The War on Constitutional Rights
Posted: July 11, 2012 Filed under: abortion rights, War on Women, Women's Healthcare | Tags: abortion rights, bad states, religious nuts, vagina 24 Comments
We’ve already seen many many ways that states are trying to restrict constitutionally-granted rights like voting. Many states are trying to restrict the rights of women and the GLBT community. Access to abortion rights suffered severe blows under any state suffering from Republican Majority Rule. A recent report showed that 39 states enacted restrictions on a woman’s constitutional right to abortion.
Here are some examples of the kinds of assaults that women have had to endure as Republican majorities try to force them further into second class citizenship.
– Waiting periods: So far this year, states have considered requiring counseling and extending waiting periods for women seeking an abortion. In April, Utah enacted the most extreme waiting period law by requiring women to wait a full 72 hours between obtaining counseling and having the procedure. Twenty-five other states have waiting period laws that generally require the woman to wait 24 hours.
– Fetal heartbeat: Oklahoma and Louisiana adopted measures that attempt to use the fetal heartbeat to dissuade women from seeking an abortion. The Oklahoma law requires health providers to offer women the opportunity to hear the fetal heartbeat if they are after eight weeks’ postfertilization. In Louisiana, health providers must make the heartbeat audible, often necessitating a transvaginal ultrasound.
– Mental health: Arizona and South Dakota passed laws requiring counseling on the unsubstantiated negative mental health consequences of abortion. Nine states now require the counseling. The myth that there is a causal link between abortion and mental health issues has been largely debunked by mental health professionals.
– Public pressure helps: Only 30 percent of abortion restrictions passed by one chamber have actually been enacted so far this year, a significantly lower rate than the proportion signed into law at this point in 2011. Public pushback against the transvaginal ultrasound law in Virginia likely squashed momentum for similar provisions in Alabama, Idaho, and Pennsylvania. In addition, last November’s defeat of the Mississippi personhood amendment probably helped thwart efforts for similar laws elsewhere in the country.
This really does look like a war on Women and their health. It will take years to unravel the damage that Bobby Jindal has done in Louisiana in just a few short years.
A year ago, 2011 was record-breaking in terms of attacks on reproductive health. While this year is set to have fewer restrictions on the books, 2012′s figures are still higher than any year prior to 2011. As was the case last year, issues related to abortion and family planning funding were lightning rod issues in a few state legislatures. In fact, 14 of the new restrictions have been enacted in just three states — Arizona, Louisiana, and South Dakota — three of the most hostile to reproductive health.
No wonder my Ob/gyn daughter is trying to move to the safety of a blue state where the state government doesn’t try to influence what she can and cannot do as a doctor. Here’s the 19 worst states to live for women who would prefer the states stay out of their VAGINAS!
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Washington State is really (Western Washington) one of the better states for OB-GYNs — I think it’s because we had to deal with the extreme right in the 1980s. That was when the Republican party died in this state when it was taken over by the religious right.
Here’s a news item — Born Again causes brain atrophy.
Older adults who say they’ve had a life-changing religious experience are more likely to have a greater decrease in size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain critical to learning and memory, new research finds.
According to the study, people who said they were a “born-again” Protestant or Catholic, or conversely, those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or “atrophy”) compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants, but not born-again.
http://www.philly.com/philly/health/132456883.html
“Here’s a news item — Born Again causes brain atrophy.”
LOL, I heard about that study. Thanks for posting the link.
More Proof:
Pastor Steven Andrew / USA Christian Ministries:
The straight jacket people and the IRS need to go after this guy right now.
Go check the spam … there’s a tea bagger stuck in there that’s got some huge screed on stuff. I think they need to start putting anti-psychotics in the water in some places.
That was like some kind of tea bag thesis…oof!
Just got home and quickly got online and saw your post Kat and then this…quick comment here: Censorship | Suburban Guerrilla
In Texas they are banning doctors from even saying the word abortion. Unbelievable.
On a personal note, my dad is in the hospital, he is doing okay but they are running test…so things are a bit crazy around my house. However I just had to comment about this shit in texass.
About my dad, the hospital is keeping him for observation…he has extremely low potassium, vertigo and dizziness, and heart pain. I am so glad he got that ride to the ER in an Ambulance! Daddy is such a bad patient…now he has to stay and get the test he should have had 7 months ago!
Well, maybe he’ll learn something now. Hope he’s doing better.
I’m glad he got to the hospital before it got any worse. I hope he recovers and starts taking his health seriously.
I’ll be keeping your father in my thoughts, JJ, and hoping for a good outcome. Perhaps it is something heat-related and easily treated. Wishing you and all your family the best. Take care.
Hope your dad is doing well.
Isn’t there a law about practicing medicine without a license?
Our landline phone is almost useless — telemarketers all the time — and they can do this because restricting their endless calls would infringe on the Corporate personhood’s right to “free speech”. My cell phone is also backed up with “messages” — 99% from telemarketers.
Yet the right wing dimwits with brain atrophy what to intrude on the free speech of doctors.
Why is Texas still part of the US?
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JJ –Now that the hospital has your dad — let’s hope they can find the reason for those symptoms.
You wouldn’t believe the call I got, is Mr. ….home, not at the moment, can I take a message?
Well is there a decision maker in the home? Hell, the only person I know who thinks he is the decision maker is Mitt Romney, try him.
I disconnected my land line in October because all it was was creditors looking for some one that had the same last name as me. It was endless. I never picked it up and answering the messages was torture. Over and over … how bad is it when you get harassed for a complete strangers nonpayment of bills?
Austin is a little oasis of sanity in a great big crazy desert of wingnuttiness.
This was supposed to be a reply to Ralph’s comment below on living in Austin.
Damn and I thought it was totally horrible before!
I feel so sorry for you living among so many people with brain atrophy.
Thank you. Luckily Austin is a reliably liberal city. We probably have more in common with San Francisco or Seattle than we do with Amarillo 🙂
Thankfully, the medical term is termination.
And for “miscarriage,” the proper medical terminology for is “spontaneous abortion.” Are these R-wingnuts trying to re-write medical dictionaries?
I think they’re trying to rewrite anything that defies their delusions. Like I said … look for my daughter in a hospital near you.
Judge lets Mississippi’s only abortion clinic stay open — for now
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/11/us/mississippi-abortion-clinic-hearing/index.html
This is the place where the state specifically wrote a regulatory law to ensure the sole clinic in the state couldn’t meet the regulation to shut it down.
Good news for a change.
Completely debunked.
OTOH there is a connection between forced childbirth and mental-health issues.