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How California Proves That Obamacare Is Working

Illinois Bans Abstinence-Only Ed Because It Only Works In A 'Fantasy Land'

Five Egregious Examples Of How We Keep Shaming Teen Moms

Alyssa

The Remarkable Doonesbury Abortion Arc, And How Men Can Be Good Reproductive Rights Allies

By Alyssa Rosenberg posted from ThinkProgress Alyssa on Mar 14, 2012 at 6:30 pm

As you may have read, about 50 of the 1,400 newspapers that carry Doonesbury have asked to run alternative strips this week while the comic takes on the spate of laws that would require women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds before obtaining abortions. It’s too bad they’re being timid, because the arc as a whole is terrific: ferocious and funny all at once. “Will it hurt?” asks the patient about to undergo the ultrasound. “Well, it’s not comfortable, honey,” the nurse tells her. “But Texas feels you should have thought of that.”

It’s a worthwhile reminder of the standards male creators should set for themselves when trying to write about women’s issues—and frankly, women in general. The fact that Gary Trudeau’s done amazing work over the years with characters like Joanie Caucus, Lacey Davenport, Alex Doonesbury, Kim Rosenthal, and Melissa Wheeler is the reason he can speak with authority on the subject now. The strip has consistently expanded its scope on women’s issues, and I thought it was particularly brave to explore the consequences of Melissa’s command rape, when it could have been interpreted as a pivot away from B.D.’s loss of his leg. Trudeau treated what both Melissa and B.D. were suffering as equally legitimate pain, and he made treating Melissa with respect a major part of B.D.’s recovery, expanding his world in the process. Trudeau isn’t just parachuting in to abortion because the topic is trendy, he’s not the equivalent of an all-dude panel discussing women’s health. He’s a genuine ally, and a powerful one.

Wisconsin Assembly Bans Private Health Insurance Plans From Offering Abortion Coverage

By Guest Blogger on Mar 14, 2012 at 5:10 pm

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin state Assembly passed a bill banning private insurance plans from covering abortions except in cases “of rape, incest or when the health of the mother is at risk.” The GOP-backed legislation already had passed the state Senate, and it cleared the House early Wednesday morning by a 61-34 vote.

Democrats argued the law would create more burdens for women seeking abortions and another unnecessary measure continuing a “war on women.” But GOP state Rep. Joel Kleefisch disagreed. “What about the rights of the women who have not yet been born?” he asked. And the bill’s Republican sponsor framed it as a moral issue:

Rep. Joan Ballweg, a Republican sponsor of the bill…urged everyone to understand the strong feelings of those who supported the measure.

“It’s not a war, it’s what we believe whole heartedly,” she said to a silent Assembly chamber after describing her personal loss. “I would hope you respect that. We have different opinions.”

Democrats argued that government should not be the one telling women which abortions can be covered and which can’t.

“Keep government out of the bedroom and the doctor’s office,” said Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison.

The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s desk, and it is likely Walker will sign it into law. In his new budget proposal, Walker also supported repealing Wisconsin’s Contraceptive Equity Law, which requires insurance companies to cover prescription birth control, and Title V funding, which cover access to health care like cancer screenings and access to contraception for uninsured men and women.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states are allowed to prohibit abortion coverage in plans sold in the state exchanges. Currently, 12 states have enacted similar legislation restricting insurance coverage of abortions since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010, eight of which restrict abortion coverage in all private plans in the state.

– Fatima Najiy

Justice

Arizona Senate Committee Endorses ‘Tell Your Boss Why You’re On The Pill’ Bill

By Annie-Rose Strasser posted from ThinkProgress Justice on Mar 14, 2012 at 2:50 pm

Arizona has taken up yet another draconian law for women’s health – this time replicating but broadening the federal push to let employers deny women access to birth control. The bill stipulates that, unless a woman brings in a note proving she is not using it to avoid getting pregnant, an employer can deny birth control to any woman in the workplace.

By a vote of 6-2, an Arizona State Senate Judiciary committee yesterday endorsed the measure:

Arizona House Bill 2625, authored by Majority Whip Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale, would permit employers to ask their employees for proof of medical prescription if they seek contraceptives for non-reproductive purposes, such as hormone control or acne treatment.

“I believe we live in America. We don’t live in the Soviet Union,” Lesko said. “So, government should not be telling the organizations or mom and pop employers to do something against their moral beliefs… My whole legislation is about our First Amendment rights and freedom of religion.”

The argument that providing birth control violates the First Amendment is bogus, debunked by a twenty year-old opinion by conservative Supreme Court Justice Scalia.

Needless to say, many women do not feel comfortable turning over their medical records to their employers, even if they do have a condition that qualifies them under Lesko’s proposed law. Especially since, as an at-will employment state, an Arizona employer would likely be able to fire a woman if they saw anything in her gynecological history that he (or, yes, she) didn’t like. But, under the proposed law, a boss could fire the woman if the woman didn’t turn it over, too.

You can read our top five reasons why contraception is important here. Aside from the obvious health benefits that lead some women to use birth control, contraceptive use has helped shrink the gender pay gap; it even benefits the economy as a whole.

One In Seven Americans Think Health Care Law Has Been Overturned

By Guest Blogger on Mar 14, 2012 at 1:48 pm

According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 14 percent of Americans think the Supreme Court has already struck down the Affordable Care Act, while another 28 percent said they did not know or refused to answer the question.

Most of the respondents also said they were either not following news about the case closely (38 percent) or were not following it at all (25 percent). And the majority of people polled expect the Supreme Court to overturn the health reform law. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about the case later this month, and a decision on the law’s constitutionality is not expected until the end of June. — Zachary Bernstein

Town Hall Attendee Rips Rep. Cliff Stearns Over Planned Parenthood Investigation

By Guest Blogger on Mar 14, 2012 at 12:45 pm

Back in September, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) opened a congressional investigation into Planned Parenthood, demanding that the organization and its 83 affiliates submit fiscal records dating as far back as 13 years to determine if the arm of the organization that provides abortions was sufficiently segregated from the arm that provides family planning and health services. As a result, the Susan G. Komen Foundation cut off funding to Planned Parenthood — which it later restored — because the foundation had a new rule against funding organizations under investigation.

Last month, constituents pushed back against Rep. Stearns, who is currently chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Several constituents argued with Stearns during a town hall about how he used his position as a subcommittee chairman to conduct the sweeping investigation. After Stearns answered several other questions, a woman complained to him about how his investigation into Planned Parenthood led to cuts for breast cancer screenings at some of the organization’s clinics:

WOMAN: I would like you to speak to every woman in this room and every woman who have been denied the opportunity to have mammograms with your ridiculous cut…to women, your insult to women –

STEARNS: What cuts are, what?

WOMAN: With your Planned Parenthood investigation.

Watch a clip of the confrontation here:

Stearns’ responded that it was his responsibility as chairman of oversight subcommittee. While Komen clarified its new rule and has announced it will let Planned Parenthood reapply for grant funding, Stearns said in February that his investigation into the women’s health organization is ongoing.

– Fatima Najiy

NEWS FLASH

Sen. McConnell: Medical Marijuana Kills | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote in a letter to a constituent that smoking marijuana for medical purposes can have adverse effects — “even death.” The letter, obtained by the Huffington Post, expresses McConnell’s opposition to legalizing medical marijuana because of such dangers. But it is unclear what dangers McConnell is referencing. States that legalize marijuana see a reduction in traffic fatalities, not to mention the many health benefits that have lead to its medicinal use. Plus, it’s widely popular — 77 percent of Americans support marijuana for medical purposes, and even conservative televangelist Pat Robertson thinks it should be legal.

LGBT

Utah Legislator Defends Abstinence-Only Bill: ‘Homosexuality Does Not Relate To Sexuality’

By Zack Ford posted from ThinkProgress LGBT on Mar 14, 2012 at 11:50 am

Utah State Rep. Bill Wright (R) (Photo Credit: Al Hartmann, The Salt Lake Tribute)

Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) has not taken action yet on the recently passed abstinence-only/”don’t say gay” bill, but its proponents continue to defend it, even though it doesn’t enjoy popular support. Among other things, the bill prohibits “instruction in, or the advocacy of” homosexuality, but its sponsor, State Rep. Bill Wright (R), explained that homosexuality has “nothing to do with health,” except when it comes to abstaining from it:

WRIGHT: That has nothing to do with health. Homosexuality does not relate to sexuality. It’s a whole different thing… I can write the curriculum really simply. If you’re homosexual you have a high degree of [contracting] some STD. What else do you need to know? What else do I need to teach?

There are many answers to Wright’s question, but the most obvious lesson many young people need to hear is simply that “homosexuality is normal.” The entire goal of sex education is helping kids learn about their own bodies, the changes they’re experiencing, and how to make responsible decisions now that they’re being flooded with hormones. Wright wants an entire group of students — who are already stigmatized for what makes them different — to be deprived of the vital affirmation they need and deserve. If he honestly believes that “homosexuality does not relate to sexuality,” perhaps he’s not the best authority to be dictating sexuality curriculum.

Related Posts

Romney: ‘We’re Going To Get Rid Of’ Planned Parenthood

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on Mar 14, 2012 at 10:37 am

Last year, Mitt Romney supported a Republican plan to eliminate federal funding to Planned Parenthood — a battle that almost shut down the government. And his support for this idea has not faded. Yesterday, Mitt Romney told a local TV reporter in Missouri that he would “get rid of” Planned Parenthood, among other programs, to reduce the deficit:

The test is pretty simple. Is the program so critical, it’s worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? And on that basis of course you get rid of Obamacare, that’s the easy one. Planned Parenthood, we’re going to get rid of that.

Beyond simply threatening a program that provides necessary health care for millions of women, Romney has also called for cutting funds for Title X — the only federal program devoted to family planning — from the federal budget. The program covers low-income women and men who are uninsured, and without it, about 5 million people would lose their access to health care and contraception.

For Romney, cutting women’s health programs that help millions of women and prevent thousands of unintended pregnancies is a higher deficit-cutting priority than making corporations and high-income Americans pay their fair share in taxes. Romney asserts that the savings for the the federal government by taking away Planned Parenthood funding would be about $300 million. But those savings are the same as the cost of Romney’s tax cuts for 262 of the top 0.1 percent of earners in the U.S.

Update

Romney campaign strategist Eric Fehrnstrom downplayed the Planned Parenthood comments on Tuesday, emphasizing that the candidate was only talking about cutting federal funding. “It would not be getting rid of the organization,” Fehrnstrom told CNN.

NEWS FLASH

POLL: Majority Disagrees With Republicans On Contraception Debate | According to a new poll from Bloomberg, more than 60 percent of Americans — and 70 percent of women — said that President Obama’s policy requiring contraception coverage in employer-provided insurance plans is a matter of women’s health, rejecting the Republican argument against the new rule. More than three-quarters of those polled said the topic should not be part of the national political debate. But with Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum saying Obama is violating employers’ religious freedom by mandating contraception coverage, the polls shows that the GOP presidential candidates’ views are out of sync with what voters want. “These candidates are talking to a relatively small subset even among Republicans,” J. Ann Selzer, who conducted the telephone poll of 1,002 respondents, told Bloomberg News.

Related Posts

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on Mar 14, 2012 at 9:10 am

Morning CheckUp: March 14, 2012

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on Mar 14, 2012 at 7:00 am

ACA to cost less than first expected: “President Obama’s healthcare reform law coverage provisons will cost less but cover fewer people than first thought, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. The revised estimate of the law’s coverage provisions shows about 2 million fewer people gaining coverage by 2016, reducing the number of uninsured Americans by 30 million instead of the 32 million projected a year ago.” [The Hill]

Study finds high-spending Canadian hospitals do better: “The paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found Ontario hospitals that spent more on patient care had better outcomes, including lower mortality, fewer readmissions and fewer heart attack-related events.” [Capsules]

Texas GOP aide quits over cuts to women’s health: “Allison Catalano, who began working for Denton GOP Rep. Myra Crownover last summer, resigned her post this week, citing Crownover’s support for cuts to women’s health funding. In a letter to Crownover, Catalano wrote that she decided to resign her position because of ‘recent decisions made by you, Representative Crownover, along with other legislators’ related to the draconian cuts to the women’s health budget.” [Austin Chronicle]

Native American communities have limited access to Plan B: “Compared to the rest of the United States, the rates of sexual violence among Native American women are nearly twice as high; one in three Native women will be raped in her lifetime, according to the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center. But in many Native communities, women have little to no access to emergency contraception, the group reports in a new paper advocating for greater access.” [Mother Jones]

House sets vote on health board repeal: “House Republicans have set up a vote next week to repeal a board created by the 2010 healthcare law that the GOP has criticized as a rationing board that could force Medicare cuts without congressional approval. Republicans plan to move H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, as early as next week.” [The Hill]

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