General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums10 Dangerous Anti-Abortion Bills That Are Already Gaining Traction This Year
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/02/18/3299871/terrible-abortion-bills/Less than two months into 2014, state legislatures are already busy crafting new attacks on reproductive health. The last three years have brought a record-breaking number of state-level restrictions on abortion, and lawmakers show no signs of letting up. In fact, abortion opponents in some states are simply getting more creative, using new language to ban the procedure and coming up with new ways to punish doctors. Here are the most problematic bills currently up for consideration:
1. Alabama is attempting to ban abortions after just six weeks.
Alabama lawmakers are preparing to hold a hearing on an abortion bill that would ban the procedure after a heartbeat can be detected which can occur as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. So-called heartbeat bills are so radical that they divide the anti-choice community. Last year, North Dakota become the first state to pass one, and that measure is currently blocked from taking effect because it violates Roe v. Wade. Proponents of heartbeat bills typically dont mince words about their desire to prevent women from having abortions. Its no secret that Im against abortion, and thats why I support the bill, Rep. Becky Nordgren (R), one of the co-sponsors of Alabamas bill, noted this week.
2. South Dakota may ban most abortions and threaten doctors with life in prison.
Proposed legislation in South Dakota could end up having a similar effect as a heartbeat bill, threatening to ban abortion after just seven weeks. The bill in question would prohibit the dismemberment or decapitation of certain living unborn children, vague language that could end up having far-reaching implications for abortion care in the state. It looks like its trying to ban abortion using language that is completely unfamiliar and very inflammatory, Elizabeth Nash, the states issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, told the Huffington Post. Doctors in violation of the proposed measure could face life in prison.
3. Oklahoma wants to follow in Texas footsteps and shut down abortion clinics.
This past summer, a harsh anti-abortion law in Texas captured national headlines after it forced dozens of clinics in the state to close. Now, Oklahoma is hoping to follow Texas lead. The two states are practically tripping over to see which one can make it the hardest to access abortion. Even though Oklahoma already has a law that imposes stringent restrictions on abortion providers, the proposed bill would tighten those restrictions even further to bring them in line with Texas law. It was approved by a Senate panel on Monday.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Abortion isn't new.
OregonBlue
(7,755 posts)to bring about an abortion.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)... when women will be dragged through the courts to prove they had a miscarriage and be faced with prison terms.
sinkingfeeling
(51,484 posts)Why can't I sue a doctor for emotional distress for having been forced to endure labor if I can sue years after having an abortion? I just wish these people had the same amount of concern for those already born as they do for embryos.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)My question is how much has he done on getting health care to those 15,000. Instead of sonogram for pregnant women, healthcare for all.
ananda
(28,890 posts)... with apologies to all chancres for the comparison.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Not nearly enough discussion on DU about the threats to choice.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Because its important!
WorseBeforeBetter
(11,441 posts)DU doesn't seem too interested in WV's chemical spills, or NC's coal ash, either. I don't remember "the olden days" quite this bad, with GD turned into another Lounge.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Which is a sad commentary on all the DU factions, I suppose.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)We could sustain this thread for days.
Oh, don't think I haven't noticed how these topics sink like a stone on DU. I'm sure there are others like yourself who've noticed as well.
Response to Comrade Grumpy (Reply #7)
Tuesday Afternoon This message was self-deleted by its author.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)What then is the precise and relevant amount of attention it should get; and on what objective measure is that number based on?
Else I'm compelled to think you are simply continuing those same threads you so decisively sneer at in this one, in other words-- you appear to be holding yourself to a lower standard than you hold others to.
Though I realize both the ethical and the mental convenience of that behavior (some may call it hypocrisy, but I'm sure you'll rationalize it otherwise, yes?), it certainly doesn't speak well to the courage of one's own convictions...
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)historylovr
(1,557 posts)theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Pretzel_Warrior
(8,361 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Pretty disgusting.
Response to theHandpuppet (Reply #15)
Tuesday Afternoon This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to Comrade Grumpy (Reply #12)
Tuesday Afternoon This message was self-deleted by its author.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)However, I thought with Roe vs Wade we had a right to abortion. What the hell went wrong? Damn Right to Lifers.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Control-Z
(15,682 posts)theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)I just checked it again... still working for me.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Small Accumulates
(149 posts)MadrasT
(7,237 posts)It's horrifying.
Really, really sick of people trying to legislate women's wombs.
We are not brood mares.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)And the targets are women and LGBTs. Look at the blitzkrieg of proposed legislation under the code phrase "religious liberty". Religious liberty my ass. They just want the right to oppress whomever they please.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,450 posts)Of course, most (if not all of it) is going to be repealed down the road or struck down in the courts, so they are fighting a losing battle to demographics.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)The state-by-state war on reproductive choice has reached such a fever pitch and is so well funded it could be years before women's health services could be restored in some states, if at all.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,450 posts)and they're still making it.
historylovr
(1,557 posts)theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Edited to add link:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/01/24/3202001/states-abortion-laws-budgets/
This article was published a few weeks ago but I thought it was a really interesting way to illustrate how some states are spending resources (and taxpayer monies) fighting reproductive choice. Perhaps such a presentation is a better way to enlighten people about how the GOP's agenda is wasting their money?
These Five States Have Spent More Than $3 Million Defending Anti-Abortion Laws
By Bryce Covert and Tara Culp-Ressler on January 24, 2014 at 12:14 pm
Five states Idaho, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas have spent a combined $3,228,000 defending strict anti-abortion laws over the past several years. But its not like that money has no better purpose. Heres a tally of what these states are spending the money to defend and what they could get instead.
KANSAS
Kansas has spent more than $1 million to have private law firms defend anti-abortion laws enacted over the last three years, including $179,000 in attorneys fees and expenses for federal and state lawsuits last year.
What Kansans are getting for that money: Kansas has enacted some of the harshest anti-abortion laws in the nation, including an omnibus measure to block tax breaks for abortion providers, require doctors to tell women about the disputed link between abortion and breast cancer, and define life as beginning at conception in the state constitution. The state has also attempted to defund Planned Parenthood and restrict elective insurance coverage for abortion.
What they could get instead: After Gov. Sam Brownback (R) signed tax cuts into law, education spending was estimated to drop $216 per student on top of a $745 decline between 2008 and 2013. The state is spending so little on public education that last year a panel of state judges ruled it has to increase funding by $440 million. That million-dollar figure spent on defending anti-abortion laws could also go to restoring some programs Brownback vetoed, such as the Local Environmental Protection Program, which cost $800,000. That program helped monitor water systems, and without it state officials warned that the state could see more health problems, lawsuits, and local fees for installing septic tanks and other systems.... MORE
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)January 22
The Associated Press
TOPEKA Kansas has paid private law firms slightly more than $1 million to defend anti-abortion law enacted during the past three years, the attorney general's office confirmed Wednesday.
The costs include $179,000 in attorneys' fees and expenses associated with federal and state lawsuit filed over restrictions enacted last year.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office disclosed the figures exclusively at the request of the Associated Press as hundreds of abortion opponents gathered at the Statehouse to mark the 41st anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion across the nation.
Abortion opponents have been able to enact a raft of new laws since Republican Gov. Sam Brownback took office in January 2011. He was scheduled to speak at a Statehouse rally... MORE
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/22/4768921/kansas-abortion-laws-defense-tops.html#storylink=cpy
And herein lies one of the biggest problems facing advocates of choice -- as anti-choice advocates and lobbyists on Capitol Hill push to eliminate any and all federal funding for contraception & abortion services/counseling, state governments have a free rein to actually spend taxpayer dollars in the millions to fight reproductive choice and to hire the best legal firms to do their bidding. The only way to fight back is to donate to those pro-choice organizations that are facing the battle for us, such as Planned Parenthood.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)State health officials mount robust defense of Texas' new abortion law
Health panel mounts defense of bill, saying critics haven't proven it causes undue burden, clinic closures
By David Saleh Rauf
December 26, 2013 | Updated: December 26, 2013 8:31pm
AUSTIN - Texas health officials have a message for the more than 19,000 folks who wrote in to oppose new abortion regulations: Each individual commenter failed to show that clinics will close or that women will face an undue burden under the rules.
In what amounts to a robust defense of Texas' sweeping new abortion law, the state Health and Human Services Commission is set to publish responses to the crush of public comments it received while wrapping up the last set of regulations for House Bill 2.
Final rules go live Friday in the Texas Register to spell out how the state will implement a portion of the law that requires clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers. That document will contain a 16-page preamble to directly address the 19,000-plus commenters who asked regulators to amend the rules to prevent potential widespread clinic closures by carving out waivers for existing facilities...
<snipping>
...In the document, state health officials argue the new standards will improve patient safety and said the rules are not intended to punish abortion clinics and do not "pose a substantial obstacle to a woman who seeks an abortion in Texas."
MORE
gollygee
(22,336 posts)Also, pregnancy is often measured by the first day of the last period, which means "6 weeks of pregnancy" can mean a 4-week fetus.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Many women will be denied a choice even before they realize they're pregnant!
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)Which is ridiculous! I knew really early with 3 of my 4 pregnancies - like 4 days before my period was even due. However, with one of them, I had a 'period' that lasted 10 days. I thought that was strange, so I went to the doctor to tell him I was still bleeding, could we start some tests? Turns out, I was pregnant. I was already 6 weeks at that point. And I'm someone who was seriously compulsive about pregnancy testing (I have very irregular periods). In my case, I was married and the pregnancy, while a total shock, was welcomed. I cannot imagine what my reaction would've been if it was an unwanted pregnancy and I was told, "you're pregnant, oh and it's too late for an abortion" What these states are doing to women is completely, absolutely inhumane.
Response to gollygee (Reply #33)
Name removed Message auto-removed
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Quantess
(27,630 posts)so that people will find this thread worth kicking.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)KatyaR
(3,447 posts)(snip)
The Oklahoma House has approved legislation requiring abortion providers to notify women whose fetuses have fatal conditions that hospice services are available as an alternative to an abortion.
The House voted 93-0 for the measure Thursday and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
The measure by Republican Rep. Randy Grau of Edmond extends informed consent requirements for women considering an abortion approved by lawmakers in previous years. The measure would apply to women whose fetuses have been diagnosed with a condition that will result in death within hours or days of birth.
(snip)
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our state legislature wants women to carry a fetus who has birth defects to term, but they'll give the fetus hospice care. Seriously? Apparently women are nothing but baby incubators to these people....
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)And 93-0. Please, if there is a God, don't let my car break down in Oklahoma.