Treating the Pill as Abortion, Draft Regulation Stirs Debate

[question everything]

Source: WSJ

By STEPHANIE SIMON
July 31, 2008; Page A11

The Bush Administration has ignited a furor with a proposed definition of pregnancy that has the effect of classifying some of the most widely used methods of contraception as abortion. A draft regulation, still being revised and debated, treats most birth-control pills and intrauterine devices as abortion because they can work by preventing fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. The regulation considers that destroying "the life of a human being." Many medical groups disagree. They hold that pregnancy isn't established until several days after conception, when the fertilized egg has grown to a cluster of several dozen cells and burrowed into the uterine wall. Anything that disrupts that process, in their view, is contraception.

(snip)

If the draft regulation were to prompt some insurance companies to drop coverage for prescription birth control, "that would be fantastic," said Tom McClusky, a strategist with the conservative Family Research Council. The draft could still be revised or rejected. Or the administration could enact it at any point; no congressional approval is needed. (The next president could just as easily reverse it.) Legal challenges would likely hold up the regulation's enforcement, but even so, the religious right -- a key Republican constituency in this election season -- could claim an important victory as their views would be embedded in federal law.

The regulation's stated purpose is to improve enforcement of existing federal laws that protect some medical professionals' right to refuse to participate or assist in abortion. In a lengthy preamble entitled "The Problem," the draft argues that state laws too often coerce health-care workers into providing services they find immoral. Among the laws considered coercive: Requirements that emergency rooms offer rape victims the morning-after pill, insurance plans cover contraception as part of prescription-drug benefits, and pharmacists fill prescriptions for birth control. The draft regulation would weaken these laws by expanding the right of conscientious objection. The White House said the administration "has an obligation to enforce" that right and is "exploring a number of options."

If the regulation is enacted, insurers, hospitals, HMOs and other institutions could claim that a law requiring them to dispense contraception or subsidize an IUD discriminated against their religious convictions. State and local governments would have to certify in writing that they don't practice such discrimination. Those who didn't comply could lose federal funding or be sued for damages. The draft also extends the conscience objection to most staff members and volunteers working for health-care providers. So, for instance, an employer couldn't punish a clinic receptionist for refusing to make appointments for patients seeking birth-control pills.






Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121745387879898315.html (subscription)

---

I wonder what the Bushes used to have only one pregnancy

[CottonBear]

1. If I were Laura, it would have been permanent abstinence. n/t

[zbdent]

7. The silicone chip inside her head ...

doesn't allow her to say "no" ...

[pfitz59]

46. Laura is a beard!

She was inseminated with a turkey baster!

[LeftyMom]

2. As far as their one pregnancy goes

it's barely a secret that some heavy duty fertility treatment was involved in that.

[Iris]

12. So maybe the question is what form of bc do the twins use?

[mac56]

15. Ummm...their personalities?

Rimshot!

[happygoluckytoyou]

19. uncle cheney and a shotgun

[LeftyMom]

20. Who cares?

They seem nice enough, and it's not their fault that their dad is such an evil bastard.

[Iris]

24. I do. If the whole point is to take away choices for all women, they are fair game.

[madeline_con]

38. I agree. That's an excellent point! n/t

[yardwork]

41. That likely means that there more than two fetuses originally.

Meaning that the others were removed. Meaning that Laura probably had multiple abortions during her pregnancy, according to the fundamentalist Tali-Christian definition.

All this, no doubt, conveniently before the chimp got religion. He got his family planning. The peasants can suffer.

[liberal N proud]

3. Is this a regulation that insurance companies would adopt?

Why is bu$h writing regulations for the insurance industry? This is a what the fuck issue.

Many insurance companies already don't cover birth control but they will cover Viagra.

[question everything]

5. Yes, claiming that this would be against their "beliefs."

So far, McCain is mum on the issue...

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. You got that backwards. This is the insurance companies writing

the regulations.

Covering birth control is a losing proposition for them. As long as birth control is a choice, and they have to cover it, they will wind up paying, and they are not in business to hand out money. If birth control can be regulated as a 'medical necessity' most BC users will wind up paying for their own and the insurance industry will only have to cover the relatively few that are required by a doctor for the patient's physical well-being.

Of course, the industry ideal would be everybody paying for insurance policies while never having to pay on any claims.

[liberal N proud]

14. I would think that the prospect of paying the health cost for a birth

and another life would be more expensive that the cost of a few pills.

If I were running an insurance company, the pills would be passed out to all customers free of charge. To hell with the fundies, it is about dollars and sense.

[question everything]

16. Several employer-provided insurance already limit the coverage for

delivery.

Pretty soon, neo-natal and post-natal will be limited, too.

[liberal N proud]

22. Force you to have that baby but we will not take care of it

on edit:

How will those babies ever grow up to become good little soldiers if they don't care for them?

[Crunchy Frog]

35. Weed out the weak ones. n/t

[madeline_con]

39. That's a reasonable assertion.

I don't understand why they can't see the savings. Employees who can't get birth control wil now put 2 or 3 kids on their insurance, and that's seen as a good thing?

[drmeow]

4. For all right-wing f**k-headed men who support

this sort of thing I propose surgical removal of their testicles as a form of contraception.

Why the f**k the religious right doesn't want to stop women from breeding I don't know, don't they realize that allowing contraception and abortion increases their majority since they are the ones having the most kids (and indoctrinating them from conception into their narrow bigoted sexist authoritarian asshole views).

[RainDog]

8. I think the "bobbit" option would be appropriate

I will fight on the streets to protect my fellow females' right to contraception. It's THE most imp. issue for females regarding equality because it impacts every other area of life. I would think that many men also support a right to birth control access and would also fight to stop these assholes.

No religious nut should have the right to tell females if they can or cannot prevent a pregnancy.

I tell you, I fucking hate these people. Hate them. If they want a civil war they will get one because females must not allow this sort of bullshit to go forward.

[LisaM]

6. This is why aggressively protecting abortion rights is so crucial

If we continue to chip away at abortion rights and then suddenly classify contraception devices and means as abortificants, we can say hello to the 1950s as far as birth control and women's rights go.

This is why I have a problem with politicians who croak about being personally opposed to abortion but swear they'll at least uphold the law. Big whoop. If birth control pills are suddenly considered equivalent to abortion, then we are in trouble. And it's also not far fetched. I know that there are people who really think this way.

I don't find this an issue that we as a party should compromise on.

[justgamma]

9. Last night on the local news

they reported about the protests against a local Planned Parenthood clinic. The reporter said that they believed birth control was a form of abortion. At least somebody said it out loud on the news.

[LisaM]

13. I live near some kind of clinic (not sure what they do)

To get to the bus, I need to cross a little creek and footbridge next to the clinic. One day a few years ago, I was walking there in the morning, and a police officer appeared and said, "where did you just come from?" Then he said, "oh, do you live on this street?" and let me through. I asked him what the problem was and he said there'd been a bomb scare.

Well, I have two dogs at home, and so I was petrified all day that someone was going to blow up our whole street. I even went home for lunch (which is really difficult for me) to make sure the dogs were okay. I consider this a form of terrorism.

[drmeow]

36. It is absolutely terrorism

Mirriam-Webster: the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion

[question everything]

21. This is how Kerry lost the elections

when, during one of the debates, he put his hand over his heart saying: "I personally am opposed to abortion but..."

Sadly, Obama seems to follow this route, especially when trying to attract evangelicals. And the sad conclusion will be that when Senator Casey (VA, I think) get elected, and when Obama get elected, this shows that right to privacy can be swept to a lower priority.

[AndyTiedye]

25. "Big Tent" = Total Cave in on Abortion and Birth Control

[defendandprotect]

48. DLC . .. moving the party to the right . . .

[thecrow]

40. In VA we're hoping for Senator Warner to be elected

Senator MARK WARNER

[question everything]

42. Oops, sorry, Casey is from PA

(But hey, normally we, the Midwestern states get confused so I am "allowed" to be confused with the Mid Atlantic states..)

:hi:

[thecrow]

44. It's okay :)

:)

[debbierlus]

11. It is so disgusting. This control these sicko white men want over women

And, the deranged women who sell out their gender for their deep psychological issues...

[area51]

17. If the so-called "pro-lifers" ...

... were really concerned about the destruction of human life, they'd be on the forefront of fighting for single-payer healthcare.

[happygoluckytoyou]

18. bush doesnt give a shit.... just trying to energize that famous voting base of wedge issue voters...

[Turner Ashby]

23. These sick women who didn't see this coming,

need to have babies until they are 50 and their girls need to have babies at 12. Sorry to sound so rough, but I have little sympathy for these women who are so fking stupid. You want to depend on men to look out for you....this is what you get. Sorry to the guys who aren't stupid. (kisses)

[question everything]

27. Of course, if all women will stay barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen

throughout their entire lives, who will the hate radio blame for white men not being as successful and as rich as they thought was their birthright?

Oh, I know. Blacks and Latinos. Jews and Catholics. And gays, of course.

:puke:

[robertpaulsen]

26. By that definition, wouldn't that make every woman who had more than one period a serial killer?

:wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow:

Of course, I'm quoting the late great George Carlin:

"Is a fetus a human being? This seems to be the central question. Some people say life begins at fertilization, when sperm fertilizes egg. But even after the egg is fertilized it's still 6-7 days before it reaches the uterus and pregnancy begins and not every egg makes it that far. 80% of a woman's fertilized eggs are rinsed and flushed our of her body once a month during those delightful few days she has. They wind up on sanitary napkins yet they are fertilized eggs. So basically what anti-abortion people say is that any woman whose had more than one period is a serial killer."

[question everything]

28. As did Barbara Ehrencriech

She suggested we collect all the used tampons and napkins and send them to the Supreme Court to "nurture" these babies.

[robertpaulsen]

29. Classic. Perhaps they should give those used tampons social security numbers.

If they were fertilized in America, that is. :patriot:

[CaptJasHook]

30. This is what happens when we have unrepresented Legislative power.

America needs more women in office. We, men, can seldom be trusted to viscerally feel the import of this basic right.

Hello, life.... Liberty (as in freedom to choose) and the pursuit of happiness (and the trust of judgement to determine what that means for you and your family). Pretty damn basic, but easily confused by passions.

[kiranon]

31. This is really scary.

I am old enough to remember when it was a crime for doctors to prescribe birth control pills. Women and men fought long and hard to reverse this kind of thinking and now it is back. The anti abortion people always had this agenda - to get rid of birth control so that women could not succeed or have any chance of controlling their future. It was that way years ago. It's control of women and not love of life otherwise they would outlaw masturbation. We adopted two special needs children born of mothers who did not believe in abortion but could not care for them. No pro life women came forward to adopt these children. One religious couple was at the birthing to adopt one of them but when they found out the baby wasn't "perfect" they walked out of the hospital never to be seen again.

[enlightenment]

32. I was just discussing

Griswold v Connecticut and the Comstock Laws in my class last night. Told them what's going on with this new legislation. Was met with varying degrees of blank stares, polite interest, and a couple of women who were clued in enough to look horrified.

sigh.

[jonmiller74]

33. Laws against the "Spilling seed" will be next, then who knows...

maybe fines against people for not having children. We should have nipped this in the bud when the first pharmacist refused to dispense contraceptives and "morning after" pills. The Anti-Choice movement just continues to grow bolder, I'm male but feel just as disheartened by these actions. I'm glad I've a garden full of "special" herbs, although not as effective, if it becomes the only options I'll be glad to make it available.

[crim son]

34. Just thinking this.

Goddamn it would be a breath of fresh air if the male of the society were as detrimentally and unfairly affected by ideologically driven politics. NOT an anti-male comment, merely a sigh of despair.

[defendandprotect]

49. Sounds so wild . . . but really the religious nuts - theo-cons want to outlaw masturbation . . . !!!

Bibical literalists . . !!!!

[madeline_con]

37. Still clawing after that legacy thing, eh DUH-bya?

I cannot EVEN believe this shit. This proves the Repugs feel they need as much ammo as possible to beat Obama. They keep doing last minute stupid shit to bolster their "values". Why can't fat pasty white guys leave women's bodies alone!?

spell edit

[NickB79]

43. If you know any pro-life women who use birth control, SHOW THEM THIS ARTICLE!!!

I know for damn sure I'm telling my mom and my sister about this. The number of women who use BC pills, Depo shots, or IUD's, yet still vote Republican, would boggle your mind.

If more women who vote Republican know that the legislators they support want to make the Pill illegal, they might change their tune at the thought of trying to raise their own litter of children!!!!

[Thor_MN]

51. Women should enforce a month long "Condom or no nookie" program

since by Rethug think, any other form of BC should be outlawed.

Almost makes you think the rethugs have a corner on the briefs and hot tub markets, since they usually have some sort of economic motive. Then again, I think of most conservatives as tighty whitey types anyway.

[LynnTheDem]

45. Poor America. The most backward-moving nation on the planet.

You're being left very far behind, where once you used to lead.

Poor America.

[defendandprotect]

50. Come on . . if we were a "backward" nation, they wouldn't have to do this by steals and

force --

No one in America is asking for masturbation to be outlawed or for the pill to be junked.

In fact, I'd be betting that this might wake up a few anti-choicers . . .

In the end, authoritiarians defeat themselves ---

[defendandprotect]

47. The new campaign issue --- "birth control is abortion" . .

Hopefully the public will figure out that this is more "partial truth abortion" . . .

but they'll be a lot of damaging game-playing by this administration, no doubt!

[sofa king]

52. What about spanking the monkey? Is that still legal?

'Cause I'm pretty sure I've knocked off half of what could have been a couple trillion kids by now.

And I'll do it again!

[Vidar]

53. If we'd impeach & hang the traitor, these problems would go away.