I am so angry. And sad. And did I mention angry?

Virginia is regulating abortion clinics like hospitals.

One commenter on that article said:

I don't see how this legislation restricts access for women to abortions. It simply requires that abortion clinics meet the same medical guidelines as hospitals, depending on how they are classified. It in no way infringes on anyone's right to an abortion. In fact, Roe vs. Wade specifically leaves the regulation of abortions to the States.

 Well, charleyp1, I'll tell you how this restricts access. Five clinics in the state currently meet the standard. First trimester abortions are generally done without general anesthesia. First trimester abortion is one of the safest  surgical procedures that are performed anywhere, when performed by a licensed medical practitioner. It is a safer procedure than:

• Root canal
• Colonoscopy (which is done under general anesthesia)
• Vasectomy (which is done under general anesthesia)
• Endoscopy (which is done under general anesthesia)

 But those procedures are allowed to be done in a regular doctor's office. Dentists, Urologists, Proctologists, and Gastrologists do not need to have hospital standards to perform these surgeries. They don't, for example, need to have access for ambulances.

In Virginia there are currently 22 clinics at which abortion, A LEGAL PROCEDURE, can be obtained.

Under the new law, only 5 of those clinics will be able to continue to operate.

Let me make this clear, THIS LAW WILL NOT REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS. Abortion rates remain steady no matter how difficult safe, legal abortions are to obtain. What this law will do is make it more expensive to obtain an abortion.

charleyp1 further says:

I for one applaud this effort. After the medical horror/freak show in Philadelphia in which an abortion doctor left the surgical procedures to his nurses and had pilles[sic] of fetal body parts scattered about his office and storage freezer, I think a little regulation of this nearly unregulated industry is in order.

 charleyp1, abortion is already highly regulated.  licensing boards, the Board of Health, Obstetrics Boards, all oversee the OB/GYNs who perform abortions. The Philadelphia incident was an UNLICENSED person who was performing ILLEGAL late term abortions. Desperate women, who could not obtain legal abortions, went to him. Virginia's new law will increase the likelihood of a Philadelphia incident happening here in Virginia.

I want to thank Senator Mark Herring for standing up for women.

If you are as upset by the outcome of this vote as I am, may I suggest that you

Pop and Politics

Wisconsin, the Mid-East, The House's attacks on pap smears and baby formula...I've got lots to say, but right now it's mostly spluttering disbelief, which makes for a very incoherent post.

So in the meantime, I give you a song that's been in my head lately. Amazing how themes keep repeating.

How to demonstrate that you are shallow and selfish

[A note of introduction: I blog at Equality Loudoun, and, with Liz, at Loudoun Progress. Liz has graciously invited me to post here, and I am honored to do so. Will those who are opposed to equality for people they don't like find new and exciting meanings in the title Doorbell Queen? We can only hope.]

One of the links I came across and shared during the past three weeks was a post entitled “A guide: How not to say stupid stuff about Egypt.” I appreciated this post not only for its useful information, but for its refreshing efficiency. This blogger was busy and did not have time to suffer fools.

But for good or ill, fools are fond of announcing themselves. Below appears the most shallow, selfish and morally vacant comic I have seen in quite a long time.



This piece of work is sadly not "out of order" for the publication in which it appears, the Purcellville Gazette. It could, I suppose, be read as a repellent insult to Americans, but on the basis of previous work I suspect that this was not its intended purpose.

There’s more, of course. A Loudoun “tea party” blogger (not coincidentally a contributor to the same Purcellville Gazette), who is at all other times piously concerned with the transcendent value of Liberty, somehow missed the revolution. You won’t find a word of appreciation on her blog for this stunning achievement of Egyptian community - the non-violent overthrow of an entrenched dictator. Think of it; an essentially leaderless uprising involving well over 20 million people who remained united and principled in the face of murder, torture, beatings, propaganda and deceit, who could not be provoked to violence, who chanted “peaceful, peaceful” while refusing to be intimidated by tanks and thugs; an uprising in which women and men participated shoulder to shoulder, and Christians, Muslims and secularists protected each other and cared for each other within a model of the nation they intend to rebuild. Such a powerful testament to the idea of Liberty, and not even an acknowledgment by this blogger - unless one were to count her sneering dismissal of our President’s statement invoking Dr. Martin Luther King and the moral force of non-violent resistance as “silly.”

What you will find on her anti-feminist blog is a post about a psychopath who beheaded his wife. That is because this psychopath is a Muslim, and the story furthers her agenda of promoting islamophobia and opposing “multiculturalism.”

If the purpose of these two commentators was to demonstrate how morally vacuous some Americans are, they have succeeded. Well done. I believe we may have located the bottom of the barrel.

Relay for Life 2011

See that button there?
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Please click on it and donate to the American Cancer Society!! Last year I did 20 miles, I'd like to do 26.1 this year!

From my Tweeter feed. What I've been thinking about this past week.

MotherJones Mother Jones

 

What, is this reproductive rights outrage week? http://bit.ly/h619WE #dearjohn

Blogrolls and earworms

Stevens wrote a post and now I've got this song in my head:

Unexcused Absence

Deadlines at work, visits from relatives, and various winter illnesses have conspired to keep me from posting.

Coming up with a post soon.

TTYL.