing this. Below is Rep. Davis speaking, as you can see none of her colleagues are listening to her, but she began by saying she will speak for the next 12 hours and 40 minutes. *don't read the comments*



This is important because these bills are moving across the Midwest. Ohio has one tied to the budget, which as you may remember means it can't be repealed by a ballot measure. I have nothing but respect for the women standing up to these tyrants. Hopefully, Rep. Davis will be successful.

Oh Ohio, I’m ashamed of you

Most of you know that Ohio is trying hella hard to backdoor Roe. The Toledo Blade wrote a wonderful editorial on how awful Ohio’s budget is, and how it is targeting women with disgusting restrictions. Tara Culp-Ressler wrote for ThinkProgress a summary of the WORST ABORTION BILL EVER (do the echo effect on ever). This bill, House Bill 200, came to be because someone thought they weren’t being clear with the budget. A group of 35 Republicans in the House introduced an omnibus anti-abortion bill that combines some of the worst attack on reproductive health.

The bill includes the following restrictions:

Mandates invasive ultrasounds, and forces women to pay for the cost of the extra procedure themselves. Classy. Force women to have an unnecessary ultrasound and then make them pay for it. The bill doesn’t explicitly say trans-vaginal ultrasound, but that is really the only one that can give you a picture of the first 12 weeks. And then, make the ladies pay for it because you know bitches be rolling in monies when they want to end a pregnancy.

Requires doctors to describe the ultrasound images to women seeking abortions, including details about the fetal heartbeat. If the heartbeat is audible then the doctor has to describe that. You know, causing emotional stress during a difficult decision making process. We all know this is intended to shame and coerce women seeking abortions.

Extends the waiting for abortion to 48 hours, and eliminate the option for women to bypass it because of a medical emergency. This is just fucking dangerous. Ohio already has a 24 hour waiting period, which adds the burden of cost and travel for multiple trips to the clinic. But they can bypass this in the case of a medical emergency. This bill would take that away. This bill would kill women.

Requires doctors to tell women scientifically disputed information about abortion risks. You know requires doctors to give false and medically disputed information about abortion because that is a good idea.

Requires doctors to tell patients how much money they earn from each abortion procedure. This is supposed to demonstrate how the doctors are profiteering off abortion services. You know what would be great if someone wrote up how much having a child would cost over time and distributing it or that NYT’s article on what happened to women denied abortions…SPOLIER poverty.

Punish doctors who don’t comply with the new restrictions with a felony charge and up to a $1 million dollar fine. Nothing like threats of jail time to force your agenda on the public. So you know, cumbersome restrictions and punishments for noncompliance to convince doctors to stop performing abortions…oh, that’s the point.

OH-I-O blows right now. Sorry ladies, guess your health is irrelevant to the theocracy. Fingers-crossed this won’t pass, but at this point I wouldn’t be surprised. Someone get this clowns out of office. Additionally, this puts abortion service provides at odds with the women they serve. A lot of this is just an attempt to get providers to stop providing services.