I Can't believe this Country some times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rosered32]

U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, LAW THREATENS WOMEN'S HEALTH; CRIMINALIZES SAFE, EARLY ABORTIONS

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the federal abortion ban in the cases Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood and Gonzales v. Carhart. The ban, passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in 2003, criminalizes abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy that doctors say are safe and the best to protect women's health. Planned Parenthood denounced today's ruling.

"This ruling flies in the face of 30 years of Supreme Court precedent and the best interest of women's health and safety," said Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) Deputy Director of Litigation and Law Eve Gartner, who argued Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood . "Today the court took away an important option for doctors who seek to provide the best and safest care to their patients. This ruling tells women that politicians, not doctors, will make their health care decisions for them."



"Today's decision is a shocking setback for women's health," added Gartner. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in her dissent, '…the Court deprives women of the right to make an autonomous choice, even at the expense of their safety.'



When President Bush signed the federal abortion ban in 2003, PPFA, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG), the Center for Reproductive Rights, the National Abortion Federation and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged it in federal district courts around the country. Leading ob/gyns at major medical institutions testified against the ban because it would prevent them from providing the care that is best to protect their patients' health. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Nurses Association and many other medical groups oppose the federal ban. Until now, every court that examined the ban struck it down because, among other things, it fails to protect women's health.

"Today is a dark day for women's health and safety," said Planned Parenthood: Shasta-Diablo (PPSD) President Heather Saunders Estes, "Today's ruling shows utter disregard for women's health and safety. It tells women that politicans, and not doctors, will make their healthcare decisions for them."

Just seven years ago, the Supreme Court had struck down a very similar abortion ban enacted in Nebraska because it did not have a health exception, with Justice O'Connor providing the critical vote that upheld protections for women's health and safety. Since then, Justice O'Connor retired and was replaced on the court by Justice Alito.



"Last November, voters sent politicians the message to stop interfering in private family healthcare decisions," said Estes, "It's time for Congress to focus on real solutions for women and families."



For more information, visit www.federalabortionban.org.

Comments

[bull.livejournal.com]

The law does have a Life of The Mother exception

[rosered32.livejournal.com]

I understand, but it still makes me frustrated that we had to even bother with this ban.

It should have been left alone. It is truly up to the woman if she really wants the abortion at this point. I don't care what your politics are, if it isn't you, then you shouldn't have a say in the choice. The politicians aren't raising these kids.

[bull.livejournal.com]

I would pose the following question

Is abortion so special that it is the one medical procedure that cannot have limits placed on it?

[rosered32.livejournal.com]

I say no it isn't so special, but why is it the one that so many people think they have a right to tell others what is proper and what isn't.

Personally, I would never wait that long if I was going to have an abortion. But again that is me and I am not every woman who has to make that decision.

And is abortion so special that it can turn two people against each other? It is.

[bull.livejournal.com]

Morality is one of the driving factors of legislation and of just simply living as who you are, and well no matter what everyone is going to have a opinion and something like this being such a polorizing issue is just going to be high on the "This is what I think" list.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good decision to me. I can maybe maybe see a case for a first trimester abortion not being a human being. But second trimester? I don't think so. Plus, if it's taking you that long to make up your mind whether or not to abort the thing then you're probably better off emotionally and psychologically not aborting it.

[rosered32.livejournal.com]

Or you could be unaware you are pregnant and yes some women are that smart. Or you haven't been able to get away from your family to make the arrangements sooner. Or you're hiding it from your family and friends ...

Again it isn't MY place to say who or what you should do. It is the woman in the situation. What I might do or not is not the question. It is about what some women need. And if they can't make the choice to NOT have a kid, what makes them Parent Material? Of course really they should not have sex if they can't protect themselves from having to make this decision in the first place. But that is just another issue. Again It isn't my place to say who should and shouldn't have an abortion at any time. I can only be accountable for me. BUT I still want the choice for every woman to make or not make.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. I know it's an issue you feel passionately about, but the way I see it abortion is the last refuge of the irresponsible. You made a grown up decision, you deal with the grown up consequences. Unaware that you're pregnant? Sorry. No sympathy. You had sex + you're missing periods + you're feeling sick in the mornings and whatever else = someone who's probably too dumb to find their way to an abortion clinic anyway so it doesn't matter. Women who "can't get away from their families?" Yes, we'd all like to believe that their are legions of weak, frightened women being held hostage by their mutant hillbilly families but that doesn't make it so. Maybe the families they're trying so hard to get away from just want them to accept responsibility for their actions? Hiding it from your family and friends... HINT: if you want to keep that up then waiting until the second trimester is probably a really bad idea.

Of course really they should not have sex if they can't protect themselves from having to make this decision in the first place. But that is just another issue.

I'm afraid it's exactly the issue. And fighting for the rights of people who have made bad decisions to make further bad decisions does not help them.

[rosered32.livejournal.com]

Okay just a minute.. .
Some women(a bunch that I know) miss periods all the time. They have never had a regular cycle, so that shouldn't be part of your agueement.

And it is another issues as I could point out the millions of women who are not getting their birth control prescriptions filled as their pharmisist is refusing to fill them!

Here is a sample of what I mean:


Banning Pharmacist Refusals

by Heather Merriam


It seems incredible, but this is what the world has come to: a progressive city like Austin, TX, needs to use its muscle to make sure that women can receive birth control, including emergency contraception.

In order to protect residents who depend on Austin's community health centers, Planned Parenthood of Austin Surgical and Sexual Health Services (PPASSHS) worked with City Council Member Brewster McCracken to make sure that Walgreens, the city's pharmaceutical contractor, filled all prescriptions for patients enrolled in its medical assistance program "without discrimination or delay." This seemingly no-brainer of a policy started September 1.

The city's five-year, $14 million contract with Walgreens provides drug coverage for about 50,000 patients receiving medical services from its health clinics and enrollees in the Medical Assistance Plan.

Some pharmacists around the country have refused to fill birth control, including emergency contraception, prescriptions because they have biases against those drugs. According to the Houston Chronicle, "In the Dallas area, several women have been denied prescriptions, including a rape victim who was refused emergency contraception, and a mother of two who was denied birth control pills."

The City of Austin's contract with Walgreens would ensure that patients treated at the City of Austin/Travis County Community Health Centers and the enrollees in the City of Austin/Travis County Medical Assistance Programs are spared that discrimination. "Instead of waiting for a woman in Austin to get denied her prescriptions, we're putting in an extra layer of protection and taking a positive, proactive approach to the problem," Danielle Tierney, PPASSH director of public affairs told the Houston Chronicle.

"A lot of folks in the prescription program may be riding the bus, or may not have access to transportation," McCracken told the newspaper. These patients rely on the clinics as their primary source of health care and Walgreens as their source for prescriptions.

To date, Austin is the first city in the United States to require that pharmacies do their jobs. Other cities that are having problems with pharmacist refusals should take Austin's lead.








I am not saying that abortions are not abused. I am not saying that this is the only solution for this problem. I am saying it should still be a choice and shouldn't be a fight.
I mean in TX they can't teach sex education only abstinance. Are young people still having sex after that? Of course they are. But are they as well informed? Proabably not. It is not that abortion is the best answer. It is that is may be some people's answer and I for one want that to be a choice they don't have to go to back alleys to find.

And as a woman, I want to know that I still have the choice if I need it and I don't have to jump through hoops to make it.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Switch pharmacists. It's not that hard. And it's not like there aren't other birth control methods available if you can't get your pill for whatever reason.

I am for sex education. Refusing to teach it in schools is inexcusable. I think we can agree on that. Anything that makes there be fewer abortions is a good thing.

[rosered32.livejournal.com]

I agree on the sex ed part of this. Again fewer abortions is the key here. But switching pharamacists is not as easy as I or you wish it were. And if Emergency Contraception were available over the counter every where then I think I would have less issue with banning 2nd trimester abortions.

The problem I see is that we can't ban sex ed and other methods of birth control besides condoms and ban abortions. Abstinance isn't working and making some feel dirty for using masterbation to get themselves over wanting sex is not okay either. So what is the answer? I don't know. I just know that banning abortions doesn't make less pregnancies.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

What's so hard about switching pharmacies? I've done it. Yeah it's a paperwork hassle, but I think a little hassle is worth it for the situation you're describing.

[poeso.livejournal.com]

I'm curious what your feelings of a pregnancy due to rape is.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I'm curious what they are too because that's a situation beyond my imagining. I won't even pretend to be able to know what that would feel like. But I can't believe an abortion would make someone in that situation feel any better.

[rosered32.livejournal.com]

But can you see that raising a child they didn't want in the first place and were forced to conceive may be more tramatic?

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Well at least if you're raising it you don't have its death on your conscience.

[rosered32.livejournal.com]

Okay... if you see it that way. I wouldn't. Again it is a differnt view and there wouldn't be a 2nd trimester issue here. Again if Emeregency Contraception is available then it is is a non-issue.

[poeso.livejournal.com]

Your right an abortion may not make the situation "better", but carrying a child to term that was conceived under such violence can't be much easier.