welcome to the United States of America.
“ Basic women’s health care shouldn’t be subject to politics or at the mercy of foundation funding or reliant on the generosity of a billionaire plutocrat.
— On all this Komen bullshit.
Per request from the AWESOME @sarahposner, here’s a screen shot of the AP results with that BEAUTIFUL red check next to the NOs for the Mississippi Personhood Amendment.
Don’t worry. Fertilized eggs still aren’t people anywhere in the U.S. At least not yet.
(Source: keepyourbsoutofmyuterus)
“
But DeGraaf’s comments also reveals just how absurd and disingenuous anti-choice opposition to insurance coverage for abortion is. “We do need to plan ahead, don’t we, in life?” Why, yes, indeed! And one way that we generally “plan ahead” for unexpected problems that may or may not befall us is by doing things like, oh I dunno, buying health insurance plans. Plans that are hopefully general and comprehensive enough that we do not have to predict whether we’re ultimately going to need medical care for a heart attack, or a brain tumor, or pneumonia, or a fetal abnormality, or an unintended pregnancy–or any number of tragedies that I, for one, tend to alternately believe will never happen to me or else will surely strike at any moment.
The entire point of health insurance is to protect us against the unexpected. And an unintended pregnancy–whether caused by rape or birth control failure or human error–is the very definition of the unexpected. That’s why most private insurance plans currently cover abortion. Taking away that coverage and then urging women to “plan ahead” by buying a separate abortion rider amounts to imposing a financial penalty for the crime of being able to get pregnant.
— A Kansas state lawmaker compares getting pregnant from rape to getting a flat tire and suggests women should “plan ahead.”
“ I mean, do a group of old white ladies govern what goes on with my balls? No. They don’t. But this is what happens in America. Old white men who believe in an invisible man in the sky get to say what goes on in all women’s vaginas. The last time I tried to make anything happen inside a woman’s vagina I didn’t even get past the whole “taking her to dollar-beer and bingo night at the bar by my house” thing. Swing and a miss, there. And hey – that was just one vagina. In their case, they are trying to control ALL OF THE VAGINAS. Who do they think they are? Prince circa Purple Rain?
—
Ned Hepburn of Death and Taxes magazine sums up the situation in Indiana, where all abortions past 22 weeks were banned last week.
You can see part of the state legislature’s chilling debate here, when a GOP rep says there can’t be an exception for rape or incest, because women might lie about being raped to get an abortion. Democratic Rep. Linda Lawson’s response, while tear-jerking, is priceless.
(via motherjones)
“ In order to break the single story of abortion, we need more women to speak honestly about their experiences. We need to hear from diverse women who had abortions for many different reasons and who feel happy, sad, relieved, carefree, regretful, empowered, ashamed, unconcerned, conflicted, joyful, or any complex combination of emotions. At the same time, with so few stories of abortion comes the heavy weight of representation; the pressure to make your story fit into a certain narrative–as well as the risk that it will be manipulated, judged or rejected–is heightened. It’s a tough catch-22.
— Happy Abortion Wellbeing Month! My thoughts on the danger of a single story when it comes to abortion.
