Posts Tagged ‘abortion’

“Poor women who got unexpected and unwanted pregnancies for Christmas…are truly out of luck, because North Carolina’s fund for poor women’s abortions has already run out.” So begins an editorial written by the News & Observer on December 28, 1989. The N&O editors went on to take the NC General Assembly to task for cowing to Rep. Paul Stam’s anti-choice zealotry and voting to decimate the State Abortion Fund. 

Of course, fast forward twenty years and nothing has improved. The State Abortion Fund remains hostage to the kind of zealotry and lack of courage that’s not going away any time soon.  

The North Carolina Legislature created the State Abortion Fund in 1978, following the passage of the federal Hyde Amendment, which prohibited the use of Medicaid to pay for abortions under any circumstances. Lawsuits stemming from the Hyde Amendment eventually forced the federal government and states to allow Medicaid coverage for abortions in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment of the woman.  

The NC State Abortion Fund was designed to ensure that a woman’s constitutionally recognized right to make childbearing decisions for herself was not based solely on her ability to pay for that right. Therefore, eligibility for the State Abortion Fund was originally based solely on the woman’s income. 

Back in the day when the News & Observer and other media had ample reporters on the ground the State Abortion Fund featured prominently in their legislative coverage. Each year there was a fight for additional funding and challenges to eligibility. The apex of funding reached more than a million dollars, which still fell short of the need. Given today’s economy, no doubt women would turn to the Fund for help if help were still available.  

The 1989 editorial challenged legislators to imagine themselves as a low-income woman facing an unwanted pregnancy. They describe her utter desperation and then, in my favorite N&O writing ever, they go on to say, “Such a woman, caught in such a trap, doesn’t need a lecture on morals….What the poor and pregnant woman does need, and should get, is the same latitude of choice about continuing her pregnancy that is available to richer women—and was available to poor women who had the ‘luck’ to get pregnant before November.” 

I take this editorial out every time I need to be reminded that I’m not crazy. There was a time—albeit short lived–when abortion politics really centered on women’s lives, when women’s lives really mattered.

For years now I’ve feared we’d have to lose hard-won rights before we stopped taking them for granted.  Monday night’s vote by Wake County Commissioners to ban abortion coverage for employees and to overturn stated opposition to school re-segregation were certainly a major step backwards.

Using the specter of the past doesn’t really help galvanize today’s generation. In terms of abortion, most young women and men cannot fathom the desperation caused by an unwanted pregnancy decades ago.

First, birth control is more widely available, advertised and accessible. Not for everyone, of course, but for many. Second, we have reality shows, glossy magazines and wealthy celebrities that glamorize pregnancy in and outside of marriage.  And, of course, abortion remains legal today and therefore safe.

Even those of us born closer to 1973 when abortion was made legal by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v Wade tend to diminish the central importance of legal abortion to a woman’s fundamental ability to participate equally in society.  This has nothing to do with having an abortion and everything to do with having the right to have an abortion, use birth control and chart our own destiny.

It’s not going to get better before it gets worse, especially in light of Election 2010. So rather than wallow in misery, thinking about the grim days of illegal abortion, I’ve been thinking instead about the courage it took to help women persevere.

At the top of my pre-Roe list of heroes are the clergy who fought for legal abortion while helping women find safe providers. Started in 1967, the Clergy Consultation Service consisted of 27 pastors and rabbis in NYC who were committed to helping women navigate the treacherous and mostly illegal waters of abortion.

The group grew to include more than 1400 religious leaders across the country committed to helping women find safe abortions inside and outside of the U.S. They didn’t stop with referrals; these courageous and vocal clergy mounted a fight against state laws that criminalized abortion.

In a statement they released when they first went public, they wrote:

 “Therefore believing as clergymen that there are higher laws and moral obligations transcending legal codes, we believe that it is our pastoral responsibility and religious duty to give aid and assistance to all women with problem pregnancies.”

Of course, being pro-choice, they provided referrals for adoption and prenatal care as well as abortion. They simply did not impose their views. They saw woman as having moral authority, which meant she had the right to make her own decision.

Certainly, there are hundreds if not thousands of pro-choice clergy today. It’s just unfortunate that when we think of religion, especially in politics, we tend to think of vocal opposition to reproductive choice.

Maybe it’s delusional but I’m going to try to spend more time thinking about the good that came from the dark days of illegal abortion. I’m not saying we’re going there soon but I’m preparing for the courage it’s going to take to keep fighting forward.

While abortion as been safe and (more or less) legal here in North Carolina for decades, in many parts of the world abortion is still a risky proposition—particularly in Africa. Of the roughly 67,000 deaths each year from unsafe abortion, more than half are in Africa, and millions of African women suffer serious injuries. Young women in particular are disproportionately affected: between 30 and 60 women 24-years-old or younger die each day in Africa from unsafe abortion.

That’s what it’s like to be an African woman with an unintended pregnancy. Because contraception isn’t always accessible (what would you do if you went to the CVS day after day and they were just out of the pill; not just your brand but all pills) women may not be able to avoid an unwanted pregnancy if they want to. And because safe abortion care—with trained providers and in safe conditions—isn’t widely available, the decision to terminate an unwanted or mistimed pregnancy can cost a woman her life.

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We recently posted a piece written by PPFA President, Cecile Richards on the dangers and unintended consequences of criminalizing abortion.

Last week we got a glimpse of what it might really look like if anti-choicers got their way and abortion was only available illegally. Some women would lose their lives but what of the ones that survive only to get caught? Are these women criminals? Their doctors? Their partners or friends who drove them to their appointment or cared for them after the procedure?

Many people are surprised to learn that abortion in Australia is only legally available when the life, physical or mental health of the woman is in jeopardy. Last Thursday, an Australian woman Tegan Leach, was acquitted of inducing her own abortion via a shipment of RU-486 (commonly referred to as “the abortion pill”) sent by her partner’s sister in Ukraine. She faced up to seven years in jail while her partner faced three years for assisting her.

Reading transcripts of the trial, the whole case seemed to be the equivalent of a judicial clusterf*ck on many levels starting with the most basic. It could not be established for certain that Leach was, in fact, pregnant and, if she was, that she had not just experienced a spontaneous miscarriage. 
 

This was a truly historic reproductive rights case in Australia and one that brought about a public outcry to change the country’s restrictive abortion laws. Said Obstetrician Caroline D’Costa to ABC news: “I believe that the fact that they’ve been found not guilty is a very clear demonstration that the people of Queensland do not think these laws are appropriate in the 21st century.”

It seems that Dr. D’Costa could be right. The jury acquitted based on a technicality which required that that the drugs Leach took be “noxious” to her health which RU-486 (widely available throughout the U.S. and Europe) is clearly not. This outcome was succinctly summed up by RH Reality Check’s Robin Marty: “For the first time abortion opponents are seen doing what they really want to be doing: punishing women for not wanting to have a child.”

It looks like Australia’s citizens are just not willing to go that far. And, in spite of all the noise the anti’s make in our country, I truly believe that mainstream Americans would not be willing to take that step either.

The wheels have fallen off the truck for the Palin women.

First there’s Bristol touting an abstinence message.  Yes, that’s teen mother, Bristol Palin.  When asked by the very Palin friendly, anti-choice, pro-abstinence interviewer about how Bristol herself had decided to have pre-marital sex, she says, “Umm,  I think that’s too personal to talk about.”   Yep, that’s real helpful!  Thanks Bristol, way to “share your story and give your testimony.”  I’m sure lots of teen girls now will remain abstinent thanks to your shining example.

Then there’s Sarah”always off the rails” Palin giving a paid speech at First Baptist Church of Houston.  Palin says “the biggest advance of the abortion industry in America, truly, has been, of late, the passage of Obamacare.”

REALLY??? 

Remember Stupak.  Remember Ben Nelson. [ Health Care Reform post] Remember subsequent Executive Order. Not to mention local health insurance coverage fights.

Here’s Rachel Maddow on Mama Palin.

Alaska, don’t you want your Palins to come home?  PLEASE.

As a country, we are mere decades into a post-Roe world.

Surprising how easy that is to forget especially in an election where many candidates, even female candidates, build campaigns around a rabidly anti-choice stance. But what would the world look like if they had their way?

Planned Parenthood President, Cecile Richards blogged about this very topic on the Huffington Post. The picture isn’t pretty. Richards also brings up a good point not often addressed by the anti’s. If they had their way and women could no longer access safe abortion legally, how would this law be enforced? What about the women who would now (and did before Roe) access abortion at any cost including sacrificing their health and sometimes their lives?

I’ve done my share of Obama bashing. He has driven me nuts in his total unwillingness to protect and defend reproductive freedom—a core value to his political base. But, enough is enough.

The alternative, my friend, is sheer insanity. Just check out the winner of last night’s Republican primary in Delaware to see for yourself.

Obama is far from perfect but he has delivered and it’s time we amplify his wins, especially for women.

Before Palin’s mama grizzlies, I always thought of myself as a mama bear when defending my young. So, I’ll match her grizzlies any day with my North Carolina black bear mama self and tell you why as a mother I am thankful to President Obama for health care reform.

First, I don’t know a mother on this planet who is not happy about being able to provide healthcare to her children through their 26th birthday. Most of us know how precarious our health coverage was between college and our first decent job.

Who among us did not go without dental care or an annual Pap smear in our early twenties? My own souvenir from that period is a crown I was forced to get after a cavity went beyond redemption during my grad school, no health insurance days. So, thank you, Mr. President, for letting me keep my kids covered until they can stand on their own professional feet.

No one plans to get sick, especially with a chronic or debilitating illness, but it happens every day. And, if you or your family has to stay in the hospital longer than you’d ever imagined, no insurance company can say, too bad, you’ve reached your annual limit. No more of those, thanks to President Obama.

If your worst nightmare comes true and you or a loved one becomes paralyzed or dependent on expensive medical treatments to live, no insurance company can deny you coverage because you’ve reached some arbitrary maximize lifetime limit. Thank you, Mr. President.

Every one who has ever had a child knows how vulnerable a parent feels when their child hurts. Imagine being told your health insurance will not cover your child because her condition existed before you changed jobs and got a new plan. Healthcare reform did away with pre-existing conditions for children.  Thanks again, Mr. President.

The benefits go on. I’ve said nothing about the millions of families who have no health insurance for whom health care reform means affordable, accessible care.

And, what does the opposition offer? Vows to fight abortion, to defend marriage discrimination, to build larger walls to keep immigrants out and to protect America’s richest 2% from paying taxes  Really? This is where America should be headed? No more bashing Obama for me, this is seriously wrong.

“Extremist, Radical, Fundamentalist…? Yep! Terrorist…? Well, I prefer the term ‘freedom Fighter.’” – Justin Carl Moose

No matter the term he prefers, Justin Carl Moose is a terrorist and is currently in jail.  The Concord, NC resident was arrested this week by FBI after he provided bomb-making instructions both online and then to an informant working with the FBI.  The FBI’s confidential source phoned Moose and told him that his best friend’s wife was going to have an abortion.  Moose met with the source and gave him advice on making explosives necessary to bomb the NC health center and tips on how to plant the bomb.  Read the full story in the Charlotte Observer.

The unfortunate truth is that Planned Parenthood is no stranger to terrorist attacks.  Nearly everyday, our health centers face intimidation, threats, vandalism, and sometimes even violence.   Check out statistics on anti-choice violence.   North Carolina abortion providers have been victims of 2 bombings and 3 arson assaults in the last 15 years.

I remember the day in 2001, when we received an “anthrax” letter in our office in Chapel Hill.  I remember the nausea, confusion, and ultimately anger I felt.  What leads a person to feel so self-righteous that they feel justified in threatening, damaging,  and even killing others?

Abortion was a rite of passage for most of the girls I knew in the small Southern town where I spent my teenage years. If you knew about it, the Pill was available at the local health department but you had to drive two towns over, which required a car and a good excuse for disappearing after school.

Even if you knew about the health department, where the mother of one of our most popular loud-mouthed football players worked, there was the whole issue of admitting to having sex. No one did it. Only sluts went on dates planning to have sex. Many of us were saving ourselves for marriage and, if that didn’t work out, we could always ask for forgiveness. But birth control was a premeditated sin.

Some boys may have carried condoms but I suspect many of them thought having one might insult the girl’s virtue.

So teenagers did what teenagers have been doing forever, they pulled out. Since teenage boys and girls, for that matter, aren’t known for great control over their bodies, this meant most girls I knew ended up pregnant at some point.

Back then teenage pregnancy wasn’t a glorified star-studded alternative. Despite the suffocating milieu, many of the girls I knew had dreams of college. They wanted more than what our town offered. So they made the trip to Birmingham to have an abortion and get their first prescription for birth control pills. No dreams deferred.

But here’s the rub. These very same girls who lives were literally handed back to them because they were able to have an abortion would become consistent anti-choice voters each and every election.

I’ll never forget one shopping trip in 1984. We were circling around the Limited’s sales rack, searching for deals and talking Ronald Reagan. We’d all just turned 18. I said, “But Ronald Reagan is against abortion.” One of my two Ronald Reagan loving friends who had had an abortion at 16 (they both had) and was blissfully shopping for cute shorts before going off to college, turned and said to me with the roll of an eye, “Paige, that’s just one issue.” Oh really, I wanted to say, where would you be without it.

Hypocrisy knows no boundaries. The year I moved to New York City for graduate school, I was assigned a Roman Catholic suitemate. She told me she’d marched for life in DC and written her undergraduate thesis against abortion. She was in law school, living her second generation Italian immigrant family’s dream.

One night she came to my room and told me her period was late. She told me emphatically that she was not giving up her dream. She and her boyfriend had decided to have abortion. In fact, they had already been through this once. They got pregnant as undergraduates and chose an abortion then. I don’t know if she had the abortion before the March for Life or after the anti-choice college thesis but she managed to work it in.

She got her period the next day and told me that it must have been the confession.

Abortion is a life-giving back, life-saving, dream granting, human mistake forgiving medical procedure. And, I’m sick of the hypocrisy.

An employee at a Virginia elementary school has been suspended for handing out 4-inch tall plastic representations of fetuses to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. The principal of the school has also been placed on leave, although it seems to be unclear as to whether or not she knew the dolls were being distributed.

From the linked article:

“The teeny figures, in pink and brown, came with a “pro-life” message and information on fetal growth, according to one teacher.”

While this scenario raises a host of questions (like who actually thought this would be a good idea? or where does one even procure a large number of fetus dolls?), the thing i find most amusing/infuriating is that this person is guilty of the exact thing that the religious right routinely accuses liberals of: trying to indoctrinate children to feel a certain way about an issue.

How many times have we heard the cry from Republicans, anti-choicers, and others that “the gays” are trying to force their “lifestyle” on unsuspecting children? Or that sex ed classes are just thinly veiled advertisements for promiscuity, abortion, and Planned Parenthood? That children shouldn’t be confronted with these types of ideas and situations at such a young age? If this is true (and I am, by no means saying that it is), how is it then perfectly acceptable for anti-choicers to force their opinions and viewpoints on young children? You simply cannot have it both ways.

But to these people, indoctrination evidently only includes attempts to teach tolerance and scientific information, not blatant propaganda in the form of fetus dolls handed out to 8 year olds. I guess these types of issues are only problematic when one don’t agree with the way that they’re presented. That’s a great lesson for kids.