Bush leaves the Office of President and, by his hands, this country is left in an economic chaos not seen in generations. He gives us two horrible wars raging without end, and perhaps by the Red Cross estimates - killed over a million Iraqis - and has raped our Federal coffers and given our tax money to his "Rich Base". And all, for as far as I can tell, for what??? a lark?? Such evil!! I see his smirk as he tries to plunge us further into....where? You see, there is this other monstrous rule that will devastate our health system - he wants to protect health providers if they wish to deny care because of religious and/or 'moral' reasons.
There is no such thing as a 'moral reason' to deny care.
We have witnessed in this election season, that religion very much can be the leader in amoral and immoral acts. -> Denying the rights of others is immoral. period.
But let's go to the first topic of that plan written by people who say abortion is evil because, rarely is that story told fully in truth by even those who should know. However, when you are done, remember it is only the first reason why Bush and his cohorts want to prevent care to... some people.
"A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws.
The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their "religious beliefs or moral convictions."
Come on, now.... You can't really believe that Bush and his Cohorts cannot see where this law can go!
I have heard various radio talk show hosts and television talking heads - mostly men - who say that they want abortion legal but rare. They talk as if they know all about the procedure and all of the circumstances... I am always reminded of this little picture drawn in the 1694 by Niklaas Hartsoeker
"The drawing was conceived by Niklaas Hartsoeker not by what he had seen, but what he presumed would be visible if sperm could be adequately viewed. "
.... After all, don't let the facts get in the way of personal ideas, dogma and mixes of the two.
I have to say, that most people do not take in consideration the life and wishes of the woman in this because, most have never had the experience of this type of loss ... unless medical science can change things, especially for men. Don't get me wrong. I love the men in my life and my children but just as white people can't talk with authority about African American/Hispanic/Asian issues, men can't talk about women's issues.
So, let me tell you.
Say you have an inclination towards uterine tumors - non cancerous, but they have caused problems since puberty. Your mother had them. Your grandmother had them. Sometimes, they cause other issues in your gut. But, every month since you were 10 you writhed on the floor from intense pain for two days. Pain like the twisting pain that begins in your lower abdomen and extends to your back and legs. Never letting up at night, either. Your mother and grandmother celebrated your womanhood with a glass of wine but you despised the embarrassment of the unwanted ritual and hated walking alone without friends during that time of the month - just in case you made a mess.
Then one day, your doctor gives you pills that make the monthly experience tolerable.... except the monthly bleeding. The pills somehow stop the pain but to get them you must have the examination. Why were the male doctors crass? They made you feel horrible as a teenager. Even without asking, they assume you are having sex. They made jokes about your breasts "lumpy aren't we.." and why did your mother's doctor need to take measurements without your shirt and bra? Later as an adult, you go to yet another recommended doctor and they make the same or similar jokes.
After marriage and two children, a pregnancy occurs after an argument or two or three or... (Love is not sparked by anger, by the way.) You haven't taken the pill in years because it causes other health issues, including increasing the size of the tumors. You don't say anything but, after two months a black spot occurs on your underwear. And after years of discomfort with male doctors, you let another month pass, and the spots become blotches... and you are afraid to say anything to anyone. Perhaps this will fail, too... Finally, you make an appointment as the black blood runs down your leg. You know you are in trouble.
You don't tell anybody about your experience. You absolutely hate the people who waved their placards and sticks in your face to not go in and do the deed. What the HELL do they know?!
The abortion was necessary to live. The nearly dead fetus clings as the doctor barely touches you. And all at once, he is sprayed with the black blood. "Don't worry. We will clean this up." Did he really think you were going to???? The feeling of being scraped internally is painful in a weird way. It is a dry pain. Wet pain is giving birth when your intestines move away from the twisting uterus - you cannot feel the organs, individually. Dry pain, you feel the individual organs - they rasp against each other - you can almost see their shape. "You won't feel anything in your uterus..." says the doctor.
And several years later you have your uterus removed because you are anemic and your immune system can't keep infections away. The tumors are causing havoc with your kidneys. They have crimped your bladder. And one emergency at midnight, when you could not urinate, the male nurse did not know how to put a catheter in because he did not know that part of a woman's anatomy. How did he become a nurse??? The head nurse was a woman, thankfully, and she knew and showed him what to do.
Even the pro choice people miss the huge population of women who CANNOT carry a fetus to term. Safely.
" African American women are at a higher risk for fibroids: as many as 50 percent have fibroids of a significant size. Uterine fibroids are the most frequent indication for hysterectomy in premenopausal women and, therefore, are a major public health issue. Of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed annually in the United States, one-third are due to fibroids..."
I see this as a 'Gateway' law for other monstrous acts by this Administration.
Even though a lot of this story was about my abortion... and ... you can see from my experience that there are a lot of deep seated problems within our health system, now, and its ability to take care of people without prejudice. I wrote this, also, because no one wants to talk about their abortion because of the HATE groups and their insistence that it is ALL ABOUT LIFE?! . The distorted view of women/abortion is only part of this 'Rule' as I see it... Because, what happens if the doctor in charge does not like you because you are Jewish? Black? Gay? Mexican? Asian? Disfigured??? Old....???? and let's say, that is the only doctor around to save your life? Or the one holding your papers and charts?
What kind of a place has this country become?