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KILLING US SOFTLY On abortion were one compromise away from third world statusThe Florida Squeeze
by nashville_brook
http://thefloridasqueeze.com/2015/04/19/killing-us-softly-on-abortion-were-one-compromise-away-from-third-world-status/
This week I traveled to Tallahassee to tell my abortion story to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Along with two other women, we went to make womens voices heard as the fate of the Mandatory Wait Bill (SB 724) was considered.
I put considered in scare quotes because we all know that theres no consideration in these matters. And, the fact that I was the only one of the three of us who was able to tell my story proves they never intended to deliberate. They hid behind a procedural rule to cut off testimony, because what could women possibly add to a debate thats already been decided? The suppressed testimony of the two other women can be found below. They had a lot to add, as youll learn when you watch these videos, and its outrageous that they werent permitted to be heard.
Diane's unheard story:
Barbara's unheard story:
My own testimony focused on the fact that while our stories are different, we share the opinion that we dont need Tallahassee politicians inserting themselves into our lives to remind us of the seriousness of our decisions. Everyone knows that mandatory wait laws are impediments made in bad faith by snickering opponents of reproductive rights.
Its clear to me that the only way to fight back is to step out of the shadows, so let the headlines read Local Woman Has Abortion 25 Years ago: Still Doesnt Regret It.
In the 40-plus years since Roe v. Wade, weve lost so much ground that reproductive freedom barely exists anymore, and this threatens our basic human rights as women. I believe that if we dont put a human face on it were ceding another victory to our opposition.
It was a mistake we made in the 90s. We thought that finally having a Democratic president after 12 years of Reagan/Bush meant we could rest easy on this issue of womens rights. The rising tide would float all boats. We were wrong.
This is precisely when things went haywire. Political thinkers and Democrats in Congress began asking, Where can women compromise? And the answer was late term abortion, which is a procedure thats used only under the most extreme circumstances when the life of mother or child is at stake. People needing this procedure arent seeking birth control. Theyre fighting for their lives. And yet this seemed a reasonable place to cede ground and it was the camels nose under the tent.
Once you abandon the foundational premise that were equal members of society with full agency over our healthcare decisions, the forces that desire to keep us in our place are empowered on all levels. Forget equal pay, or the right to seek healthcare without discrimination. Were all daddys little girls now.
more at link --> http://thefloridasqueeze.com/2015/04/19/killing-us-softly-on-abortion-were-one-compromise-away-from-third-world-status/
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)THANK YOU, and please thank them, for us, for traveling to testify. The fact they cut off testimony before you all could speak suggests that something -- you, maybe? -- made them fear the fixed game they had planned out would be exposed.
This is a huge issue for all of us, and Republicans have been running the table for far too long.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)No surprise the people without big checks in their hands are swiftly booed from the agenda.
But we are all listening to her. And to all of you.
And no amount of cutesy rules-trolling will be enough to silence everyone.
Novara
(5,754 posts)This, and it scares the hell out of me. Who ever imagined we'd re-fight the entire BIRTH CONTROL battle?
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)it's been treated like a "niche" issue, but it's a cornerstone of equal rights.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)We DID win this battle, decades ago, but have not fought hard enough to keep it.
It seems like women's rights have been determined to be a "soft target" for people obsessed with controlling the lives and health of others.
We're not just fighting for abortion and birth control, but to keep women from going to prison for "suspicious miscarriages" and the like.
We have to take it all back, and require our Democratic candidates to be fully and vociferously onboard.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)sinned...Death Penalty.
Even on their Pet Project on anti-abortion, once the child is born...hey girl, been nice knowing you...good luck.
Cretins and Hypocrites.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)anti-woman themes are culturally encoded and reinforced.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)women, maybe? Then there is the D side: A woman and possibly a Tejano (not Cubano) Hispanic. That's a Wide Gulf there.
Novara
(5,754 posts)Since the right is losing their war on LGBT people, they're turning to women as their next target. See, they know they can't stop the LGBT progress that's steamrolling through America (and will be finalized with the SCOTUS decision this summer, I'm sure). They've mostly lost the racial wars with the Civil Rights Movement, so they know they can't revisit that, even though they've been trying all throughout Obama's presidency. Women make a convenient target for them - and I'd say their last real chance at remaining powerful. Their entitled white male patriarchy is threatened and they're desperately fighting back with all they've got. They've lost the war against the races and they're losing the war against gays. Now it's women's turn.
I think it will take a Women's Liberation Movement 2.0 to re-take what we've been losing since the 80s and since Reagan Ruined Everything.
I'm ready for it. Are you?
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)between our Planned Parenthood and Equality Florida (LGBT) groups -- and you are correct, they ARE coming after women b/c they're losing the battle against LGBT rights.
their political strategy requires the creation of outcasts because they have nothing to offer without "evil ones" that can be railed against.
we have to circle the wagons on this. in the past it's been all too easy for Dems to go soft on women's issues. we have to make everyone understand that equal rights are the third rail that cannot be touched.
Novara
(5,754 posts)No talk about "abortion should be safe, legal, and rare." Nope, it needs to be safe, legal, and readily available.
No talk about religious exemptions for goddamn birth control. My body; my choice whether to have children and how many.
No more $0.77 for every goddamn dollar a man makes. I want equal pay, dammit.
It's time to bring back the ERA.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)haikugal
(6,476 posts)Rec'd, bookmarked for later...this is a huge issue!
PeaceNikki
(27,985 posts)People keep using a phrase first coined when flight pants were all the rage, here's a quote from RBG a few months ago:
In an interview with ELLE last month, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that she thought that the country would "wake up" and realize that the state-by-state restrictions on abortion were untenable and that we "can never go back" to the situation before Roe, when abortions were only "for women who can afford to travel to a neighboring state." Yet it seems to me that we have gone back to that time; right now poor women are in effect being denied abortions because they can't afford them, or can't afford the gas to get to a clinic that is hundreds of miles awayor can't afford all that and to stay overnight in a hotel to comply with a 24-hour waiting period.
From: http://www.elle.com/life-love/society-career/the-abortion-choice
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)The powerful always have options. Can always protect their privacy; find financial and social support. Barriers to others are small inconveniences to them.
But a waiting period or mandatory counseling, or a six-hour drive is enough to put a procedure out of reach for many. Which is clearly the goal, illegal though that goal may be.
And Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a national treasure. I worry what will happen when she is no longer there to hold the fort.
PeaceNikki
(27,985 posts)nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)i basically created my political identity on abortion in high school in the 80s. i learned debate and rhetoric so i could win arguments. did women's rights work in college, and *attended* demonstrations and rallies all thru the 90s and aughts.
BUT it wasn't until very recently that i had the ability to really engage. part of that is living in FL where we have a solid progressive infrastructure to do these things...part of it is simply having more time and personal space for engagement. it's a privilege in the fullest sense of the word.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)jen63
(813 posts)I hate to be a one issue voter, but may have to become one; that's how important this issue is to me. I'm way past the childbearing years, but this country is looking more like the Handmaid's Tale with every passing election. I want my DIL and grand daughters (if I have any) to have the same rights I had 30 years ago. It was hard enough for we rural people to access then. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that this is the same country I grew up in.
PeaceNikki
(27,985 posts)jen63
(813 posts)that this country is voting in these nut jobs, PeaceNikki, some of whom are in our own party! It's almost crazy making! Ugh.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)the more work that's required.
hell, the fact that we've got so many in our own party who don't get it shows how much ground we've lost.
jen63
(813 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)You stand against abortion rights -- or for ridiculous compromises like insisting it should be "rare" -- YOU LOSE, period.
It ought to have always been that way, and it's way past time to make sure it is in the future.
jen63
(813 posts)will be me. No compromising on this issue is acceptable. Women are totally able to make these decisions on our own, without ANY interference.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/04/15/oregon-democrats-kill-reproductive-health-bill-included-abortion-provision/
An Oregon bill that would have codified the right to affordable, full-spectrum reproductive health care was killed by the states Democratic leadership last week because of a provision that would have increased access to abortion.
(snip)
The proposal would have required all health insurance plans to cover a wide range of reproductive health services, including contraception, abortion, prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum care, at low costs. It would also have allowed pharmacies to dispense a 12-month supply of birth control at one time, and reduced cost sharing and deductibles for abortion care.
But the language on abortion proved a sticking point even for the Oregon legislature, which has a Democratic super-majority and a track record of supporting abortions rights. Senators in the health committee failed to even give the bill a hearing date, killing it by default.
Health committee chair Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham), who was also a sponsor of the bill, did not schedule it because she didnt think she could get the votes from her caucus, and it was absolutely because of the inclusion of abortion in the bill, Aimee Santos-Lyons, director of programs for Western States Center, told RH Reality Check. The Western States Center backed the bill. Senators didnt want to be asked to vote on abortion and have that on their record. They find it a difficult issue to go public on.
jen63
(813 posts)and I was in disbelief! "Reaching across the aisle," is going to be deadly for women.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)There's nothing to compromise here, but we will hear there is some reasonable "halfway point" to human rights for women; that it's radically "leftist" to demand full respect and dignity.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)we expect to live in a society that views us as equals. it might be a singular concern, but it encompasses a world of political action.
it isn't just about abortion, it's about all of our rights. Restricting access to abortion is a symptom of what this country's government, i.e. men and religious fundies, really think about women and it's up to us to stop them.
jen63
(813 posts)jen63
(813 posts)Ilsa
(61,675 posts)Let them show how unreasonable they are: handcuff all of us who have had D&Cs or abortions. Not just last week, but EVER. And the doctors who performed them. We need a number. A headcount.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)STUDY: Abortion Waiting Periods Cause Excessive Emotional And Financial Hardships For Women
Forcing women to wait a 24-hour period between consulting with an abortion doctor and legally terminating their pregnancy can cause excessive hardships, a new study finds. The Texas Policy Evaluation Project, a three-year research project studying the impact of the restrictive reproductive health laws that Texas passed in 2011, surveyed over 300 women who sought an abortion in Texas last year the majority of whom reported that the states mandatory waiting period put an emotional and financial burden on them.
Many women struggled to get to a clinic for the required counseling session the day before their abortion. The studys participants traveled an average of 42 miles to visit the nearest clinic, but some were forced to travel as far as 400 miles away from their homes to comply with the law. And nearly half of the women incurred additional costs from the 24-hour waiting period $146 on average because making multiple trips to a clinic required them to pay for extra transportation and child care on top of the cost of the abortion procedure. Ultimately, nearly one third of the respondents said the waiting period negatively effected their emotional well-being.
Dr. Daniel Grossman, the vice president for research at Ibis Reproductive Health and a researcher with the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, said in a statement that the waiting period is an ineffective policy for multiple reasons: it clearly puts a strain on women, and it doesnt actually change their minds about whether to have an abortion. We found that the requirement to visit the clinic at least twice was burdensome for some women and created logistical barriers to scheduling the abortion. Women also reported being equally confident about their decision after seeing the ultrasound and hearing its description, Grossman explained.
That falls in line with previous research that demonstrates the barriers to abortion care favored by the anti-choice community such as waiting periods, counseling sessions, and mandatory ultrasounds dont do anything to sway womens decision about terminating a pregnancy. In fact, theyre simply emotionally manipulative tactics to shame women and make them feel guilty about making their own decision about their body.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)It's obscenely insulting to begin with to suggest a woman needs a legislature to "help" her her remember to consider carefully whether she needs a medical procedure or not.
Novara
(5,754 posts)We're not stupid. These laws treat us like we're too damn dumb to know what we're doing. And we're not getting angry enough about it. Too many have bought into the shame narrative, which is exactly playing into their hands.
They slut-shame us and we let them do it because to defend oneself is responding from a point of weakness. We have to make it a position of strength. First, erase the shame. Refuse to be shamed.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)redruddyred
(1,615 posts)make me think thrice abt heterosexual sex.
my conclusion rounds one two and three: no thanks.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)reddread
(6,896 posts)what difference does it make replacing Thurgood Marshall with a serial EOC harrasser?
its all good. up there.