This is a followup to a diary I recently did,
The War on Women - Ladies, start your engines
In this diary, I've tried to focus on how states have limited abortion and birth control, so that you can see how important it is for us to focus on our own backyards (our states) in addition to what's happening at the federal level. What happened in SD was a wakeup call for us all, but the reality is that in almost every state, we've moved considerably backwards.
If you don't think it's important, read this:
The high court could force those who challenge abortion restrictions to prove that restrictive laws prevent a significant number of women from getting abortions. Currently, the courts bar restrictions if it's plausible that they could impose burdens on women seeking abortions.
Such a ruling would validate many abortion laws that can't now survive court scrutiny, and in some states, it would render abortion all but inaccessible to many women.
Please make the jump with me.
Read SD Representative Roger Hunt on the
mindset behind South Dakota's new abortion law.
"You have two human beings here. In the United States, where we value life, we're big fans of the underdog, perhaps the life of an unborn child is more critical and more important than a woman making a choice. It's a balancing act, I admit. But when you put the proper weights on the scale, it will favor protecting the life of unborn children."
What does he think of womens cognitive ability?
We have a situation in which the woman may be getting so much pressure she's not thinking clearly.
Read the rest of the article if you have a strong stomach.
Current State limits on Abortion and birth control
Unless otherwise noted, all information is from the Guttmacher Institute
*23 states now require parental consent for a teen to have an abortion, UT and OK being the latest. Two states, MS and ND, require both parents. A total of 34 states require parental involvement of some sort, usually notification.
* At the same time, 25 states limit which teens may receive birth control, 4 states have no formally enacted statute, and 21 allow access to all teens. Couple this with the sharp increase (465%) in abstinence only teaching, and it is a recipe for disaster for our teens.
* 3 states mandate that women be given counseling about the purported link between abortion and breast cancer, 4 states that the fetus can feel pain, and 3 states on the long term psychological effects of abortion on women. A total of 28 states mandate some type of counseling.
* 6 states, (IN, LA, MS, OH, UT and WI) require counseling in person before waiting at least 18 hours (IN) to 24 hours before an abortion is performed. 18 other states require either phone or mail counseling before a 24 hour wait. KY has passed a law in the Senate requiring 24 hour in person counseling, and is awaiting House approval.
*4 states (AR, GA, MS, and SD) allow pharmacists to refuse filling birth control prescriptions, 4 states (FL, IL, ME, and TN) have such broadly worded statues that the same may apply, and several states, including MO, have bills pending.
* More limits on abortion: 39 states require that all abortions be performed by a doctor (I'm not sure if this includes RU486), four states, ID, KY, MO, and ND prohibit private insurance from covering all abortions except in the case of life endangerment. 46 states allow insurance providers to refuse abortion coverage.
What's happening to federal funding of family planning and abortion
Under the Hyde Amendment of 1977, federal funds cannot be used to finance abortions, except in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest. Currently, one state, SD, is even more restrictive, providing only for life endangerment. 19 states have picked up the funding, of which 15 are doing so by court order, 3 of which are under appeal.
It used to be that family planning dollars came to the states mainly through block grants. The trend now is for those dollars to come mainly through Medicaid. And even though Medicaid funding has increased, it does not begin to cover the funds that were lost due to cuts in other grants.
The 2006 budget bill (The one Bush signed, even though the version he signed was different from the one passed by the House) includes allowing states to charge new fees for Medicaid services, even in the face of the increasing number of uninsured women (1 in 5 of women in reproductive ages), and the growing number of women who need subsidized family planning. This, even though total dollars spent for family planning has still not reached the level of dollars spent in 1980, adjusted for inflation. Read that again. We spend less today on family planning than we did in 1980.
(Yet) The Alan Guttmacher Institute estimates that every $1 spent on contraceptive services saves $3 for pregnancy-related and newborn care alone, and a government analysis shows that states that got federal approval to expand Medicaid coverage for family planning saved money while serving more women.
For a comprehensive look at how conservatives are attacking federal funding of Family Planning.
I'd like to thank Rebecca Wind and Adam Sonfeld of the Guttmacher Institute, who took the time to help me with the information on this. All of the statistics can be found on the Guttmacher website.
Ladies, now we see it for what it is, all the pretense is over. It's a war on women. Even before South Dakota, we'd moved considerably backwards. This conservative Supreme Court will most likely accept the rationale for even more state limitations on controlling our own bodies and our lives. The best place to start is at the state level, since it's what they approve that will go before the Supreme Court.
One way to to change the tide against women is to elect more women to represent our interests. Here is a list of women running for state and federal office. Let's support them, whether with money or volunteering. Even if they're not going to represent you in particular, they represent us. Thanks to MissAnneThrope.
I intend to do more diaries on this subject in the future. I have not forgotten all the tips given in the last diary, and you'll be seeing many of them in the future.
Cross Posted at My Left Wing