Trouble in Mississippi for Women Needing Healthcare

Ahhh, Mississippi, you've got a law that's essentially threatening to shut down the one clinic providing abortions to women in the state.  (read the story here)  Well done with your attempts to push your uber-conservative beliefs on others.  This means that any poor (which is the majority of your state) or working woman would suffer an undue burden (see O'Connor's language in her dissent in Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Rights, 462 US 416 (1983), in her concurring in Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113 (1973), and in the plurality in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 US 833 (1992)) when seeking such medical care.  Thank goodness the remaining clinic is going to fight this new law.  I pray (yes, I, a person supporting a woman's right to choose appropriate medical care for herself, pray and do so on a very regular basis) that the clinic is successful and can continue protecting women's health in Mississippi.  I'll be honest, you're kind of the state that scrapes the bottom of the barrel . . .  maybe it's time you try a new approach to governing and life.

Showing our men some love and regulation

In the recent months, the Republican candidates seem to be vying for the most outlandish stance on women's health decision.  At the same time, a panel of ALL MEN testified before Congress about requiring religious employers to offer contraceptive coverage through their employer-based health insurance plans.  That news was followed by Rush Limbaugh calling a law student a slut and prostitute.  She happened to be testifying about the need for oral contraceptives to prevent ovarian cysts to preserve later fertility.

Well, fast forward to today's news:  an Ohio lawmaker has had enough with the absurd (that's my word) number of restrictions and requirements for women to receive an abortion in Ohio.  Currently, there is a bill in the Ohio legislature that would ban an abortion so long as there is a detectable fetal heartbeat.  (For convenience, it's called the "Heartbeat Bill.")  The bill, along with what is already enacted, will essentially make receiving an abortion a huge ordeal and be overly burdensome (again, my own legal conclusion).  Senator Nina Turner wants to statutorily require men seeking erectile dysfunction medicine to have to undergo the same amount of red tape that women seeking an abortion must go through.  In fact, she even matches the requirements of the anti-abortion bill to her own bill.  This is a fantastic ploy, and I'm loving it.  Keep it up, Senator Turner!  You've got my support!


For more information, see News Article


p.s.  I can't wait to see what Jon Stewart has to say about this.  You can see his show interviewing the President of Planned Parenthood here:  Interview With PP President

p.p.s.  Here is Jon Stewart's response to Rush's comments:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/jon-stewart-rush-limbaugh-video_n_1323455.html?ref=mostpopular