Missouri "abortifacient" bill both wrong and wrong

Well, clearly they've fixed everything else in Missouri, as lawmakers there are now able to turn their attention to fatuous bills addressing pretend situations. The recently introduced HB 1625 would -- contrary to the position of the Food and Drug Administration and virtually the entire medical community -- classify emergency contraception (as in Plan B) as an "abortifacient." It would also allow pharmacies to refuse to dispense both Plan B and RU-486 (mifepristone), shielding them from any resulting legal action.

Where do we start?

1. Pharmacies don't dispense RU-486 in the first place. You get it from your doctor. This is disingenuous.

2. Pharmacies don't dispense anything. Pharmacists do. As NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri'sMississippi as the only state to extend "conscience protection" to pharmacies, conferring the broad right to opt out of dispensing emergency contraception without outlining any grounds for doing so. The wholesale opt-out would be unenforceable at best. executive director, attorney Pamela L. Sumners, notes: Pharmacies are corporations, not individuals with "consciences" or "conscience rights." Solid precedent holds that nonsectarian private companies "do not have 'religious' views that are entitled to legal protection." (See United States v. Lee, 1982.) Were the bill to pass, Missouri would join

3. The bill may also violate Missouri's Human Rights Act, which forbids discrimination based on sex, and possibly even Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

It's a bad, bad bill, politically and legally. Too bad to become reality? Maybe, maybe not. And it's hard to see how the reproductive-rights situation can get much worse in Missouri to begin with. Still, we can't dismiss this bill as harmless grandstanding. Why not? Well, it's like when a courtroom lawyer says "[question] withdrawn" or a judge asks for something to be stricken from the record. Either way, the jury still hears it. And in this case, what people hear is:

1. Emergency contraception and RU-486 are the same (sic).

2. Women can get abortions, along with mouthwash and Milk Duds, at their local Walgreens (sic).

All of which plays into -- and reinforces -- the frequently peddled notion that women need reining in, as does our alleged qwik-abortion culture. It all adds up, even drop by drop, and helps cement public perception. So even if those misconceptions don't actually get this bill passed, the damage, in no small part, will still be done.

Article by Lynn Harris - as posted on salon.com

1984?

"The "Party" has taken over all aspects of life... Winston is painfully aware of the telescreen, which is both a receiver and transmitter at the same time. It incessantly relays messages from the Party and simultaneously allows the dreaded "thought police" to tune into the activities of any individual at any given time." www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984

The most recent claims to reproductive fame by Rep. Therese Sander was handling the abominable sex mis-education/abortion restriction bill last year. She was also the sole sponsor of a bill that would have ascribed a 'conscience' to corporations, employers, and insurance companies allowing them to deny health services to patients based upon personal beliefs and ideological values. Among the many terrible bills with Rep. Sander's name are:

• a bill that would protect denying pharmacists;
• a bill that would require parental consent for birth control for teens; and
• a bill establishing an 'alternatives to abortion' program that categorically cannot provide family planning services (the best 'alternative to abortion').

But her piece de resistance - filed this year - is a bill that would require doctors who perform abortions to ask women why they are seeking an abortion, then report that information to the state government!

It is filed as HB1984; could that be intentional, or is it some kind of Orwellian slip?

1984...hmmm, makes a girl think back to high school and learning the definition of dystopia.

Can you spell 'Big Brother'?

Alison Gee is the Vice President of Public Policy at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region

What We've Done.

Governor Blunt claims he wants to help and protect Missourians. He says that everything he does is ‘for Missourians’. Problem is, there’s a world of difference between what Governor Blunt thinks that we want to hear and what we are demanding to know. In Missouri, political rhetoric constantly trumps women’s healthcare and thousands of Missouri students sit in classrooms where sex ed lessons are medically, factually inaccurate - something Blunt considers a "mission accomplished". Our Governor has failed. In a state that encompasses cities with some of the highest STI rates in the country, Governor Blunt traded his sense of ‘protecting Missourians’ long ago in order to gain political clout with his group of hardline fans. Unfortunately, regular Missourians don’t feel so 'protected.'

Governor Blunt just announced he is not running for re-election. Just as well ... Missouri voters, like you, understand that votes matter and have already told us that you strongly support state funds for family planning (69%*), that you believe pharmacies should dispense birth control without discrimination or delay (65%*), that you believe sex education should be comprehensive (76%*), and that the government should not step between a patient and her doctor (63%*). Not what Governor Blunt wants to hear. But, together, we say "enough is enough to failed policies and failed politicians." [*statewide poll conducted September 2007]

This legislative session, we need your help to keep pushing forward. In Jefferson City, there have already been seven bills introduced that restrict Missourians' access to Planned Parenthood programs and services. Then there's the shadowy Task Force - the sham group Governor Blunt created that could - any day now - release unscientific and unhelpful 'results.'

Let your friends know about the REAL Task Force to Protect Women’s Health and Lives. Let them know that we are the informed majority and that this Session, we are showing our power in the Capitol through activists and supporters across this state.