[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
The Supreme Court has been making horrible decisions lately. Frankly, I hope these decisions bite them and the supporters in the ass.

First one: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down a Massachusetts law that barred protests, counseling and other speech near abortion clinics.

“A painted line on the sidewalk is easy to enforce, but the prime objective of the First Amendment is not efficiency,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in a majority opinion that was joined by the court’s four-member liberal wing.

The law, enacted in 2007, created 35-foot buffer zones around entrances to abortion clinics. State officials said the law was a response to a history of harassment and violence at abortion clinics in Massachusetts, including a shooting rampage at two facilities in 1994.

What is so hillarious is that the Supreme Court has a huge buffer zone itself. If you ever protested in front of the Supreme Court before, you aren't allowed to be on the steps. You have to be off the steps when you protest. I mean...it has a 35 foot buffer zone that this clinic was trying to get. Yet, I haven't heard any one tried to get this buffer zone in front of the Supreme Court taken down because it violated their freedom of speech.

More personal thought )

Then the second, more fucked up one (imo): WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage for contraception under the Affordable Care Act violated a federal law protecting religious freedom. It was, a dissent said, “a decision of startling breadth.”

The 5-to-4 ruling, which applied to two companies owned by Christian families, opened the door to many challenges from corporations over laws that they claim violate their religious liberty.

I really hope this ruling comes back and bites supporters in the ass. It would suck for these people if they had relatives denied certain medical services like blood transfusions and meds for mental illness because it went against their relatives' employer's beliefs. Worst, if their relative or friend's employer was against any medical intervention. An employer has no place in their employee's health, whether if it's reproductive or general. However, I hope this costs the republicans their power in the House between this election and the one in 2016.
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
Catholic, anti-abortion Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad could soon find himself in an uncomfortable position: He may have to sign off on payments for every Medicaid-funded abortion in his state.

A bill requiring that authorization is sitting on the Republican's desk after moving through the statehouse. If Branstad signs it, Iowa is likely to be the only state that would have the unique requirement.

Iowa's Medicaid program covers a small number of abortions each year due to rape, incest, fetal deformity or to protect a mother's life. Currently handled by the state Department of Human Services, the Medicaid reimbursements cost the state less than $20,000 last fiscal year.

The change in who approves the payment is a result of Iowa's unusual political landscape. It is one of only three states with a divided legislature, with Republicans controlling the state House and Democrats the Senate. Blocking funds for Medicaid abortions has been a priority for some conservative Iowa Republicans in recent years, but past efforts to change the rules — as well as make some of the more sweeping abortion restrictions seen in other GOP-majority states —have failed to advance in the Senate.

But a split legislature can lead to unusual deal-making. In this case, the abortion plan was negotiated as part of a complex health care bill that included accepting additional federal dollars to expand low-income health care in the state — a key priority for Democrats. Republicans hope by putting the decision into the hands of an anti-abortion governor, fewer public dollars will be spent on abortions. Democrats say they expect no changes, but abortion rights advocates fear it could restrict access to abortions for poor women.


More )
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From PP:
The Obama administration has issued final rules guaranteeing women coverage for birth control with no co-pays. Your boss, your insurer, or your college shouldn't be able to stop you from getting coverage. But it's not official yet -- you have until JUNE 19 to tell the Dept. of Health and Human Services that you support coverage for all
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From NOW:
UPDATE (Feb. 7, 2012): Oh, no! Senior Obama adviser David Axelrod went on television Tuesday morning and suggested the president may cave to the Catholic bishops on birth control after all.

This comes after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops intensified its lobbying and media spin campaign following the Department of Health and Human Services' recent decision against expanding a so-called conscience or refusal clause. Expanding the refusal clause would have allowed religiously affiliated employers to evade a key provision of the Affordable Care Act by refusing to offer their workers health care plans that cover birth control.

President Obama needs to hear from you right away, even if you wrote him before the decision was released -- tell him not to cave to the bishops! New polling shows a strong majority of voters think that women employed by Catholic hospitals and universities should have the same rights to contraceptive coverage as other women, and a majority of Catholics agree with this sentiment.

Please send the president a message AGAIN!
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From NARAL:
On December 7, the Obama administration interfered with a decision from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA was about to follow medical experts’ recommendations and remove an age restriction on the emergency contraceptive Plan B®. At the last minute, the Secretary of Health and Human Services overruled the recommendation that would have allowed women of all ages to buy Plan B® without a prescription.

The Obama administration has broken a key promise to the American people that it would base its decisions on sound science and what’s in the best interest of women’s health. We had a major opportunity to improve young women’s access to contraception, which is the best way to reduce the need for abortion, and the Obama administration missed the mark.

Add your name to our letter expressing your disappointment to the Obama administration.
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From NOW:
President Obama is on the brink of a decision that could throw access to basic birth control under the bus. Under intense lobbying from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the president is poised to potentially expand an already sweeping refusal clause that allows employers to deny birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Background )

President Obama needs to hear from those who do not represent the narrow view of the bishops (who publicly refer to offering contraceptive coverage to individual women in the United States as an attempt to "neuter religion"). He needs to hear from you now.
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From NOW:
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is receiving comments from the public about proposed regulations for the new state-based health insurance exchanges and qualified health plans under the new health care reform law. NOW wants to make sure that women's access to insurance coverage for abortion care is made simple and affordable.

Write your own comment or use NOW's sample comment below by cutting and pasting it into the appropriate space on the government regulations website. The deadline for comments is Oct. 31, so act NOW!

Sample Comment from NOW )
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From Credo:
The extreme anti-choice members of Congress have launched yet another all-out attack on Planned Parenthood.

This time, Congressman Cliff Stearns, as Chairman of a House oversight committee, has initiated a massive investigation into the activities of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates based on the blatantly incorrect assertion by rightwing activists that Planned Parenthood misuses federal funds to pay for abortion services.1

Reps. Henry Waxman and Dianna DeGette have written a letter to Rep. Stearns, asking him to stop the investigation of Planned Parenthood and accusing him of using this investigation to further his vendetta against Planned Parenthood. This investigation is nothing more than a backdoor tactic to shut clinics down by harassing the organization and creating a significant drain on its management and resources.

Tell Rep. Stearns to stop abusing his position of authority to launch a backdoor attack to shut down Planned Parenthood. Join Reps. Waxman and DeGette in calling for an end to this politically motivated and completely baseless investigation. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

More )

Planned Parenthood provides an invaluable service by providing family planning and other vital health care services to women. One in five women in the U.S. have visited a Planned Parenthood clinic at some point in her lifetime. We must stand up against this politically motivated attack on Planned Parenthood to ensure that, once again, the anti-woman forces in Congress fail in their attempt to shut down Planned Parenthood.
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From Now:
Opponents of women's access to contraception have stepped up pressure on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand an exemption allowing some religious institutions to deny birth control insurance coverage to their employees. This exemption should not have been included in the HHS rules in the first place. But religious extremists are lobbying hard to convince HHS to completely remove the requirement for full insurance coverage of contraception from the new regulations. This would be a huge loss for women.

Take action NOW: Write your own comment or use NOW's sample comment below by cutting and pasting it into the appropriate space on the government regulations website. The deadline for comments is Sept. 30

This is the comment from NOW if you want to use it instead of writing your own:
their comment )
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
There's a very real risk that abortion coverage could be made so complicated it becomes virtually unavailable – so we need to act now.

Despite our best efforts, last year's health reform bill included onerous new restrictions on abortion coverage. But there's hope: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is still making decisions about how to actually put the law into effect.

If they get it wrong, women could lose access to abortion coverage. HHS is accepting public comments on the law, but for a limited time only. We need to speak out by September 16.

Tell HHS to protect women's access to abortion coverage
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From Naral:
Copays for birth control are ending. That’s great news. But now, opponents are all-out attacking this great policy.

A Fox News contributor from Family PAC Federal compared no-cost birth control to getting manicures and pedicures. And Rep. Steve King of Iowa recently spoke out against birth control on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, saying that no-cost birth-control would make us "a dying civilization."

It’s just plain insulting. We can’t let distortions like these go unanswered.

We have to make sure the Obama administration knows we support this new policy, plus we have to weigh in on one more piece: certain religious employers may be allowed to opt out of the requirement to cover birth control at no cost.

HHS is accepting comments on this refusal provision. Send a message to HHS now to say that all women should have access to contraceptive coverage, regardless of where they work.
[identity profile] lynn82md.livejournal.com
From NARAL:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will accept medical experts’ recommendation that birth control be covered by insurance with no copays.

The end of copays for birth control is the biggest victory for women’s health in a generation!

It’s mind blowing that women who fall on hard times are forced to choose between paying their bills and staying on birth control. Your action ends this dilemma for women in the future – every time they fill their birth-control prescription at the pharmacy counter and no longer have to pay a copay.

The HHS policy helps make near-universal contraceptive coverage a reality. It will allow a woman to choose the birth-control method that she and her doctor agree works best for her, whether that’s a pill, patch, IUD, or something else.

As we mark this progress, I also want to let you know that the Obama administration is proposing to allow certain employers to opt out of the requirement. We believe that all women should have access to contraceptive coverage, regardless of their employer.

Improving women’s access to birth control is positive in so many ways. A woman who can plan when to have a family is able to participate in society more fully. Allowing women to plan and space their pregnancies contributes to healthy childbearing. And ultimately, fewer unintended pregnancies can reduce the need for abortion.

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