A Parting Shot at Women’s Rights

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/opinion/26fri2.html?ref=opinion

A Parting Shot at Women’s Rights

Published: December 25, 2008


Undermining women’s reproductive rights and access to health care has been a pervasive theme of the outgoing administration. On his first full day in office, President Bush imposed the “global gag rule,” which prohibits taxpayer dollars from going to international family-planning groups that perform abortions using their own funds or that advocate for safe abortion laws.

So it was unsurprising, but still dismaying, that the secretary of health and human services, Michael Leavitt, chose to extend that dismal record at the last minute with yet another awful regulation. A parting gift to the far right, the new regulation aims to hinder women’s access to abortion, contraceptives and the information necessary to make decisions about their own health. What makes it worse is that the policy is wrapped up in a phony claim to safeguard religious freedom.

The law has long allowed doctors and nurses to refuse to participate in an abortion. Mr. Leavitt’s changes elevate the so-called right to refuse beyond reason to an increased number of medical institutions and a broad range of health care workers and services — including abortion referrals, unbiased counseling and provision of emergency contraception, even to rape victims.

The impact will be hardest on poor women who rely on public programs for their health care.

In July, Barack Obama, still a senator at the time, signed a letter to Mr. Leavitt, along with some of his colleagues, urging Mr. Leavitt to scrap an earlier draft of the regulation. It cited a number of problems that were perpetuated in the final version.

The Health and Human Services regulation is due to become effective on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day. By acting right away to suspend its implementation, President-elect Barack Obama and his choice to succeed Mr. Leavitt, Tom Daschle, can block irresponsible changes that threaten people’s rights and defy the federal government’s duty on public health.

They should do so, and promptly follow up with a formal rule-making proceeding to rescind the regulation once and for all. And they can get rid of the gag rule.

[billyoc]

1. That piece of shit won't last as long as it took to type it up.

Silliest. Shit. Ever.

[Old Codger]

2. No telling

how long it will take to repeal that and other shit like it, but it will take time, it will take time away from important business that needs to be taken care of. All of this is being done in order to sabotage the first months of the new administration and slow down the good that needs doing... Another farewell "fuck you" from * and cohorts to the people....

[Idealism]

3. Executive orders will be the quickest and easiest way to accomplish the same end

[csziggy]

5. Is there any way Obama can suspend the implementation of every piece of crap Bush has tried to

Put into action? He could put it nicely, "pending review" but not let any of this shit take effect. Just flat out without having to specify which ones, just hold off on all of them until his people can go over the regulations and see if any of them are worthwhile. Maybe tack in a penalty if any department tries to implement them before a review by the new administration.

[Quantess]

9. Exactly. It's just more mess for the Obama administration to clean up.

As if the new president wouldn't have enough mess to clean up anyway, with everything Bush has done to spiral our once great nation down the toilet.

Bush has fucked up everything, to an unbelievable extent. The people have spoken with their votes, have told Bush and his ilk to leave, but they just keep on trashing the country.

We've all heard about obnoxious people who get kicked out of parties only to cause grievance upon them, by peeing in their mailbox or something. I bet W himself has been to drunken parties like that. I wish Bush would just go back to his drunken frat boy ways, poop on the white house lawn on Jan. 20th, and call it good. That would be so much easier to clean up.

[Ripley]

4. And an entering shot at Women's Rights...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/now-president-questions-s_n_141538.html

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/01/17/summers_remarks_on_women_draw_fire/

CAMBRIDGE -- The president of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers, sparked an uproar at an academic conference Friday when he said that innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers. Summers also questioned how much of a role discrimination plays in the dearth of female professors in science and engineering at elite universities.

A big FU to that Sexist Ass.

And No Thanks to Mr. Obama and his trainload of horrors he keeps unveiling.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. And who's behind this ideology?

This hatred toward women, ignorance of science, pathological obsession with controlling America's laws?

[JerseygirlCT]

7. This is just awful.

It's really very simple: if you do not want to provide women with medical care, find another occupation.

[babylonsister]

8. It's even worse because of the speed they're taking in passing it.

It's a definite F.U. to women, especially poor women. It's a travesty, and I don't know how easy this will be to overturn.

PS. Sens Clinton and Murray have been railing against this also.