Thursday, August 14, 2008

too pissed for words right now

This is copied from the Reno News and Review. I'm about to troll around for more information on this.

Birth control under threat

By Kat Kerlin
katk@newsreview.com

Birth control pills, emergency contraception and intrauterine devices could be classified as abortion if a draft regulation proposed by the Bush Administration and circulating within the Department and Health and Human Services takes effect.

More than 98 percent of women have used birth control at some point in their lives. The draft regulation says these widely used methods of contraception could be considered as forms of abortion because they can prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. The Wall Street Journal reports that most medical groups agree “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.”

The proposed rule claims to protect the rights of anti-abortion doctors and nurses. As abortion is legal, the regulation would have little immediate effect on women taking these birth control methods, but some people fear that it could undercut state laws that promote easy access to birth control, and prompt insurance companies to drop coverage for prescription birth control, a notion Tom McClusky of the conservative Family Research Council called “fantastic” in the Wall Street Journal.

The draft regulation could still be revised or rejected. The Bush Administration doesn’t need congressional approval to put it into effect, but it also could be easily reversed by the next president.

As of Aug. 12, the world’s population: 6,716,350,368.


I don't know who's more upset about this, me or Cardo. I don't use birth control pills-- we use condoms and have plans for Cardo to eventually have a vasectomy. I have control issues and I don't take pills except for the very occasional pain reliever for headaches (this is an entirely different (neurotic) issue, that I won't deal with here). We have one (beautiful, wonderul, light-of-our-lives) daughter. We are finished having kids (and my body is, at this moment, acknowledging this). One child is enough for us, and we agree on this for a number of reasons. Although I don't use birth control pills and have yet to use an emergency contraceptive (although there have been some scares), I know many women who do. And, they should be able to continue to do so.

4 comments:

Coach J said...

Okay, now I'm pissed. I do use the pill and have been using it successfully for a long time. I don't care if anti-aborton doctors and nursing don't agree with my decision; it's MY decision and they can keep their opinions away from my unfertilized eggs. Boo on them.

Anonymous said...

This would not be passed. It is extreme, and there are always extreme bills that come up that that are simply dismissed. And, Vickie, you're not alone; I'm right with you on the whole neurotic no pills thing. Now I know I'm not the only one. :O) Like you, though, I do occasionally take painkillers for headaches, but I try to avoid even that at times.

kate said...

Are you frickin KIDDING me!!! There is absolutely no way this could possibly be passed, but still. How did condoms pass by? Don't they prevent eggs from being fertilized too? Oh, wait, those have to do with a man's body so we'll leave those alone. WTF people?!
I can't believe that the Bush administration (or any government body) feels that they have the right to tell me that I can't prevent myself from getting pregnant. Arg! I am pissed too.

Crystal said...

That makes me want to VOMIT. Can we please get bush out of here before any more boneheaded legislation like this even gets drafted?