eluhfonts:

You can argue as much as you want about when life starts and whether it is in or out of the womb, but I will tell you one thing: the body of a woman who had a back alley abortion and died because of the lack of regulations and health codes is the farthest thing from life that you can imagine.

storybook:

Uh, we do. Hence the word…CHOOSE.

Do you really not get this yet?

I’m pretty sure it’s pro-choice people who support access to safer births.

It’s pro-choice people who support social programs that help children…you know, EAT and survive and live good lives.

It’s pro-choice people that support public education.

It’s pro-choice people that want better access to prenatal care.

It’s pro-choice people that support maternal health.

It’s pro-choice people that support paid maternity/paternity leave.

So….Who’s pro-LIFE now?

(Source: checkmateprochoicers)

slvrdragon:

Ok, listen, let’s just get this out there. 

Feminism means you believe that women and men deserve equal rights, legally, socially, etc. Equal to men. Equal to everyone. There’s no other strings attached.

Some feminists think if you’re feminist then you need to be all this other crap as well, or god help you you’re an idiot for not following their usually strict code for feminism. A lot of it is atheist, pro choice and supporting of the LGBT community. We tried to get over the “feminists are only female” thing why can’t we get over the feminists are only one certain ay thing?

Guess what! A feminist can be Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Dao, Protestant, any religion he or she likes. Feminism doesn’t tie in with how you pray, or what your deity or lack of deity is. Yeah sure maybe a lot of Feminists are atheist, but that doesn’t mean we should attack the ones that aren’t. Feminists can be pro life. Why? Doesn’t that take away women’s rights? You know, not necessarily. It’s possible to be pro-life and still think women deserve the choice. It’s possible that they believe life begins at conception and maybe this is for religious reasons and maybe it isn’t. Being a feminist and pro life simply dictates that they believe no matter what gender the kid is, that they should have the same rights as everyone else. Why do pro-life feminists get told they “failed” feminism? I think those who are willing to act so ignorantly towards their fellow feminists, as ignorant as any asswipe that believes women belong in the kitchen and not in business, are the ones failing feminism, because you are alienating and attacking those who actually agree with you on something. Instead of building on that, you’re putting up walls and not being constructive at all. And guess what? Maybe they believe that men and women deserve equal rights but don’t believe that being gay is a right, on either side.

ALL THAT FEMINISM DICTATES IS YOU BELIEVE MEN AND WOMEN AND ANY IN-BETWEEN ARE EQUAL AND FREE. THERE ARE NO STRINGS. JUST THAT BELIEF. SIMPLE. 

I used to wonder why feminists had such a negative stigma in society, and thanks for clearing that up, angry feminist blogs, but it needs to stop. Stop getting angry that a feminist doesn’t agree to YOUR feminist standards and that they conflict with your idea of feminism. It’s just as ignorant and oppressive as the people who get angry at women for taking more jobs in society because it conflicts with their idea of what a woman’s job is, and it will get us NOWHERE. 

You can be personally pro-life and be a feminist. That is, you would not personally choose abortion for yourself.

But you cannot be a feminist and work to strip women of their rights and bodily autonomy.

Therefore, feminists are pro-choice.

prochoicegeneration:

rabbleprochoice:

prochoiceandlovingit:

What is wrong with people. Are you seriously saying that stealing records of patients is a good thing? Who even does that?

Operation Rescue was given these records.

Let that all sink in, please.

OPERATION RESCUE, a pro-life group with known pro-life terrorists in it, was given the names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. of patients who received abortions NOT EVEN A MONTH AGO, these patient records are from April 2012, it is MAY THIRD 2012.

The group is claiming that a man delivered these records to them and said he obtained these records legally.

Uh.

No.

Medical records, even for people who get abortions, are confidential and it is a serious crime to disclose them to ANYONE who does not have a reason to look at them. A crime was most certainly committed and I feel comfortable in predicting that several more will be committed in the form of harassing letters left at these patients’ homes by anonymous pro-life activists.

Anyone who saw those records should be fined, at the very least. And anyone involved in obtaining them should be put in jail.

This is actually quite telling. There has been legislation passed that requires abortions to be reported to the state. Guess how the individual who gave these records to Operation Rescue obtained them…from legislative offices.

And this isn’t the first time he’s stolen records and given them to outside parties (the first time he gave them to the governor’s office, attorney general’s office, and a medical licensing organization). He claims to have given them to Operation Rescue because the governor, attorney general, and medical licensing organization didn’t do anything with them so he brought the second batch of medical records he stole to Operation Rescue because:

“It’s my position that nothing happens in the state without the public scrutinizing it,” he said. “There are too many back-room deals without our knowledge, then things are swept out the door and ignored unless someone said something.”

Because a vigilante pro-life terrorist organization WILL do something about it. 

And also, can we just take a moment to side eye the fact that a person’s MEDICAL HISTORY is, according to this guy, a matter of public scrutiny. Because people who receive abortions already don’t get shamed or harassed enough.

He claims that cash envelopes used to pay for services is proof that the clinic these records were stolen from is proof the clinic is committing tax fraud.

Okay.

Let’s walk through this:

Things that are legal:

• Getting an abortion
• Maintaining patient confidentiality
• Paying for abortion services in cash

Things that are illegal:

• Breaking patient confidentiality and invading patient privacy
• Stealing
• Harassing people
• Sharing confidential medical records with outside parties
• Bombing clinics or murdering abortion doctors, which Operation Rescue has been connected to

And people are questioning if a crime was committed…

The majority of patients are low-income and considered at-risk. What a nightmare for the clinic staff and patients. 

Love,

Rabble

There is no way this was legal. You can only obtain patient records through signed consent of the patient/patient’s legal guardian or through court order. This is beyond fucked up.

prolongedeyecontact:

alittlepainalittlepleasure:

Dear President Obama,

I am appalled at your Obamacare mandate that forced religious employers to pay for health insurance coverage that includes birth control and drugs like Plan B, the morning after pill, and ella that can cause abortions.

Today, you revised your mandate in a way that is just as offensive.

Your revised mandate will have religious employers refer women to their insurance company for coverage that still violates their moral and religious beliefs. Under this plan, every insurance company will be obligated to provide coverage of abortion-causing drugs at no cost.
Essentially, religious groups will still be mandated to offer plans that cover both birth control and the ella abortion drug - only now insurance companies will offer them at no charge.
This ObamaCare rule still tramples on Americans’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion. It’s a fig leaf, not a compromise. Whether they are affiliated with a church or not, employers will still be forced to pay an insurance company for coverage that includes abortion-inducing drug.

I oppose this revised pro-abortion mandate and urge you to overturn it immediately.

Sincerely,


(After signing this petition, please cut and paste the text of it and send it to Obama by going to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.)

[warning: all links are, unfortunately, cis-centric]

It’s pretty embarrassing that 6,547 people are so misinformed they signed this piece of drivel. For those interested in the truth:

Plan B (aka the morning-after pill) and Ella, which are classified as emergency contraception, do not cause abortions. If you look at the science into EC it’s very clear on the subject: there are no post-fertilization effects caused by these medications, so even if you go against virtually the entire scientific and medical communities and define pregnancy as fertilization rather than implantation, emergency contraception is still not abortion.

the administration’s guidance does not include drugs that can induce abortions. As the rule explains that insurers and employers must cover “Evidence-based items or services that have in effect a rating of A or B in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)” and “the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration.” The contraception language is included in the HRSA guidelines, it reads: “All Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.” Those include:

Male Condom, Female Condom, Diaphragm with Spermicide, Sponge with Spermicide, Cervical Cap with Spermicide, Spermicide Alone, Oral Contraceptives (a.k.a. “the pill”), Patch, Vaginal Contraceptive Ring, Shot/Injection, Emergency Contraceptives, IUD, Implantable Rod, Vasectomy, Transcervical Surgical Sterilization Implant for women

These methods act to “prevent pregnancy before, and only before, fertilization occurs.” Emergency Contraceptives like Plan B — which Murphy attempted to paint as an “abortion pill”– halts the union of sperm and oocyte and inhibits ovulation. It does not work after fertilization.

Also see:

• Mechanism of Action of Emergency Contraceptive Pills
• Planned Parenthood: The Difference Between Emergency Contraception and Medication Abortion
• Letter to Kathleen Sebelius: Comments on CMS-9992-IFC2, Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Coverage of Preventive Services Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• Guttmacher: Past Due: Emergency Contraception In U.S Reproductive Health Programs Overseas

Churches were always exempt from the rule, and with the revised mandate religious employers with objections do not have to offer the coverage or pay for it. Their employees will receive the coverage from the insurance company (a third party) directly at no cost. It’s really pretty simple. Birth control existing and the fact that your employees are using it doesn’t infringe on your freedom of religion. However, not covering contraception when your plans cover other prescription medications has been shown to violate Title VII (the Civil Rights Act of 1964). 

The mandate is not unconstitutional nor does it infringe on your freedom of religion. Getting involved in the healthcare of your secular employees, on the other hand, is an infringement on their rights. Further, conscience protections that are virtually the same as Obama’s have been upheld in court.

Honestly, you really should know the intricacies of an issue before signing petitions against something that will positively affect the lives and health of a significant portion of the country.

Further Reading:

• Text of the 2011 mandate [also see: here, here, here, here]
• Final rule for mandate [after religious exemptions were debated] and the prior interim final rule
• IOM’s July 2011 report “Clinical Preventative Services for Women: Closing the Gaps” [report brief here, testimony before House Judiciary Committee here, testimony before House Oversight & Government Reform Committee here]
• Press release: IOM report recommends 8 additional preventative health services to promote women’s health [also here]
• HHS press release
• Fact sheet: women’s preventative services and religious institutions
• Covered preventative services under ACA for women
• Coverage guidelines for women’s preventative services [also here]
• Women and the Affordable Care Act
• Pregnant women and the ACA
• Women’s preventative health services in the new health care law: FAQ
• Contraceptive coverage “accommodation” of religiously-affiliated employers: FAQ
• Access to preventative health care for women in the new health care law: FAQ
• Covering prescription contraceptives in employee health plans: how this coverage saves money
• Sampling of Catholic-affiliated institutions that provide contraceptive coverage
• Title VII requires covered employers to provide contraceptive coverage
• Amicus Brief, Department of Health and Human Services, et al., v. State of Florida, et al.
• Letter to the President opposing the religious employer exemption
• Contraception mandate doesn’t include abortifacients
• Mandate isn’t unconstitutional
• Majority of Pill users take them for non-contraceptive purposes
• Birth control is medical care
• 5 reasons why the contraceptive coverage guarantee is so important
• Benefits and savings from contraception coverage [also here]
• The White House explains its contraceptives compromise
• Obama’s contraception rule a matter of life-altering care for some
• Obama’s conscience protection clause has been upheld in court
• Large Catholic institutions offered contraception even before required to do so [also here]
• Catholic hospitals can’t discriminate based on sex in hiring, shouldn’t discriminate based on sex in coverage
• Nation’s largest Catholic university offers a contraceptive benefit
• Majority of Catholics support requiring health plans to provide contraception
• Insurance coverage of contraceptives [also here]
• Obama and the Bishops: Is the White House Caving on Birth Control Coverage?
• Expand Access, Not Exemptions
• Actual Costs of Birth Control
• Catholic groups fight contraceptive rule, but many already offer coverage
• Major mainstream religious leaders support White House on contraceptive coverage in health reform
• Health Insurance Coverage a Courtesy? No, It’s Your—And My—Wages

Now there’s no excuse for misrepresenting this issue ever again.

(via bebinn)

stfuantichoicers:

bebinn:

I’ve written about the methods of legal abortion: procedures performed by licensed medical professionals in a clean, sterile environment, with clean, sterile tools. But what about illegal abortions?

Those who push for more restrictions on abortion access - really, those who push for abortion to be made illegal - seem unwilling to acknowledge the disastrous alternatives. Many who are anti-choice have no memories of what life was like before Roe v. Wade in 1973. We know abortion rates stay fairly steady, regardless of legality. How are these illegal abortions procured? What options are there for those without the money or connections to a discrete physician?

To answer these questions, I’ve compiled a list of methods of illegal, or “back-alley” abortions.

Waldo L. Fielding, M.D. wrote an article for the New York Times in 2008, describing what he saw while working as a gynecologist in New York City from 1948 to 1953.

The familiar symbol of illegal abortion is the infamous “coat hanger” — which may be the symbol, but is in no way a myth. In my years in New York, several women arrived with a hanger still in place. Whoever put it in — perhaps the patient herself — found it trapped in the cervix and could not remove it.

…

Almost any implement you can imagine had been and was used to start an abortion — darning needles, crochet hooks, cut-glass salt shakers, soda bottles, sometimes intact, sometimes with the top broken off.

Another method that I did not encounter, but heard about from colleagues in other hospitals, was a soap solution forced through the cervical canal with a syringe. This could cause almost immediate death if a bubble in the solution entered a blood vessel and was transported to the heart.

The worst case I saw, and one I hope no one else will ever have to face, was that of a nurse who was admitted with what looked like a partly delivered umbilical cord. Yet as soon as we examined her, we realized that what we thought was the cord was in fact part of her intestine, which had been hooked and torn by whatever implement had been used in the abortion. It took six hours of surgery to remove the infected uterus and ovaries and repair the part of the bowel that was still functional.

A case report from 1911 describes a self-induced abortion using a knitting needle.

In the afternoon the day before her admission she had attempted to pass into the uterus a bone knitting needle…During the attempt the needle broke off short, leaving about half of it inside her body…During the next four days the temperature gradually rose, until on the fifth day after admission it was 102.2 F, and the pulse rate 100. On the evening of this day uterine hemorrhage occurred…and at 6:30 next morning the patient aborted, a fetus some 4 in. in length…The needle had just missed the right border of the rectum, the wall of the bowel being slightly torn superficially…

A case study from 1972 goes into greater detail about the use of a soap solution.

A case report from 1964 describes a woman’s attempt to self-abort with turpentine.

Believing herself to be pregnant she had, on the afternoon preceding admission, injected into her uterus the contents of a rectal syringe filled with turpentine and water. Immediately thereafter, she experienced a sharp burning sensation which “went all through me up to my chest.” This was followed by a convulsive seizure. Two hours later she began to have paroxysms of coughing productive of a bloody sputum.

A case history from 1961 describes two women’s attempts to self-abort with Lysol. One woman survived. The other did not.

The second patient was a 26-year-old French Canadian woman, married, but separated from her husband. She was…3 1/2 months pregnant. She had used a vaginal douche of concentrated Lysol solution 25 hours before admission…On examination there was erythema of the thighs and vulva. Pieces of placental tissue were passed but the abortion remained incomplete. The day after admission renal shut-down became apparent…A full-blown picture of lower nephron nephrosis [acute renal failure] developed rapidly in this case…The patient’s condition deteriorated rapidly and she died on the sixth day in acute pulmonary edema [fluid in the lungs].

Those who got them done by others didn’t fare much better (PDF). (1964)

…this 21-year-old single girl…went to an abortionist who inserted a catheter and wire into her cervix. The wire was removed after four days when chills, fever, crampy lower abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting developed. Symptoms persisted until she came to the emergency ward with a temperature of 103 F (39.4 C) and a shaking chill…Her abdomen was rigid, with diffuse tenderness and absence of bowel sounds. There was tenderness, also, on pelvic and rectal palpation, the uterus was enlarged with necrotic [dead] tissue extruding from the cervix…She was discharged to her home after 17 days, only to return 10 days later with a temperature of 105 F (40.6 C)…Two days later…a laporotomy was done…and total hysterectomy [removal of the uterus]…She was…sterile at the age of 21.

…this 25-year-old married woman was given a soap-and-bleach douche by an abortionist. Following the douche, fever and chills developed with vaginal bleeding and crampy lower abdominal pain. On admission she had a temperature of 103 F (39.4 C), which rose to 106 F (41.4 C)…an emergency hysterectomy was done, following which she had a cardiac arrest. She was resuscitated, but arrested a second time and did not respond to resuscitation.

Some women attempted to induce miscarriage by drinking poisons such as aloe, ergot of rye, savin oil (derived from a juniper plant), teas made from tansy, pennyroyal, rue, and nightshade, high doses of vitamin C, and other natural “remedies.”

Dr. Garson Romalis, who survived two attempts on his life, gave a speech in 2008 in which he described what he saw in med school.

The first time I started to think about abortion was in 1960, when I was in second year medical school. I was assigned the case of a young woman who had died of a septic abortion. She had aborted herself using slippery elm bark…The young woman in our case developed an overwhelming infection. At autopsy she had multiple abscesses throughout her body, in her brain, lungs, liver and abdomen.

I have never forgotten that case.

…

I will never forget the 17-year-old girl lying on a stretcher with 6 feet of small bowel protruding from her vagina. She survived.

I will never forget the jaundiced woman in liver and kidney failure, in septic shock, with very severe anemia, whose life we were unable to save.

Some women were also told that they could induce miscarriage by undergoing physical stress, such as vigorous exercise, jumping off tables, bellyflopping onto a hard surface, receiving punches, kicks or other blows to their stomachs, or throwing themselves down the stairs.

None of these methods were guaranteed to work. Women would be left injured, ill, sterile, or dead.

Was that hard to read? It should be. That was the reality of pre-Roe America, and for some, it is still their reality. Those who can’t afford abortions, can’t get to clinics, or can’t tell anyone about their situation, turn to these methods, and worse. In countries where abortion is illegal, this is what people are offered.

Lysol, carbonic acid, coat hangers, stairs, and fists are not surgical instruments. Back alleys, kitchens, and motel rooms are not operating rooms.

Regardless of your opinion on abortion, this is what happens when abortion is no longer available. Keeping abortion legal is the only moral option.

This is why outlawing abortion will NEVER be a “pro-life” move. This is why we fight for the rights of uterus-owners.