Clinics no longer required to have special building codes and hospital rules

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — The Virginia Board of Health voted Thursday evening to reverse hospital-style rules and building codes for abortion clinics, fulfilling a campaign promise of Gov. Terry McAuliffe and delivering a setback to abortion foes.

The amended regulations — if finalized — will no longer require the state’s existing abortion clinics to comply with the inpatient hospital code. Nor would the regulations mandate that the clinics have transfer agreements with hospitals or impose strict construction and design standards. However, future clinics will have to follow parts of the construction code.

“Today’s vote is an enormous step forward in the fight to get extreme politics out of decisions that should be between women and their doctors,” McAuliffe (D) said in a statement. “I applaud the Board of Health for ending this disturbing chapter in our history and for heeding the advice of experts, medical professionals and Virginia women about the best way to provide safe access to health care.”

The move also drew praise from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia and ProgressVA.

Don’t be mislead.  These TRAP rules and codes were meant to shut down clinics, not make abortion safer.  Hopefully all new clinics, regardless of the type of medical service provided will have to follow codes that make all procedures safer.  Plenty of us have out patient services that are far more invasive and dangerous than abortion.

Good for the State Board of Health for coming to its senses, now Cuccinelli and McDonald are peddling their influence elsewhere.

The thought occurred to me as I created this post that now our local clinic is closing, the protesters will have further to drive.  Please know that the clinic owner always appreciated them being out there.  Protester presence saved her thousands of dollars annually in advertising.

The best way to end abortion is to do all we can to reduce unwanted pregnancy.  Yet, as we speak, members of the Senate and Congress are trying their best to defund Planned Parenthood.  The Hyde Amendment has made it illegal for any federal money to go towards abortion.  Those chasing after Planned Parenthood with pitchforks and torches need to think about the cost of unwanted, unplanned pregnancy.  Birth Control ought to be a national priority.

I have to go write my check to Planned Parenthood.  You can also designate them through amazon.com.

*TRAP* laws = Targeted Restriction of Abortion Providers 

 

Ohio tries to draft bill outlawing abortion for Down’s Syndrome

MoonHowler

Huffingtonpost.com:

Anti-abortion activists in Ohio want to bar women from getting abortions solely because they do not wish to have a baby with Down syndrome, rallying around a bill endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee.

The Ohio House and Senate will likely pass the bill sometime this fall, according to the New York Times, because most of the state’s legislators oppose abortion and have been endorsed by the committee. However, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) has not yet taken a position on the bill, so it is unclear if he will authorize it, though he has signed many other abortion restrictions into law.

Because women can undergo prenatal testing to see if their baby will be afflicted with certain diseases and disorders, between 50 and 85 percent of women who discover that their baby might have Down syndrome have chosen an abortion, according to a review of studies conducted between 1995 and 2011. But that number has declined over the years when compared to earlier studies conducted in the 1990s, the review notes.

 

Critics of the bill say that the ban would be difficult to enforce and likely violates the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which delineates that women can choose to get an abortion at any point until the fetus is viable. It also affects the definition of the right to choose an abortion as a private matter between the patient and her doctor.

“These legislative proposals interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and exploit complicated issues that can arise during pregnancy in the worst way,” Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Medical decisions should not be made in the Statehouse, they should be made in doctors’ offices based on sound medical science.”

Read More

Va GOP jumps on the anti Planned Parenthood bandwagon

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

 

RICHMOND — Republican leaders of Virginia’s House of Delegates renewed their calls Tuesday for a criminal investigation into the state’s Planned Parenthood clinics after the release of a third undercover video targeting the abortion provider.

The video released Tuesday shows lab workers using tweezers to sort through identifiable body parts in a petri dish atop a lighted lab table.

“Anyone watching those videos — seeing the tiny hands of a child on a petri dish — has to be shocked,” Speaker William J. Howell (Stafford) said in a conference call with reporters. “And hearing the casual nature of their conversations really is appalling.”

You know, I don’t want to go watch anyone perform brain surgery.  I also don’t want to watch abortions being performed or any other types of medical procedures.  I just don’t have the stomach for it.  However, in my travels, I have picked up some information.

Howell sounds like a real dumb ass.  He is shooting off his mouth about something that he knows very little about.  Let’s start with some facts.  I might not use the correct medical terms but you will get the drift.  All abortions that use an aspirator suction device to perform the surgery collect fetal parts in a mesh type bag.  Blood and fluids seep through into a larger container.  After the procedure, a lab tech empties the mesh bag in a petri dish to make certain all parts are there.  If they aren’t, that means an incomplete abortion has been performed.  An incomplete procedure means that the woman is at high risk for infection.  Usually what is known as a “re-vac” is performed to make sure all fetal tissue has been removed.

I am just a layman of course but I do know that much, regardless of how poorly I have expressed it.  At this point, let’s not treat this any differently than any other medical procedure, because it isn’t.  THIS PRACTICE IS SOUND MEDICAL PRACTICE.

Read More

Democrats vie for opportunity to run for the 29th

MoonHowler

sd29

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia has announced that all three contenders for the opportunity to run as the Democratic  candidate for the 29th Virginia Senate seat are 100% pro-choice.

That is good news.  Those nasty TRAP laws that keep popping up (Remember Ken Cuccinelli’s diabolical building code intrusions?) came into being because of a vote from the current senator from the 29th.  Virginia Democrats want to make sure those ridiculous parking lot rules aren’t used to stomp out reproductive rights for the women of Virginia.

Having three well-qualified candidates presents another problem.   I have had a very difficult time deciding who gets my vote on June 9.  All 3 candidates are strong.  All have worked hard for my vote.  The real question becomes which candidate has the best chance of beating Republican challenger Hal Parrish who has lost the pro-choice votes in the 29th by casting a tie-breaker vote for very restrictive zoning rules within the City of Manasssas.  His vote would restrict future reproductive care within the City of Manassas.

Read More

Manassas City: Parrish joins the anti-reproductive rights crew

MoonHowler

Insidenova.com:

Against a backdrop of election-year politics, the Manassas City Council moved this week to enact new hurdles for hospitals, outpatient surgery centers and women’s health clinics that want to expand or open new facilities within the city limits.

Residents on both sides of the abortion debate packed the Manassas City Hall chambers April 27 to watch the council update its 69-year-old zoning ordinance to include new rules for “medical care facilities,” which will likely require special use permits to locate anywhere in the city.

Introducing the measure, Mayor Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II sought to frame the issue as “reasonable land-use regulations” intended to allow the council to consider things like parking lot size, hours of operation and access for emergency vehicles before approving the permits, which are also subject to public hearings.

Parrish, who is the GOP nominee in the hotly contested race to replace retiring Sen. Charles J. Colgan, cast the tie-breaking vote on the issue, joining fellow Republicans Marc Aveni, Vice Mayor Jonathan Way and Councilman Ian Lovejoy in supporting the changes.

Republican Council Members Mark Wolfe and Sheryl Bass joined the panel’s only Democrat, Ken Elston, in opposing the measure. A second reading and vote on the zoning ordinance is scheduled for May 11.

All three of the Democrats competing in the upcoming June 9 primary to run against Parrish in November – Del. Michael Futrell, 2nd, Atif Qarni and Jeremy McPike — were present for the vote and quick to criticize Parrish’s decision.

“He’s created this façade that he’s moderate and he really isn’t,” Qarni said. “And this vote is just an example of that.”

Hal Parrish needs to understand that he just lost himself a lot of votes in the 29th Senate District.  He needs to understand that he aided and abetted people who are pushing their own religious agenda down the throats of others.  Parrish needs to understand that his gentlemanly ways that have made people like him will not sweet talk voters out of making him pay at the ballot box.   I cannot vote for him now.

Read More

Anti-abortion bill includes tax hike on small businesses

MoonHowler

Huffingtonpost,com:

WASHINGTON — After a botched effort to pass legislation imposing a 20-week ban on abortions, House Republicans are moving forward Thursday with what’s being dubbed a less controversial bill that codifies a ban on federal funding for abortions.

The bill would do a number of things — including block federal funds for abortion for women who are in the military, who live in Washington, D.C., and who are poor — but one aspect of the legislation that hasn’t received much attention is the fact that it would raise taxes on the vast majority of small businesses.

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would deny small businesses a tax credit they currently receive through what’s known as the SHOP exchange, a part of the Affordable Care Act, if they include abortion care in their health plans. Roughly 87 percent of private plans include abortion services as part of comprehensive coverage, meaning the bulk of small businesses would be hit with a tax hike if the bill were to become law.

Read More

Anti-abortion bill doesn’t make it to the table

MoonHowler


Washingtonpost.com:

House Republicans passed a watered-down antiabortion bill Thursday after withdrawing a more restrictive measure that some female GOP lawmakers argued would hurt the party’s efforts to broaden its appeal to women and younger voters.

The rebellion on the abortion bill, led by women and moderates, was an illustration of some of the new challenges the party faces as a result of its expanded majority in the House. The 246-member GOP caucus is now experiencing rifts that previously did not exist, and those divisions are largely being driven by concern among moderates that they could face tough reelection battles in 2016, when more Democratic and independent voters are expected to turn out for presidential election.

So this anti abortion bill is basically a retread.  Maybe they think that the  Hyde (that old hypocrite) Amendment missed something.
Read More

Pope Francis discourages “breeding like rabbits”

MoonHowler

pope

Washingtonpost.com:

Pope Francis gets pretty chatty on the papal plane.

He’s talked to reporters about jobs, homosexuality and women’s role in the church. He’s spoken out about the War in Iraq and terrorism. He’s even addressed his own retirement. And on his flight back from the Philippines this week, he started chatting about the church’s position on birth control, saying some think that to be good Catholics, “we have to be like rabbits.”

Here’s [sic] his exact words from the Vatican Insider:

I believe that three children per family, from what the experts say, is the key number for sustaining the population. The key word here is responsible parenthood and each person works out how to exercise this with the help of their pastor. … Sorry, some people think that in order to be good Catholics we have to breed like rabbits, right? Responsible parenthood: This is why there are marriage support groups in the Church with people who are experts on such issues; and there are pastors and I know that there are many acceptable solutions that have helped with this. And another thing: For poor people, children are a treasure, prudence is needed here too, it is true. Responsible parenthood but also recognizing the generosity of that father or mother who see their child as a treasure.
Read More

Can the TRAP laws be recinded?

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — The Virginia Board of Health decided Thursday to move forward with a review of rules for abortion clinics, the latest step in a lengthy process that could roll back controversial regulations finalized last year.

The move was a victory for Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who campaigned on a promise to reverse the rules, which regulate abortion clinics as if they were hospitals by dictating such details as hallway widths and the number of parking spots. Opponents of the regulations say they were intended to block access to abortion by closing down clinics that do not meet the requirements.

“These clinics provide essential preventive care and cancer screenings to many women and families and unfortunately were facing closure due to onerous regulations that were the result of politics being inserted into the regulatory process,” McAuliffe said in a statement.

However, groups opposed to abortion did not necessarily see Thursday’s action as a defeat; they said the review approved by the health board leaves open the possibility that restrictions on clinics could be strengthened. The restrictions, they said, are meant to protect women’s health and safety.

“We don’t know what will happen at the end of this process. This is simply a reopening and reviewing of the standards,” Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, told reporters after the meeting.

The biggest bullshit in the world is out of Victoria Cobb’s mouth.  TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) are for one reason and one reason alone–to stop abortion.  That’s the only reason.  Wide hallways and designer parking lots are just BS and help no one.  Let’s face it, people having medical procedures not related to abortion can run into emergency problems.  Can someone please explain to me why these laws aren’t in place for all medical facilities that provide out-patient services?  They can’t.  The requirements are bogus and help no one.

Good for Governor McAuliffe for prioritizing getting rid of these ridiculous laws.

Flip Benham harasses gay weddings in NC

MoonHowler

flip benham

Rightwingwatch.org:

 

With gay marriage now legal in North Carolina, it was only a matter of time before Flip Benham of Operation Save America started crashing wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples. The North Carolina-based pastor, who is the father of Religious Right activists David and Jason Benham, reportedly disrupted several weddings at the Mecklenburg County and Courts Office in Charlotte last week. Benham’s group, which in July disrupted a memorial service at a Unitarian Universalist congregation in New Orleans, “interrupted several couples’ weddings as supporters held up a large rainbow flag to block his view,” according to the North Carolina LGBT publication Q Notes. “Another protester waved a bible in the air as he screamed several profanities and vulgarities.”

 

Read More

Supreme Court blocks Texas abortion law

MoonHowler

TexasAbortionOctober

Washingtonpost.com:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday night blocked a Texas law that had drastically reduced the number of abortion clinics in the nation’s second most populous state.

The court’s order, staying a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that the law could go into effect, will allow more than a dozen of the clinics to resume operation, according to the group that challenged the law, the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The court’s brief order did not say why it was disagreeing with the appeals court. Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. would have allowed the law to go into effect while abortion providers pursued their claims that it is unconstitutional.

The order was unsigned, but that apparently meant Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the other five justices — Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — were in agreement.

Read More

Pro-Life: It’s not just fertilization to birth

MoonHowler

Sperm-egg
Pro-life isn’t just from fertilization to birth. Life is a continuum that streams from generation to generation.

I find it astonishing that some of our biggest “pro-life” movers and shakers in the community were down at McCoart Building yesterday ready to hop all over the Board of County Supervisors for allowing refugee children to live at Joe Gibb’s private facility, Youth For Tomorrow.

Many “pro-lifers” who feel quite comfortable with legislation that would force a woman to give birth even in extreme cases of rape, incest and fetal anomaly, have no compunction about telling the “illegals” to go back where they came from, even if they are 5, 8 or 11 years old. These same people want to deny these children refuge, even on a temporary basis.

These people simply aren’t pro-life–not by my standards. Perhaps my standards are just a little too high for some of the movers and shakers. From here on out, if I heard you calling out children who are here, alive and kicking, and telling them to go home, I will be calling bullshit on you, regardless of who you are.

Sort of makes you wonder who the real pro-lifers are. Perhaps the very name pro-life has been high-jacked by many who are very short sighted.

Wheaton College: What next?

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

With much of Washington already gone for the holiday, the Supreme Court issued a short legal ruling Thursday with the potential to deepen the political backlash among Democrats that was sparked by the court’s earlier Hobby Lobby decision.

The majority of the justices ruled that Wheaton College, a small evangelical school in Illinois, does not for now have to comply with the Obama administration’s requirement that it fill out a form to register religious objections to providing some types of contraceptive coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

The opinion said that until full arguments are heard by the court, Wheaton need only file a letter with the federal government stating the college’s religious objections.

Legal experts say the temporary decision is likely to embolSden religious groups and lead to a wave of lawsuits and objections to the required form.
Read More

Supremes strike down clinic buffer zones in Massachusetts

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down protest-free buffer zones around abortion clinics in Massachusetts as an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.

But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s ruling was a narrow one, pointing out that other states and cities had found less-intrusive ways to both protect women entering clinics and accommodate the First Amendment rights of those opposed to abortion.

Massachusetts asserts “undeniably significant interests in maintaining public safety on [its] streets and sidewalks, as well as in preserving access to adjacent healthcare facilities,” Roberts wrote. “But here the commonwealth has pursued those interests by the extreme step of closing a substantial portion of a traditional public forum to all speakers.”
Read More

McAuliffe: investigates TRAP laws

MoonHowler

There is a new sheriff in town and his name is Terry McAuliffe.  From NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia:

 Gov. McAuliffe has just ordered a review of dangerous targeted regulations on Virginia’s women’s health centers! These burdensome regulations (also known as TRAP regulations) were designed to close the vast majority of  abortion providers – and were enacted only after former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli bullied the Board of Health. It is past time that these TRAP regulations get the evidence-based review they deserve – and Gov. McAuliffe has taken the first step!

At an event for National Women’s Health Week this morning, Gov. McAuliffe announced that his administration is:

  • Instructing Virginia’s Board of Health to conduct an immediate review of the medically-irrelevant, burdensome, targeted regulations on abortion providers that they approved last year under pressure from Governor Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
  • Making five appointments to fill seats on the Board of Health
  • Approving Planned Parenthood health centers to participate in a cost-reduced medication purchasing program that will enable them to provide affordable care to more Virginians

It’s about time to put an end to laws that do not make women’s health safer.  The purpose of TRAP laws is to weave a web of regulations around abortion providers so that abortion simply becomes too expensive and too inaccessible.  Good for Terry McAuliffe.  He is doing what I voted for him to do.  Of course this fight isn’t over.  Not by a long shot!  But it has started and that is what is important.  Also, last I heard, there is a lawsuit filed by Rosemary and Wayne Codding.  Hopefully that will blast a few people out of the water.  I simply cannot stand disingenuous concern.  The Virginia TRAP laws are based on ignorance.