HHS & Libraries

[neadods]

My f-list exploded last night with the news that the Department of Health and Human Services is not only attempting to make it legal for care providers to refuse to provide care on the basis of their religious beliefs, but to also redefine most forms of contraception as abortion. I hope that the stink as this splatters across the web and print media will lead to a quick burial and mutters of "we were only thinking about it," just as with their previous attempt to rule all women to be treated as "pre-pregnant." (And if you want to read a rant on the subject, naamah_darling's is the best (and utterly NSFW) with a less profane follow up citing places where strongly worded outrage will do a little good.

There is going to have to be a Supreme Court case about personal rights (as in "your right to swing your fist ends at my nose and your religion doesn't trump my right to direct my wishes on health care.") And we need it soon.

But in a quieter way, sometimes the good guys win. Two library stories. In one, local members of a church group got their panties in a wad because the library computers can (and are used to) access Teen Planned Parenthood. (Among other complaints, sex ed is "pornography.") The library board voted unanimously to keep the site linked.

In the other, a librarian responds to the request to remove a children's book about gay marriage. Beautifully written anti-censorship piece, with a side order of "the Founding Fathers didn't found this country for the same reason your minister told you."

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

"pre-pregnant"?!?!?!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I kid you not. The idea was that because women often don't know right away that they're pregnant and because there is such a difference to the fetus early in development, women should assume at all times that they're going to be knocked up and then their babies will come out just fine.

Surprisingly, half the population over the age of 12 was not thrilled at the notion of being considered such a conscientious mother 24/7/365. Especially the ones who didn't plan on being a mother at all.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea either!! What utter insanity!

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

As a person who lives in a country where women still don't have the rights over their own body (abortion is still illegal in Ireland) and have only recently won the right to easy access to contraception, I'm always horrified when I hear about legislation like this being reintroduced in other countries. People forget what it's like to live in a country where things like the X Case happens.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Every now and then the pro life party gets so enthusiastic about the idea of banning abortion again that they have to be reminded that women (and girls) are dying in South America because you can't even abort an ectopic pregnancy before the tube ruptures, because the baby has to have the chance at life that it does not, in fact, have.

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

[Shakes Head] before the X case, in 1992, it was basically the same here. The child's life was put above the mother's in all cases. Even now, the abortion procedure still can't be carried out in Ireland, but at least they won't physically stop you from leaving the country, like what happened to the poor girl in the X case. If that case hadn't been resolved in the constitiion, pregnant women would still be denied the right to travel outside the republic - crazy, crazy stuff.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

There was a case here that hasn't been publicized enough about how these policies not only put "baby" before mother but CORPSE before mother. A woman's baby died in utero and she had to visit something like four hospitals before one of them would do the theraputic abortion to get it out of her as it rotted and turned septic.

Once upon a time, even Catholic hospitals didn't get upset about performing abortions in that case. But not now, noooooo....

pregnant women would still be denied the right to travel outside the republic

And because non-pregnant woman can presumably go where they please when they please, it's a lovely way to criminalize the state of pregnancy.

[missbaxter.livejournal.com]

To the first piece of news, I can only say WTF?! And think of it as a warning, 'cause even if I do live in another country, this crap comes up time and again.
And re: the library stories - Yeah. Librarians: saving the world since the introduction of Batgirl...

[biichan.livejournal.com]

... what the fucking fuck?

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Some folks here only argue with the Taliban because they're doing it in the name of the wrong religion.