Riding A Hobby Horse

Hobby Lobby is suing to be exempted from certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case . . . The question at the heart of this is, should a company be forced to pay for things with which it has a moral objection? [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingRiding A Hobby Horse

Chipping away at abortion

Janet Reitman of Rolling Stone writes that no reversal of Roe v Wade is possible given the general public support of some availability of abortion. That's not preventing many legislatures from chipping away to make it difficult to get an abortion. Here's an excerpt from the detailed article:

Eight other states now have laws preventing abortion coverage under comprehensive private insurance plans – only one of them, Utah, makes an exception for rape. And 24 states, including such traditionally blue states as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, ban some forms of abortion coverage from policies purchased through the new health exchanges. While cutting insurance coverage of abortion in disparate states might seem to be a separate issue from the larger assault on reproductive rights, it is in fact part of a highly coordinated and so far chillingly successful nationwide campaign, often funded by the same people who fund the Tea Party, to make it harder and harder for women to terminate unwanted pregnancies, and also to limit their access to many forms of contraception. All this legislative activity comes at a time when overall support for abortion rights in the United States has never been higher – in 2013, seven in 10 Americans said they supported upholding Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. But polls also show that more than half the country is open to placing some restrictions on abortion: Instead of trying to overturn Roe, which both sides see as politically unviable, they have been working instead to chip away at reproductive rights in a way that will render Roe's protections virtually irrelevant

Continue ReadingChipping away at abortion

U.S. policy: lots of unplanned pregnancies

Based on these statistics from Guttmacher Institute, the official policy of the U.S. is that we welcome lots of unplanned pregnancies. Poor women have a sharply elevated rate of unplanned pregnancies. Instead of encouraging walk-in street clinics with free birth control, many of our politicians vilify the idea that anyone would have sex without intending to get pregnant. The result is exactly what we see in these statistics. pregnancy chart

Continue ReadingU.S. policy: lots of unplanned pregnancies

Meaning of Pro Life

What does the phrase "pro life" actually mean? The following list from Addicting Information doesn't apply to everyone who calls himself or herself "pro life," but it's a useful list to consult when someone claims they are pro-life. They might mean one or more of the following, each of which is elaborated at Addicting Information: 1. Anti-Abortion: 2. Anti-Choice 2. Pro-Fetus 4. Pro-Birth 5. Pro-Controlling Women 6: Pro-Abuse 7. Anti-Sex 8. Pro-Religious Control 9. Misogynist

Continue ReadingMeaning of Pro Life