It’s About Control

These should be renamed "Progress and Liberty" pills... or "Tic-Tacs that get you laid", either way

This from Alternet.org, a frightening, but important new study that reveals how at least some of that old cliche about women “trapping” men into relationships with pregnancy is only part of the story. Much of the time, the reverse is true.

In just one illustrative case, a young woman who discovered that her boyfriend had been hiding her birth control pills, then confronted him about it, found herself locked in the bedroom while he was at work with a little food and water, often raped when he came home, and only managed to escape with the help of a reproductive health clinic.

You know, the ones the radical right is trying to close down or replace with their Christian counseling services.

The study starts a dialogue that needs to get into the mainstream as quickly as possible, while there’s still some millions left to direct to innovative approaches on comprehensive, science based sex education. We in the West owe “the pill” virtually all of our rights to an advancing sexual culture, high standards of living, and freedom of opportunity. Without shirking responsibility to tackle more obvious forms of sexual violence, we must also now acknowledge and address the fact that there are men out there who also look to “inflict” pregnancy on their partners, the better to control their bodies.

What Health Care Reform Means for Abortion Coverage

In previous posts, we discussed the abortion restrictions that kept sneaking their way in and out of the health care debate. This legislative clusterfuck was driven by conservative democrats like Rep. Bart Stupak, who were willing to hinge their support of the final bill, which does soooo many different things to address our fucked up system… based on this one. wedge. issue.

Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan

In order to gain the support of conservadems and assure last night’s 219-212 passage of health care reform, President Obama agreed to sign an executive order that maintains the existing law of the land: the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from being spent on abortion services. So if you recieve federal subsidies from the reform bill to buy health insurance and want to purchase elective abortion coverage, you must do it seperately and pay for it out of pocket. The final reform bill similarly affirms the Hyde Amendment.

So, why does this matter? Because the Hyde Amendment is not set in stone. It must be renewed every year. This is key, because earlier anti-abortion provisions added to the bill and early drafts of the executive order would have strengthened the Hyde Amendment restrictions by eliminating the need for renewal. As things stand now, the bill and the order affirm current restrictions without shielding them from change down the road. Read more

So the status quo has been maintained, and both sides of the wedge are pissed. Pro-choicers, including the National Organization for Women, see this as a betrayal from the President, who is on public record opposing the Hyde Amendment. And Pro-lifers? They didn’t get the stronger restrictions they wanted, so Stupak’s a “Baby Killer“… go figure.

Actually, don’t figure. It will make your head hurt. Go finger instead.

“U” is for Utah, Uterus, and Un-fucking-believable

It’s starting to look like we need to hold a contest for most repressive and ignorant state in the union. Sure, I know Texas wouldn’t fare too well (or maybe perform fabulously depending on how you rate this), with some of the things we get up to in an average week. Just read about our new history and social studies standards.

But in any competition for biggest, self righteous cocksucker, and I say that with all due respect to my fellow cocksuckers, Utah is a shoe-in for at least one award.

Don't be fooled. The map says it's part of the United States of America, but this maladjusted tetris block of territory is barren of just about anything worthy of the union. Ok, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is hot stuff, but if it's a choice between them and being able to make decisions about one's own body, anyone who goes with the first is welcome to this little slice of American Taliban.

State legislators have now approved a law that makes it criminal to have a miscarriage. It sounds ridiculous; a law that penalizes women for what must already be one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives?

And it is ridiculous. Further, it’s a sensationalist mischaracterization of the law. Wait, wait, don’t kick me out of the feminist club; this is a complicated one and it needs some explaining.

The law specifically targets women who have a miscarriage by an “intentional or knowing act”. Originally it had the word “reckless” in there too, but the language was removed to get the governor’s John Hancock on it. So what on earth does that mean? Abortion is effectively banned in Utah?

Not quite. See there’s this case, shocking to many people of Utah, wherein a young woman paid someone $150 to beat her up and provoke a miscarriage. Apparently, her boyfriend was none too happy about the unwanted pregnancy and she was desperate. So state representative Carl Wimmer was inspired to craft this bill. Under it, decisions like the one this girl made would be punishable by a MINIMUM of 15 years in prison because she would now be charged with murder.

Wimmer makes no bones at all about his aims. He says his work is explicitly aimed at tearing down Roe vs. Wade. He gives many of the standard, weaselly answers when pressed on the matter. He says his beef is a states’ rights matter, that once he succeeds in bringing down Roe vs. Wade that women can just go somewhere else if they want, he sees no conflict between supporting the death penalty and opposing abortion, and he has no interest or plan for providing prenatal care and education or postpartum resources for young mothers. There are plenty of volunteer groups to help, he says, it’s not government’s job. It is government’s job though to make the decision for her, of course.

He’s a member of a national legislator’s association which exchanges plans for bills and describes his work as a model for other states to follow. Don’t pretend it’ll end here.

I thought about offering a series of hypothetical arguments that would expose the fallacies and hypocrisies of this. But a few things stop me. One, let’s be realistic; I’m preaching to the choir here. Two, if I have to explain why this is deranged to anyone because they genuinely don’t get it, it’ll break my heart. Three, I’m just plain tired. So damn tired of all this.

I’m going to go look for some good news now. I don’t know about you, but I need a heap of it if I’m going to keep hope alive and find the will to fight.

A Half Million Bakers Fuck With One Oven

I have to wonder if our increasingly Huxley-like dystopian future practically guarantees that we’re eventually going to fossilize any remains of real “choice” out there so that the only things that remain are a sort of freeze dried, Folger’s crystals version of freedom.

I apologize for that sentence. Stuff like this can provoke me.

Jezebel.com (a site all peoples should be addicted to) reports the formation of a new reality show. You know, like this one:

Now what’s bizarre is that this is a reality show… where actors play written roles. That’s strange enough.

But here’s what’s perverse, and, if you will, imagine with me ol’ Regis shouting out, “Who Wants to Decide if This Woman Gets an Abortion!?!?!”

I won’t ramble on, because I want you to follow the link and read about it in detail. You’ll find pilots for the show there and everything.

So here’s a summary. In the show, called “Bump”, real women put up, for a vast internet audience, their stories and their pregnancies… for America to vote on the outcome. Deciding if the fetus is kept, given up for adoption after carrying to term, or aborted. After watching actors play the women. Room for commercials.

By my reckoning, this here is the 6th sign of the apocalypse.

Planned Parenthood schools Tim Tebow

Trust women. How simple is that? Beautifully done, Planned Parenthood. 

Side note: What do people talk about leading up to the Super Bowl? Commercials. What do they talk about leading up to the Rugby World Cup? Fuckin’ Rugby. I rest my case.

Football Player Tim Tebow on What Should Happen in Your Womb

Article excerpt from AlterNet.org By Tana Ganeva

“How stupid would you feel if you aborted the next Tim Tebow, leaving the world with only tens of thousands of other football players?

That’s the nightmare scenario presented in a Focus on the Family ad set to air during the Super Ball. The completely irreplacable Tebow (who’s also left his mark on the world by promoting abstinence till marriage) will appear in the ad with his mom, who ignored the advice of doctors to have an abortion after contracting amebic dysentery, and wants to tell you all about that wise decision. (Several organizations are launching letter-writing campaigns to get CBS execs to change their minds about running the ad.)

Strangely, CBS has rejected issue advertising in the past. In 2004, the network refused to run ads by both PETA and MoveOn.org. The MoveOn ad made the wildly controversial point that Bush had increased the national deficit; PETA’s involved scantily clad women.

Also too edgy for CBS: the notion that Jesus espoused universal. In 2004 the United Church of Christ submitted an ad showing a bouncer blocking a gay couple from entering a Church, with the tagline: Jesus Didn’t Turn People away. Neither do we.

The network rejected the Church’s ad because it “touches on and/or takes a position on one side of a current controversial issue of public importance.”

Read the rest of the article at AlterNet.org.

Did you fill out the Sexual Freedom Survey?

If not, YOU BETTER, or SiP will hunt you down and take away your sexy license.

Take the survey now!!!!

Let’s start the New Year off in a proactive way, by adding your voice to the Sexual Freedom Report!

This questionnaire will be the foundation for the first report on the State of Sexual Freedom in America today.  If you already responded to the questionnaire, and many of you have, thank you!  If not, we would really value your opinions!

As I shared with you in the first email, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation plans to publish regular reports on the sexual freedom movement, designed to help identify the social changes taking place, or that must take place for progress to be made, on the diverse issues on which we work. We are particularly interested in recognizing opportunities for already-established sexual freedom issue groups to work together.

We would like to know what you think are the most pressing sexual freedom issues this country is facing and so we are asking for a bit of your time and a lot of your knowledge and expertise.

We will treat your responses as confidential, unless you specifically give us permission to share your comments.  To protect the confidentiality of our participants, we will download the responses each day and they will be taken completely offline.  With that assurance, we are also asking that you provide your contact information on the survey.

I do hope that you’ll take some time right now to respond to the questionnaire.  What you think really does matter to us and to this project.

Please click here or at the link below to begin the survey.

Thanks for your time and your participation!

Ricci Levy, Executive Director

PS:  Please make sure to give us an email address in the questionnaire so that we can email you a copy of the completed report immediately prior to its public release.

Senators kill Anti-Abortion Amendment

(Photo via TMC.net)

The Stupak Amendment in the health care reform bill that was passed by the House of Representatives would have represented a major blow to the accessibility of abortion services in America.

Yesterday it’s incarnation in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson (D) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R), was tabled by a vote of 54-45. Outspoken opponents of the amendment included both Senators from California,  Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) and Dianne Feinstein (D). Regardless of what does make it through to the final bill, at least we dodged a bullet on this one. Read more

Why she escorts, brought to you by Scarleteen

“I’m a volunteer with the clinic. We have some protesters out front who will try to shout at you. They don’t know why you’re here, but they’re going to shout at you anyway. You don’t have to listen to them. I can just walk alongside and keep myself between them and you. I’m sorry you have to deal with this today.”

Their fear is why I escort. Their gratitude is why I keep coming back.”

READ THE WHOLE STORY

Health Care Reform Bill passes House containing abortion restrictions

The Stupak-Pitt amendment added to HR 3962 before it passed the House of Representatives restricts federal funding from being used to cover abortion services. In other words, if you want to get an abortion covered by heath insurance, you’d need to have already purchased supplemental coverage ahead of time. So make sure you plan ahead for those unintended pregnancies, ok? See for yourself

Or maybe not, because pro-choice Dems may sink the bill in the senate. Health care reform… or women’s rights… this is not a choice I envy.

(Image from here)