The Outrageousness of Alabama and Today's Republican Party

After that abortion bill in Alabama this week, man. What can you say?

As if Donald Trump and his Senate weren't bad enough, now this.

The Republican Party and Right Wing are now, as of this week,on an all out war on women and women's rights.

What's next? Take away their right to vote? Don't let them own property any longer? Make sure they can't get an education? It's not that outside the realm of possibility, it wouldn't seem. Remember this?

Senate Republicans reject equal pay bill

They did that in 2014. Voted down equal pay for women. Really.

They are only consistent.

Instead of working on denying women's abortion rights, you'd think the Alabama legislators would work on poverty in the state, wouldn't you?

ALABAMA HAS THE WORST POVERTY IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD, U.N. OFFICIAL SAYS

But no. Instead, all these white, old government representatives work on this.

Staunch as they are against abortion and abortion rights, you'd think they'd come down squarely for sex education, right? Wouldn't you think?

Republican Lawmakers Approve Ban On Sex Ed Funding

Mind you, that example is only Iowa but still, it's indicative of the party's stance.

And contraceptives? To fight those abortions?

Republicans Cut Contraceptives for Women

Nah...

And then there's "day after" pills so, again, there would be fewer abortions or possibility of abortions...  Right?

Republicans Cut Contraceptives for Women

Again, no.

And we, here in Missouri, no better. This week, voting for a bill to effectively ban abortions.

Missouri's House passes bill 

banning abortions at 8 weeks

Of course, when you have yet one more Republican, still, in 2019, saying things supporting "consensual rape", what can you say? It makes clear their collective ignorance and callousness.

GOP Mo. Lawmaker Apologizes for 'Consensual Rape' Remark

Missouri's Governor declared "All life has value."  "All life has value" from the political party that lost 1475 children, keeping them from their parents at the southern border. 

Suddenly, "all life has value."  That sounds conspicuously like "Black Lives Matter", doesn't it? But they were vehemently, publicly against that claim at the time. 

Meanwhile, the Republican Party announced their official slogan for the 2020 election campaign.

Darn near actual.

God help us.

Links:

Morning-After Pills Don't Cause Abortion, Studies Say

Contraception Is Not Abortion

Did Republicans Actually Say These Things About Rape?

How Missouri legislators in Jefferson City waste time: this kind of nonsense

From The Star today:

Contraceptive health insurance bill awaits Nixon’s decision

JEFFERSON CITY -- "The fate of a bill allowing employers in Missouri to refuse to provide health insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization or abortion is in the hands of Gov. Jay Nixon, who over the years has managed to sidestep taking a stand on abortion legislation.

Two anti-abortion bills have been sent to the desk of the Democratic governor during his first term, and both times he took no action. Instead of signing or vetoing the bills, on both occasions he let a constitutional deadline pass that allowed them to became law without his signatures."

Every legislative session, those chuckleheads--too many of them Republican--down in Jefferson City keep introducing bill after bill after bill, trying to ever-tighten Missouri's abortion laws.

Forget that we've got lots of laws on them already.

Oh and by all means, forget that--hello?--abortions are legal in America and have been ever since 1973, rather family.

Forget that abortions in America are decreasing, sure. Somehow they're sure we need more, more and yet more legislation on contraception, even, let alone on abortions.

Forget that an abortion procedure is an incredibly difficult and emotional situation and problem that isn't gotten into or carried out easily or without a lot of heartache, thought and deliberation.

Forget that our health care system is broken--badly broken--and that it needs attention and solving. Forget that we, the people, need protection from our legislators and government from our health insurance companies, who are gouging us all, collectively and individually, just so they can get ever richer.

Forget all that.

Legislators in our state capitol and all across this nation keep proposing bill after bill after bill, all the while ignoring our real problems both as a state, in this case, and as a nation, in the case of Washington, D.C.

This is the way our legislators are "fiddling" as our Rome burns.

Thanks, guys. (Because it is mostly guys, too).

Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/02/3639492/contraceptive-health-insurance.html#storylink=cpy

Ironically but poignantly closing out Black History Month

Alfre Woodard, reciting Sojouner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman." How ironic, to hear this, here, now, from anyone, as the Republicans and Right Wing want the control of women's contraceptive and reproductive rights. Some things never change. But things must. (With thanks and a hat tip to MoveOn.org for this reminder).

Kansas Governor Sam "Mr. Heartless" Brownback

“What the president basically said is if you are church that does not believe in this — and the Catholic Church has problems with, the official Catholic Church, amongst other institutions, have problems with paying for contraceptives. You have a number of religious groups who saying, ‘We don’t want to pay for so-called abortifacients, these have morning after pill-type effects. And this is against our religious beliefs.’ And the president was saying, ‘You got to pay for it.’ And they were saying, ‘This is against our view life is sacred. That’s not denying women’s rights. If a woman then wants birth control, go work somewhere else.” --Governor Sam Brownback (R-KS) Links: http://www.classwarfareexists.com/ks-governor-if-a-woman-wants-birth-control-go-work-somewhere-else/; http://veracitystew.com/2012/02/25/get-your-religious-freedom-out-of-my-healthcare/

Republicans on denying women's rights: REALLY??

Seriously---"REALLY, Republicans?"

The false brouhaha over contraception this week

Bill Moyers Essay: Freedom of and From Religion from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

Link to original article with this same video: http://www.truth-out.org/bill-moyers-freedom-and-religion/1329422932

How's that abstinence thing working out for you, Governor Perry?

From The New York Times (see link below):

Texas Governor Rick "Perry government is a huge fan of the deeply ineffective abstinence-only sex education. Texas gobbles up more federal funds than any other state for the purpose of teaching kids that the only way to avoid unwanted pregnancies is to avoid sex entirely. (Who knew that the health care reform bill included $250 million for abstinence-only sex ed? Thank you, Senator Orrin Hatch!) But the state refused to accept federal money for more expansive, 'evidence-based' programs.

'Abstinence works,' said Governor Perry during a televised interview with Evan Smith of The Texas Tribune.

'But we have the third highest teen pregnancy rate among all states in the country,' Smith responded.

'It works,' insisted Perry.

'Can you give me a statistic suggesting it works?' asked Smith.

'I’m just going to tell you from my own personal life. Abstinence works,' said Perry, doggedly."

Thank you for that, Governor Perry, but just because it works for you and the Mrs., doesn't mean it works for an entire state, even if that state weren't the size of Texas.

Link to original post:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/opinion/17gailcollins.html?src=me&ref=general

The day of abortions is nearly over

From the Associated Press and Yahoo! News earlier this evening: FDA OKs new, five-day emergency contraceptive By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP Business Writer WASHINGTON – Federal health officials on Friday approved a new type of morning-after contraceptive that works longer than the current leading drug on the market. The pill ella from HRA Pharma reduces the chance of pregnancy up to five days after sex. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Friday as a prescription-only birth control option. The ruling clears the way for U.S. sales of the drug, which is already approved in Europe. Back to me: This should be nothing but good news to all of us out here in the world who don't want to see or hear about abortions out there in the world, for whatever reason. Right? But you watch--all the Catholics and holier-than-thou chuckleheads who don't want to lose their single-issue problem they can rail about and against will declare that this, too, is an abortion and will want it banned, young women's lives be damned. Seriously, they need to get over it just like they need to get over stem cell research. Science and technology have made stem cells now available from common, everyday, living cells from you and I, walking around on terra firma. Science and technology has also made these "morning after" pills like RU486 and now this "Plan B" pill so women can take them after having had sex, take the pill and avoid the situation of needing or wanting an abortion. And no, please don't say I'm advocating young people having indiscriminate sex. It's just that they're young, their hormones are raging and it's going to happen so wouldn't it be better that they have some way of protecting themselves and a possible child from an abortion? Wouldn't it? Of course it would. But I'm sure these single-issue abortion people won't agree with us. (Slapping forehead in disbelief and frustration). Link to original post: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100813/ap_on_bi_ge/us_birth_control_pill_fda