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nothing can possiblie go wrong: It’s been 3 years today since Dr. George Tiller was murdered for... →
It’s been 3 years today since Dr. George Tiller was murdered for giving people access to abortion. So maybe if you wanted to do your Misha love fuelled act of kindness, you could think of Tiller and give a little of your time or money to the cause.
Abortion Support provides grants and support…
Video reblogged from Modern Monkeys with 7 notes
George Tiller, MD, explains why he became an abortion provider.
Quote reblogged from Feminist Sociology with 23 notes
It’s not what’s out there that makes a difference, it’s what’s in here. It is what you want to do if you have an understanding that this is a matter of survival for women and you are interested in helping women survive, then this is for you. It is not for you, if it is not an inner calling, it just isn’t. It doesn’t work that way. It’s not the technical component, it’s not the intellectual stimulation, abortion services are a heart issue. It’s a heart issue, and if you have a willing heart to help women in catastrophic situations, you can be an abortion provider. You can qualify and have a satisfactory life. There are probably more physicians who get shot working in an emergency room than are abortion clinics. There are all sorts of dangers – postal workers, firemen, police officers. Everything has a risk to it. I would prefer, personally, to have a challenging, stimulating, emotionally and spritiually-rewarding career that is short, rather than have a long one that is filled with ho-hum, mundane mediocrity, feeling as if you don’t make any difference to people. You will make a difference in women’s lives… if making a significant difference in women’s lives is important to you, having a career as an abortion provider will be an emotionally gratifying and tremendously stimulating occupation for you. If it’s sort of something you select intellectually, it’ll turn to salt in your mouth really quick and you’ll be gone.
Dr. George Tiller (via feministsociology)
Rest in peace, Dr. Tiller.
Link reblogged from Write Drunk, Edit Sober. with 274 notes
Why I perform abortions: A Christian obstetrician explains his choice →
Willie J. Parker, an obstetrician based in Washington, D.C., didn’t always perform abortions. He’s a Christian from Birmingham, Ala., who initially refused to even consider the procedure.
But about halfway into his 20-year career, he changed his mind. Now, he’s one of those rare doctors who is willing to push the limits and provide abortions at 24 weeks of pregnancy. That places him among only about 11 percent of all abortion providers who will do the procedure that late in the second trimester.
Click through to read more.
Photoset reblogged from jh0n ▲ with 102,368 notes
Courtesy of this facebook page. So excellent.
Source: something-quiet
Link reblogged from Stfu Assholes with 114 notes
5 Ways the GOP’s War on Women Is Fueling Rape Culture →
It’s been an explosively successful year for anti-choice legislators, lobbyists, and supporters. It seems every day there’s news of a new abortion (or birth control) restriction being introduced or passed in some state legislature, each story containing painfully ignorant quotations from the legislator who authored the bill. Here are five ways that recently introduced and enacted GOP policies have nothing to do with life, and everything to do with rape culture.
- Most anti-choice activists, lobbying groups, and politicians don’t support exceptions for rape and incest. That means that anyone who happens to be impregnated by the same person who rapes them is out of luck – or rights, more accurately – when it comes to reclaiming their body should they want to do that through not having to carry their pregnancy to term. According to some politicians, bills that exist without rape exceptions need to remain draconian in order to weed out the liars from the truly assaulted. This unfounded claim that victims of rape and incest are likely to lie – as well as the creation of a hierarchy of victims – sure looks like rape culture. But give Indiana Republican Eric Turner a break – he was trying to be careful to not “disparage in any way someone who has gone through the experience of a rape or incest”. He was just voting in favor of a bill that strips them of their right to bodily autonomy. At least he was nice about it!
- The GOP is dehumanizing an entire class of people in the same way rapists do. If there’s one thing anti-choicers are ironically good at, it’s completely dehumanizing a particular class of people – folks capable of becoming pregnant. You might recall the recent comparison of women to livestock, as made by Georgia Republican Terry England – livestock farmer?, legislator, and human rights aficionado – during a debate on a bill that would have restricted abortion access in the state to before 20 weeks gestation. It really breaks Mr. England’s heart to see baby cows and pigs not make it. So why can’t we legislate that human livestock be forced to use their bodies against their will to make sure all human babies make it? This type of comparison is literal dehumanization, and as most folks know, it’s much easier to commit human rights abuses on folks when they’re not considered human. For further examples, Rush Limbaugh’s recent foray into the world of calling young women “sluts” for wanting birth control.
- Anti-choice politicians are completely unconcerned with consent.What’s interesting about anti-choice politicians is that, as much as they like to think of pregnant folks as piggies on the farm about to pop with a new profitable litter, they still like to paint themselves as ultra-concerned with informed consent. This claim is made – ironically – as they continue to push through forced-ultrasound, mandatory waiting periods for obtaining a legal abortion, and fetal pain bills. Apparently, the only consent that matters is that which these (predominantly male and white) legislators deem important.
The basis for these bills aimed at providing “informed consent” to women seeking abortions is not scientifically informed itself. Take, for example, the fetal pain bill fad that’s these wily kids are trying to bring into vogue this season. These bills are passed on the basis that a fetus is capable of feeling pain at 20 weeks, even though medical experts have repeatedly proven that to be false. It seems that the strategy for fetal pain legislation includes the “lying for the Lord” tactic that the religious right has become so fond of.
And speaking of informed consent, where do Republicans stand on allowing doctors to lie to pregnant women about birth defects and genetic disorders their fetus may have? They’re perfectly fine with that – as long as it’s all in the name of preventing abortions.
Transvaginal ultrasounds are another anti-choice flavor of the month. Virginia’s controversial law requires these ultrasounds before any pregnant person can obtain an abortion. Several other states require other forms of ultrasounds before getting an abortion, and Texas has implemented the transvaginal ultrasound requirement for 45 days now. These unnecessary procedures are performed regardless of whether the person in question is a victim of rape or incest. They are another invasion of the patient’s body, and if the patient looks away, they must still be subjected to the spoken description of the fetus whether they want to be or not. All of these attacks are a blatant disrespect for the concept of consent – outrageously under the very guise of “informed consent”!
- Shame and misinformation is central in the GOP’s discussion of sex.Another favorite facet of the anti-choice movement is the spectacular failure that is abstinence-only education. The basis of abstinence only sex ed is that there are zero choices regarding sexuality outside of “NO” and “BABIES”. Incredibly, the same people who are so adamant about saying “no” don’t seem to understand – or perhaps care – that there are other people out there who simply won’t take that response for an answer. Sharing lollipops as a means of demonstrating that people (with an emphasis on girls) who have sex before marriage are used up and covered in spit is also no way of training young people on assertiveness and sexual negotiation.
Not only does abstinence-only education completely erase and forget about people who become pregnant as a result of rape, but they don’t even shed any light on sexual assault as a thing that exists in the real world, or something that can possibly be assuaged by clear, concise, and assertive sexual communication. Essentially, they are helping to create a culture of sexual ignorance – something that is a huge contributor to rape culture. If a person is never taught about sex, consent, and communication beyond “no” or “yes”, they are more likely to commit sexual assault.
- The GOP has no regard for bodily autonomy. Forcing someone to carry a pregnancy against their will is a violation of their right to exist as a self-contained and self-realized entity. It is literally forced organ donation. In the same way that a rapist uses their victim’s body for their own ends, so does the state when it seeks to restrict access to legal abortions. The GOP has an agenda that includes all pregnancies being carried to term. They have devoted the last two years to exert force to achieve that end. When the state can use and violate the bodies of its citizens at will, is there even a question that the legislators in favor of such laws are perpetuating rape culture? Restricting abortion devalues the agency of the pregnancy-capable person and thus fosters a culture in which personal agency is devalued on a macro and micro level.
Unfortunately, rape culture is pervasive and multi-faceted. It can be difficult to tackle all of the aspects of it as a means of eradicating rape and other forms of sexual abuse. However, an easy and instantly beneficial way is to curb the anti-choice enthusiasm that’s been bursting onto the political scene ever since Republicans got voted into office on the promise of job creation. The fight for reproductive rights is not just about abortion and access to it. This is about what our culture is going to look like, what is going to be permissible within it, and how it is going to be structured. As long as attacks on reproductive freedom are a major tenet of the Republican platform, every Republican in office is an emblem of the negative effects anti-choice policies and rhetoric wreak on both US culture at large, and for the individuals made victim to it.
Post reblogged from Keep your Bullshit out of my Uterus! with 24 notes
Those transvaginal ultrasounds everyone was worried about in VA. We’ve had them IN PRACTICE in TEXAS for FORTY NINE days.
SEVEN WEEKS.
While Texas is only state currently forcing people to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, AND VIRGINIA all have forced ultrasounds before an abortion.
Oklahoma and North Carolina have passed similar laws to the one in Texas but they are not being enforced due to pending court decisions.
Guttmacher’s updated .pdf of what ultrasound laws are passed and in effect in which states.
Link reblogged from Dust in my hands with 9 notes
Ultrasounds don't stop planned abortions →
Link reblogged from STFU, Conservatives with 412 notes
Texas state senator's office firebombed →
Let’s play a game: guess the Senator’s gender, and then guess what issue they’ve been rallying against recently.
…
…
…
If you guessed “a woman arguing against pro-lifers,” congratulations! You win the grim realization that pro-“life” people are anything but.
-Jess
Link reblogged from STFU, PRO-LIFERS! with 108 notes
TIME SENSITIVE: Idaho Senate could vote on forced ultrasound bill as early as TOMORROW. Contact legislators and tell them to vote NO! →
SIGNAL BOOST!
YOU got Virginia to drop transvaginal part of their mandatory ultrasound law.
YOU got Alabama to kill their bill.
YOU got Pennsylvania to effectively shelve theirs.
NOW it’s time for YOU to stop the Idaho bill in its tracks.
PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE and AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.
At the link above is contact information for many senators in Idaho. Here are a few:
Sponsor of Bill: Sen. Chuck Winder:
Sen. Curt McKenzie
Sen. Patti Anne Lodge
Sen. Shawn Keough
Sen. Mitch Toryanski
- @mitchtoryanski
- Call: (208) 334-1425
Source: rhrealitycheck
Link with 2 notes
GOP senators fail to reverse birth control rule →
In an election year battle mixing birth control, religion and politics, Democrats narrowly blocked an effort by Senate Republicans to overturn President Barack Obama’s order that most employers or their insurers cover the cost of contraceptives.
Link reblogged from The Frisky with 22 notes
Today’s Lady News: Virginia Kills “Fetal Personhood” Bill - The Frisky →
Virginia’s state Senate killed a “fetal personhood bill” which would have criminalized all abortions by declaring a fetus to be a human being at the moment of conception. Yesterday, Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell rescinded his intent to sign a “transvaginal ultrasound” bill, which would have required a woman seeking an abortion to be vaginally probed with an ultrasound, after it attracted nationwide and worldwide attention.
Link reblogged from ay girl whatcho name is with 9 notes
Va Gov. McDonnell balks at bill requiring transvaginal ultrasounds for women seeking abortions →
“Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state,” said McDonnell, who had previously supported the legislation. “No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure.”
Well done, sir, well done.
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