[Women’s football. The team captains greet each other with a kiss.
England, Preston, 1920.
Nationaal Archief, The Netherlands]
This is the opening week of the 2011 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Photo of the Day
[Women’s football. The team captains greet each other with a kiss.
England, Preston, 1920.
Nationaal Archief, The Netherlands]
This is the opening week of the 2011 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Quote of the Day
"Physicians must be free to advise and treat their patients based on their medical knowledge and expertise and not have their advice overridden by elected officials seeking to impose their own ideological agenda on others." -- Governor Beverly Perdue (D-North Carolina), on vetoing NC's recent bill that would require an ultrasound and mandatory counseling with a 24 hour waiting period afterward for women needing an abortion.
Rape Is Hilarious, Part Wev in a Neverending Series
[Trigger warning for rape "humor," fat hatred, sexual assault, violence.]
Deeky texted me last night after he saw a new TV spot for the previously discussed upcoming film Horrible Bosses, in which murder and sexual assault are central "comedic" themes. This spot ran during a primetime re-run of NCIS.
"Tool Boss" Colin Farrell tells "Disrespected Employee" Jason Sudeikis, "We've got to trim some of the fat around here." Sudeikis says, "What?!" to which Farrell replies, "I want you to fire the fat people."Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes.
"Maneater Boss" Jennifer Aniston, who is a dentist, suggests to "Harassed Employee" Charlie Day that they have sex on top of an unconscious female patient. "Let's use her like a bed," she says, to which Day exclaims in response, "That's crossing the line!"
"Psycho Boss" Kevin Spacey tells "Abused Employee" Jason Bateman, "I own you, you little runt," to which Bateman sheepishly replies, "Thank you."
At a bar, with "murder consultant" Jaime Foxx, one of them says, "I guess we're just gonna be miserable for the rest of our lives," and Foxx offers, "Why don't you kill each other's bosses?" Sudeikis says, "That's actually a good idea."
Montage of someone flying out the window of a highrise building; the three men in a car spinning out of control; police cars with sirens blaring.
Cut to Sudeikis and Bateman walking down the street together, evidently discussing the murder plan. "I can't go to jail," Sudeikis says. "Look at me, I'll get raped like crazy."
"I'd get raped just as much as you would, Kurt," says Bateman, in a sort of hurt voice because rape is totes a compliment.
"No, no—I know you would," Sudeikis reassures him.
And, no, the fact that it is a prison rape joke between men does not make it funny. There is nothing funny about prison rape.
Call Time Warner and let them know that you don't think rape jokes, especially rape jokes that suggest rape is a fucking compliment, are funny.If you're on Twitter, you can tweet directly at Warner Brothers Pictures: @WBPictures.
How Now, Brown Cow?
Now that my ass (hip, actually) has celebrated marriage equality in New York on the front page of multiple newspapers, I thought it would be a good time to discuss logical next steps in the fight for justice. Here are three:
1. Keep up the fight for marriage equality
I'm sure there will be challenges to the new New York law that eliminates gender as a consideration for marriage. We need to be ready. Marriage equality is not a reality in most states. The federal Defense of Marriage Act still stands. So, there's plenty of work to be done. Odds are, you'll be hearing about all of this, so I'm going on to point two.
2. Destroy marriage
As more of us enter same-sex enter marriages, I'd like to argue that we've got an even greater responsibility to undermine the institution. I'm not talking about getting divorced or otherwise being in shitty relationships with people we're married to and/or our children. Heavens no. Straight people have been doing that shit for years. Marriage is still going strong.
Contrary to what conservative activists keep saying, the nuclear household of two adults and their children is nowhere near the dominant form of social organization in the world today, let alone historically. There's no reason we should be privileging it today. None. I say this as a happily married lady.
There are lots of good reasons why people get married. I'm afraid that some of them stem from the privileges our society affords married couples. We should give those privileges to all people, regardless of how they choose to organize their affairs.
Here are some proposals of alternate realities that could undermine marriage:
Universal health care- everybody should have access to free health care, regardless of who they're married to. This free health care should include all health care, including stuff like birth control, abortions, services for people undergoing gender transition, prostate exams for trans* women, etcetera.
Fixing visitation rights- everybody should be able to easily designate who can visit them and make decisions for them in an emergency situation.
Fix the US' immigration laws- they're fucked up, yo.
Make birth certificates less shitty- in Wisconsin, where my daughter was born, the only parents that are automatically listed on children's birth certificates are the person giving birth to the child and her (actually hir, but I bet Wisconsin didn't think about that) legally married spouse. That's bullshit. The law should reflect that there are all sorts of ways to raise a child.
Let people define their own households for tax purposes- I see no good reason why people who share income and live under the same roof(s) shouldn't be able to file their taxes in the same way that a married couple does.
These are just a few suggestions. I'm sure if we put our heads together, we can disrupt the marriage narrative in all sorts of ways.
3. Give trans* people equal rights already
Marriage equality does benefit trans* people. When gender isn't a factor in the legality of a marriage, we're less likely to have courts invalidate our marriages. Plus, the law doesn't have to tie itself in knots figuring out whether or not we're in heterosexual relationships.
However, GLBTQ groups have done a lot of pushing for marriage equality, draining resources away from other fights.
Some of us are bitter. I, for one, remember that the Empire State Pride Agenda yanked trans* people out of the non-discrimination legislation that New York State passed in 2002. Nearly a decade later, a gender expression non-discrimination act (GENDA) still hasn't become a reality in New York.
I've been fired from a job for being too queer while living in a municipality with a gender expression non-discrimination law. Trust me, GENDA isn't magic. However, passing GENDA sends a clear message about trans* people's equality under the law. More to the point, continuing to not pass GENDA also sends a clear message about trans* people's place in society. It is not a welcome message.
There's plenty of finger-pointing to go around on the failure of GENDAs to become law. Certainly, organizations dominated by affluent, white, cis, gay men and the occasional lesbian counterpart have not fought particularly hard for us, despite appropriating our suffering for fundraising purposes.
Trans* people have various organizations of our own, but aside from frequently having problems of their own, few people seem to listen to them.
Marriage equality passed in New York because of power politics, plain and simple. Marriage equality didn't just having the polling numbers (GENDA typically polls at least as well as marriage equality), its backers had clout. We had a governor who made marriage a major issue. The media focused on marriage equality as one of the major issues facing New York this year. Combined with the polls, it became clear that Governor Cuomo et al., were prepared to use a vote against marriage equality to destroy their opponents come election time.
Trans* people don't have that kind of clout. Partly, we need to keep educating the public and lawmakers, to keep telling our stories. However, we also need our allies to take our needs seriously. Part of this means that our allies, especially those who claim to fight for "LGBT" rights need to educate themselves. Otherwise, they need to stop pretending to be our partners.
Passing GENDA will, I'm afraid, continue to be a struggle. I don't have a simple strategy for how to do it. First and foremost, a large number of allies need to invest in the fight. After all GENDA is for everybody.
--
These three items are hardly a comprehensive platform for advancing justice (see below). However, it's important to note that only one of them involves promoting marriage. Don't get me wrong, I'm still celebrating our latest victory. However, the fight for equality is far from over.
Phew!
If you were worried that the Obama administration might insist that any deal to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Aug. 2 would include an end to former President George W. Bush's controversial tax rates on the wealthy, don't worry! IT WON'T!
The White House, seeking an agreement to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Aug. 2, on Monday said it would not insist that any deal include an end to former President George W. Bush's controversial tax rates on the wealthy.See?
The White House said the president is pushing the GOP to agree to eliminate some tax breaks for businesses and loopholes for wealthier taxpayers, but is not seeking to eliminate the across-the-board rates introduced by President Bush. That means taxpayers who earn more than $250,000 annually have gotten a reprieve.It's about time that taxpayers who earn more than $250,000 annually get a reprieve from the unrelenting threat of having to pay slightly more taxes during an economic crisis caused by deregulation of businesses they disproportionately run while the nation is at five wars they disproportionately support!
The entire middle class is a small price to pay for a modern Gilded Age.
Number of the Day
10 million: The number of people currently affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda, by the worst drought in 60 years to hit the Horn of Africa following two insufficient rainy seasons in a row.
Food prices have risen substantially in the region, pushing many moderately poor households over the edge, [Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told a media briefing].The drought, combined with unrest, is resulting in an increased number in refugees, many of whom are malnourished. And because the global economy is fubared at the moment: "UN humanitarian appeals for Somalia and Kenya, each about $525 million, are barely 50 percent funded, while a $30 million appeal for Djibouti is just 30 percent funded."
A U.N. map of food security in the eastern Horn of Africa shows large swathes of central Kenya and Somalia in the "emergency" category, one phase before what the U.N. classifies as catastrophe/famine -- the fifth and worst category.
Child malnutrition rates in the worst affected areas are more than double the emergency threshold of 15 percent and are expected to rise further, Byrs said.
Donate to UNHCR, if you can.Please feel welcome and encouraged to leave other ideas for teaspooning opportunities in comments.
July 7: What Tami Said and Shakesville Host My Planned Parenthood Blog Carnival
The GOP has launched a war on women. The more hyperbolic among them will claim it's a war on murder; the less incendiary will assert it's a war on abortion; the politic will say there is no war at all—just people of good faith fighting for their pro-life principles. But the shade of the spin does not matter. The truth is that the GOP has launched an all-out war on reproductive rights and abortion access, which is a direct assault on women's agency, bodily autonomy, basic legal rights, and very personhood.
Women are the primary target, but, as in any war, there is vast collateral damage: Trans men who can get pregnant and might need access to abortion services; poor men, young men, uninsured men, marginalized men who seek healthcare at clinics like Planned Parenthood that the GOP endeavors to defund and drive out of business.
Indiana is a key battlefield in this fight. In May, conservative legislators voted to defund Planned Parenthood by cutting off Medicaid payments to the healthcare provider. A June 21 segment on The Rachel Maddow Show, in which Maddow spoke with Planned Parenthood of Indiana president Betty Cockrum, laid out the grave consequences of this legislation, happily signed into law by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels:
[The transcript is available here.]
My fellow Hoosier, Tami, underlines what's at stake:
— According to the Planned Parenthood of Indiana website, "all Medicaid patients will need to pay for their own care or access other funding to be seen at Planned Parenthood of Indiana health centers."We know how dire this situation is. We know, because there is no other organization in our state dedicated to Planned Parenthood of Indiana's mission: "To provide comprehensive reproductive health care—confidentially, compassionately, affordably; to protect through prevention—educating honestly and accurately; to support those who need us most—without bias or judgment, without fear, without fail; to ensure that the doors of opportunity remain open for those we serve and their families."
— According to the Indianapolis Star, Planned Parenthood of Indiana has been forced to lay off two sexually transmitted disease prevention specialists, and had to close each of its health centers for one day on June 22.
—Also from the Star, "A total of 85,000 Hoosiers receive services at Planned Parenthood of Indiana's 28 health centers. If the law is allowed to stand, Planned Parenthood will have to close eight centers that serve low-income patients at two Indianapolis locations, as well as in Bedford, Hammond, Michigan City, New Albany, Terre Haute and Muncie."
These diminishing services disproportionately impact women and men who can ill afford it--the poor and marginalized. Last year, the organization performed more than 26,000 pap tests, nearly 30,000 breast exams for clients, more than 50 percent of whom were at or below the poverty level.
We know the truth about Planned Parenthood. We know how important this organization is in the lives of the people it serves. We are those people. We have stories. On Thursday, July 7, we will share them.
Please join What Tami Said and Shakesville for "My Planned Parenthood," a blog carnival devoted to sharing the stories of the women and men helped by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and other Planned Parenthood branches.
What:
Share your personal story of being helped by Planned Parenthood of Indiana or Planned Parenthood in another state. Link your story to why it is important that the organization continue to thrive. We are particularly interested in the stories of Indiana residents, but welcome other bloggers to take part. Planned Parenthood is under attack in states throughout the country, including Kansas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Texas. We need to hear ALL voices.
When:
All posts should be scheduled to publish by 9 a.m. Eastern, Thursday, July 7.
How:
— Spread the word about this blog carnival through your blog, word of mouth and social media. On Twitter, use hashtag #MyPP. Post the My Planned Parenthood graphic on your blog and link it to this announcement. (See code below.)
— Email whattamisaid@gmail.com or melissa.mcewan@hotmail.com with your intention to participate. Include the name of your blog and its URL.
— Write your post. We may ask you to include a .jpg carnival graphic with information on how to support Planned Parenthood in your post.
— Schedule your post to publish by 9 a.m. Eastern, Thursday, July 7. If you can, send a direct link to your post to one of the email addresses above before July 7. What Tami Said and Shakesville will publish the names and links to all participating blogs in a stub post on July 7.
— Continue to spread the word and direct people to blog carnival posts.
If you are not a blogger, but would like to share your story, send it to one of the emails above and we will publish it on our websites. (Material published on our blogs is subject to our editorial approval.) Be sure to include your home state and a "handle" that needn't be your real name.
We will NOT link to any anti-choice or anti-Planned Parenthood posts. We will verify content at links.
Neither What Tami Said nor Shakesville are affiliated with Planned Parenthood or Planned Parenthood of Indiana. Planned Parenthood is not involved in this effort. Melissa and I are simply two Hoosier women concerned by conservative legislatures' attacks on women and the organizations that serve them, as well as continued distortions about Planned Parenthood's services disseminated by opponents of reproductive freedom and choice.
We hope you will join us in our stand.
If you or a loved one has ever used Planned Parenthood's services, please donate to Planned Parenthood of Indiana, or a Planned Parenthood in your state today.
To embed the above on your own website/blog, copy and paste this code:
To embed the above on your own website/blog, copy and paste this code:
To embed the above on your own website/blog, copy and paste this code:
Question of the Day
What is your favorite kind of vacation?
Do you prefer going somewhere isolated and quiet? Do you prefer to be in the middle of a bustling city which you've never visited previously? Do you prefer squeezing in as much culture or sightseeing or dining as possible, or lying as still as possible on a stretch of beach? Do you prefer staying at home? Do you prefer to travel in a group, with your partner or family, alone...?
I've enjoyed all of the above, at different times.
The Texas House Wants to Be Indiana
I'm sorry, Texas:
The House approved a sprawling health care savings bill Monday that abortion-rights opponents hailed as a historic step toward de-funding Planned Parenthood and limiting abortion. Democrats, though, warned the bill includes permission for Texas to join an interstate health care compact, which they said could lead to a state takeover of the management of elderly Texans' federal Medicare benefits.Meanwhile, in the Regarbagican aspirational state of Indiana, a federal court has put on hold parts of similar anti-abortion legislation, which has had the consequence of causing doctors at Indiana University and Wishard Memorial hospitals to stop offering abortion services, "including in cases where the woman's health was at serious risk and where there was no possibility the fetus would survive," because they're unclear how to comply with the law.
The anti-choicers have evidently figured out that, failing actual criminalization of abortion, they can just create a nightmarescape of confusion about whether and how to provide abortions at all.
[H/Ts to Shakers Harmony and Brian.]
Perfect
Charlie Sheen is reportedly getting a new sitcom in which he will play a character "very similar to the one he played on Two and a Half Men" but "the show will be a lot racier."
Way to go, universe.
Servicemembers Still Being Discharged Under DADT
Despite the fact that President Obama signed legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" 187 days ago (and counting), the Advocate reports today that the Pentagon has confirmed servicemembers are still being dismissed under the policy, because the "certification" loophole has allowed the military to drag its feet on implementing the change.
Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates is leaving office this week, to be replaced by outgoing CIA chief Leon Panetta, who testified during his confirmation hearing earlier this month that he "will work closely with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to assess whether the elements for certification in the law are met before signing it myself." Which is so vague that it's essentially meaningless.
The can just keeps getting kicked down the road, and, per the Advocate, the discharges continue:
The Pentagon confirmed Monday that more service members have been discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" pending certification of the policy's repeal, with one individual's discharge approved as recently as Thursday.So, basically, the military may not actively ask anymore, but if you tell, you're still getting kicked the fuck out.
A total of four airmen have been discharged under the policy in the last several weeks, Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez confirmed Monday.
...Defense officials had said that the separation approved April 29 was the only such discharge under DADT since late October, when the Defense Department limited authority for discharges to just five senior officials.
But in a statement, Harper confirmed the additional discharges since. "On May 31st, 2011, the Secretary of the Air Force approved discharges of two Airmen under the provisions of 10 USC 654 [the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy]," Harper said. "On June 23, 2011, the Secretary of the Air Force accepted the resignation of an Airman who asked to be separated under the provisions of [DADT]."
Harper said that all four individuals discharged had made voluntary statements regarding their sexual orientation and had asked to be "separated expeditiously."
SCOTUS Strikes Again
Another garbage decision empowering the moneyed class, care of the United States Supreme Court:
The Supreme Court has tossed out an Arizona law that provides extra taxpayer-funded support for office seekers who have been outspent by privately funded opponents or by independent political groups.Welcome to America 2.0: The Corporatocracy.
A conservative 5-4 majority of justices on Monday said the law violated free speech, concluding the state was impermissibly trying to "level the playing field" through a public finance system.
RIP Democracy.
[H/T to Eastsidekate.]
Random Yet Timely YouTubery
Transcript:
Dan: Uh, I'm going to need a couple more weeks on that loan payment...
(Roseanne opens door)
Mike Summers: Hi, I'm Mike Summers, your state representative. How ya doin'?
Roseanne: (unenthusiastically) Great.
Mike: Good, I'm going door-to-door, trying to get to know my constituents.
Roseanne: Oh, door-to-door, huh? That takes a lot of time. Why don't you just go down to the unemployment office and see everybody at once?
Mike: I hear ya. And you're right.We can't let this area's work-force lay idle. That's why bringing in new business is my number-one priority.
Roseanne: How?
Mike: Through tax incentives. See, we're gonna make it cheaper for out-of-state businesses to set up shop right here in Lanford.
Roseanne: So they get a tax break?
Mike: Yeah, that's why they come here.
Roseanne: Well, who's gonna pay the taxes that they ain't paying?
Mike: Well, you... you will. But you'll be working. Good, steady employment.
Roseanne: Union wages?
Mike: Well, now, part of the reason these companies are finding it so expensive to operate in other locations is--
Roseanne: (cuts him off) Soooo, they're gonna dump the union, so they can come here and hire us at scab wages, and then for that privilege...we get to pay their taxes?
Mike: Is your husband home?
Roseanne: Well, he's on the phone tryin' to keep us from losing our house. Hey...let's talk about that. See, we're broke. I can't even afford to buy groceries unless it's double-coupon day.
Mike: Mm-hm. You know, we should talk about that. Oh! But, I have several houses I have to get to before I quit go--
Roseanne: (cuts him off, grabs coat) Oh, hey, great! I'll come with ya. Boy, it's gettin' rough out here Mike.
Daily Dose of Cute
Run around dog park and lie in grass.
Also: Profuse panting. Water. More running around until total exhaustion.
Crawl onto couch after some food and treats.
[Insert additional playtime here, energy permitting.]
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, publishers of the upcoming memoir, Liss Is My BFF and I Hate Her by Deeky W. Gashlycrumb, as well as the upcoming coffee-table book, Deeks Is My BFF and I Hate Him and Here Are Some Large Pictures I Took of Him Making Stupid Faces Whilst Wearing Neckties, by Melissa L. McEwan.
Recommended Reading:
Jillian: Blago Convicted of Trying to Sell Obama's Senate Seat
Andy: Hillary Clinton Praises NY Victory But Doesn't Endorse Marriage Equality in Remarks at State Dept. Pride Event
Waymon: Troubling Tax Issues for Illinois Civil Unions Arise: Why Separate is Never Equal
Mac: [TW for descriptions of sexual violence; violence; descriptions of PTSD triggers and reactions] I'm Gonna Need You to Fight Me on This: How Violent Sex Helped Ease My PTSD
The Angry Black Woman: [TW for anti-bisexual bias] Dan Savage Strikes Again
Mustang Bobby: In Which I Defend Michele Bachmann
And, relatedly, here's a look at how eminently possible it is to write about what a terrible candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann is in virtually every conceivable way without resorting to sexism, care of Richard Adams: Michele Bachmann launches 'American-centric' presidential bid.
Leave your links and recommendations in comments....
Of Course It Is
[TW: Misogyny and assault]
Just in case you were wondering, after eastsidekate's post, if Supreme Court Justice David Prosser grabbing Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley by the throat in anger was somehow actually her fault, guess what?
You're right.
It's always the woman's fault. Always.
In Which Scatx and I Talk About Some Stuff
[Trigger warning for misogyny and violence. Emails in which we discuss media reactions to the new book by Mara Hvistendahl, Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men, have been shared with Scatx's permission.]
Scatx: I'm sure you are all over this like peanut butter on toast, but just in case: Ross Douthat's newest column, "160 Million and Counting." Why, New York Times, do you pay this man? WHY? Best part: The bottom where it says, "Paul Krugman is off today." I think we can ALL see that.
Liss: Have you seen this one? Jonathan Last in the Wall Street Journal: "The War Against Girls." Very interesting (by which I mean NOT INTERESTING AT ALL) that there are dudes using this book (which is purportedly NOT anti-choice) to make anti-choice arguments. Anyway, I hope men keep talking about this, so they can tell us ladies what to do!
Scatx: Wow—I can't even bring myself to read all of that. Skimming made me want to barf on my shoes. I feel for the author of the book—the WSJ guy makes it clear that she knows that her writing about this will be used by the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Also: The colonialism of this whole thing is so problematic. The blatant disregard for systemic misogyny (which is, you know, a product of systemic misogyny). Seeing abortion as the problem instead of a symptom of larger inequalities and prejudices. I just don't even know how to think through all the elements at play. Of course, there was that new Gallup poll showing that, here in the US, we still love having baby boys more than we love having baby girls, just like in 1941 (when abortion was illegal). I'm sure that won't get the same level of press from anti-choice advocates that they love to give to India and China. GAH!
Liss: There's an article by Ujala Sehgal at The Atlantic that makes the point about cultural double-standards pretty well. And then there's the issue of infanticide, which is being conveniently left out of some of the posts who want to attribute "unnatural selection" exclusively to the West "exporting abortion technology." P.S. Here's another dude talking about it! Wheeeeeeeeeee!
Scatx: I was wondering about infanticide (I have written on it as a historian of the colonial period and remember studying it back when I was going to be a classicist). I just went to a huge women's history conference and was on a panel about it. It was interesting because there is (and always has been) so much infanticide in societies where contraception is limited or unavailable and slut-shaming and/or "bastard"-shaming is rampant. It is obvious to me that even if we were suddenly to all agree that abortion is morally wrong, it will NEVER stop. Nothing in history ever has shown that making abortion illegal will stop it. Nothing. Ever. Not paying attention to that kind of history, that overwhelming and in-your-face reality that we can see across millennia, boggles my brain to no end. The only way to end the boys-over-girls problem is for people to stop thinking that there is something better about boys. That's it.
Liss: Absolutely. And, of course, for us—the collective us, the global us—to stop actually providing material benefits to being a boy or having a boy. Plus all the other stuff that's wrapped up in the gender binary, and in the heterocentrism that hears "it's a boy" and axiomatically thinks "he'll have a wife," and in the poverty and lack of education and void of female role models and religiosity that feed gender prejudices and and and… I see why it's easy to say "damn feminists and their abortion exporting!" becomes such an easy refrain in lieu of embracing a vast challenge with such a complicated array of interrelated solutions.
Scatx: Plus, this bullshit of "we are against abortion to protect GIRLS" is so infuriating. Grown women literally can't be less of this story. Is there ANY other way for them to write pregnant ADULTS out?
Liss: Probably.
[H/T to Shaker Bonny_Swan for the WSJ piece.]
Chipping Away...
Kansas, the state notoriously opposed to women's rights, appears to have found a bureaucratic means to deny women, esp. poor and uninsured women, health care. On May 16th of this year, Gov. Brownback signed a law that targeted abortion providers with special regulations and any clinic which offered the health care service must be in compliance by July 1st or else they will not receive their special operating license. It was ten days later that the clinics received notice that the new regulations were coming. This week they got the most recent listing of medications that must be on hand and room dimension size. Let's not forget all that goes into this: they had to try and be compliant with new regs, get inspected (and perhaps reinspected), and file the paperwork and wait for approval.
One of three abortion providers in Kansas appeared likely to close after being denied a state license to continue terminating pregnancies at its Kansas City-area clinic, and abortion rights supporters feared Friday that the anti-abortion governor's administration will reject licenses for the other two.
I'd call the licensing process "nefarious and sinister". If the license is pending July 1st or later, any abortion performed will be deemed illegal. This an extremely disturbing back-door method of denying women necessary health care. As Ms. Pilate said:
[...]
A lawyer for the Aid for Women clinic in Kansas City, Kan., said Friday that it received a notice that its application for a license had been denied by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment without an inspection. Attorney Cheryl Pilate said the clinic was looking at its legal options but would have to close, at least temporarily.
The clinic received its notice on the same day the leader of a regional Planned Parenthood chapter said inspectors who spent two days at its Overland Park clinic found it will comply with all new regulations. An inspection of the third provider is scheduled for Wednesday. All three are in the Kansas City area.
"We're doomed," said Dr. Herbert Hodes, who performs abortions for the third provider, the Women's Health Center, also in Overland Park.
[...]
The new law requires a separate, annual license for any hospital, clinic or office that performs at least five non-emergency abortions a month, and it requires state inspections, including at least one unannounced visit each year. The health department can fine providers and go to court to revoke their licenses.
Pilate said the health department told Aid for Women its application was denied because it had disclosed that it would need extensive renovations.
Also, she said, the clinic reported the physician who performs abortions is in the process of seeking privileges at an area hospital. The new law requires that a physician have privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.
The department's notice said that for those reasons, "an on-site inspection will not be necessary and will not be scheduled."
Pilate said the clinic couldn't have even obtained remodeling plans or a building permit for renovations by July 1. She called the licensing process "rushed and absurdly unrealistic."
"There are patients with scheduled appointments with few or no other options," Pilate said. "It's going to hurt poor women."
What's the matter with Kansas? The politicians.
Speaking of odious, woman-hating legislation, recall the Ohio "Heartbeat" Bill? If not:
[A]n abortion would be illegal once the heartbeat of a fetus is detected. The bill would require the doctor to find that heartbeat using "standard medical practice," a term not defined.
That bill, HB 125, is scheduled for floor vote tomorrow. There is a rally scheduled for tomorrow morning, if you live in or near the area.
A doctor who violates the law could be found guilty of a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine. The mother could not be charged.
As I said in the Ohio post--GOP: Pro-Fetus; Pro-Forced Birth; Anti-Woman, Anti-Family, Anti-Decency.
