The Assault on Womens Sexual and Reproductive Rights

[Kobi]

Romney on Meet The Press today:

On the divisive social issue of abortion, Romney said it "would be my preference" that the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing it be overturned by any justices who he would appoint to the U.S. Supreme Court if vacancies come up.

"Well, there are a number of things I think that need to be said about preserving and protecting the life of the unborn child. And I recognize there are two lives involved: the mom and the unborn child," Romney said.

"And I believe that people of good conscience have chosen different paths in this regard. But I am pro-life and will intend, if I'm president of the United States, to encourage pro-life policies," he added.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/romney-says...155146420.html

[Kobi]

from NARAL:

Remember the demeaning “transvaginal probe law?”

Well, now Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell is backing outrageous new regulations for abortion providers that are impractical, serve absolutely NO medical purpose—and ultimately threaten to close clinics down or force them to rebuild from the ground up.

This Friday, the Virginia Board of Health is being asked to vote on the regulations for a second time—even though the panel already rejected these rules because they were unrealistic and medically unnecessary. The Governor and the rest of the executive branch are acting like the past never happened though, and continue to try to strong-arm the board into advancing these regulations.

Among other things, the regulations would force existing reproductive health care facilities to meet architectural standards designed for new hospitals. This makes no medical or logical sense at all, and it would require providers in the state to undergo massive construction or renovations. Hospitals aren’t even required to meet standards this tough.

Virginia abortion providers have been safely caring for women for decades. But it’s clear that Gov. McDonnell and others are less concerned with women’s health than with imposing harsh rules aimed at shutting clinics down.

[Kobi]

RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - The Virginia state health board voted on Friday to require existing abortion clinics to meet stricter hospital building codes, a move clinic supporters say could force facilities to make expensive changes or close.

The board in June had exempted existing abortion clinics from meeting the building code rules for new hospitals that can require modifications such as wider hallways and additional parking. It voted 13 to 2 on Friday to reverse that decision.

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, a Republican known for his conservative social views, had argued against that earlier decision, saying the health board did not have the authority to challenge the intent of a 2011 law that treats abortion clinics as hospitals.

Abortion-rights supporters, who had packed the hearing room, stood and chanted "shame, shame, shame" as the vote was read and security officers escorted them from the room.

"I'm exhausted because I've been going to these meetings for over a year," said Shelley Abrams, director of A Capital Women's Health, a Richmond abortion clinic. "We've complied with every rule except these architectural requirements."

Anti-abortion activists said the board's decision would protect women who choose to get an abortion.

"I'm against it, but if you're going to do it, it should be safe," Williamsburg resident Jerry Moran said. "Safety of women should be the primary objective."

The board typically has exempted existing medical facilities from new construction codes approved by state lawmakers, limiting them to additions, renovations and new building.

More than half of the clinics have submitted plans to comply with the state codes.

"It is unprecedented to force existing health centers to comply with building regulations intended for new construction, and the board acted well within its authority in voting to amend these regulations in June," said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/virginia-ti...025257592.html

[Kobi]

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday blocked the prosecution of an Idaho woman who aborted her pregnancy by taking pills instead of traveling to a clinic or hospital as required by state law.

Jennie Linn McCormack, an unmarried mother of three, was charged by Bannock County prosecutors last year after she ingested medication to induce an abortion. The drugs were approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and prescribed over the Internet, according to the opinion from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Idaho requires that abortions be performed during the first trimester in a hospital, doctor's office or clinic. No licensed healthcare providers offered the procedure near where McCormack lived in southeastern Idaho, the opinion said.

The criminal case against McCormack was dismissed, and she filed a lawsuit claiming Idaho's abortion law is unconstitutional. An Idaho federal judge issued an injunction saying the law can't be enforced.

In its ruling on Tuesday, the 9th Circuit largely agreed. Criminal abortion statutes traditionally apply to individuals such as doctors, who perform unhealthy abortions that threaten women's safety, the unanimous three-judge panel said.

Those laws shouldn't apply to pregnant women themselves, according to the opinion.

"There can be no doubt," the court said, "that requiring women to explore the intricacies of state abortion statutes to ensure that they and their provider act within the Idaho abortion statute framework, results in an 'undue burden' on a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus."

At this point in the litigation, however, the injunction should only apply to McCormack, and not women generally, the court said. McCormack may ultimately get a judgment that strikes down the law entirely, the 9th Circuit said.

Bannock County prosecutors and McCormack's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

The case in the 9th Circuit is Jennie Linn McCormack vs. Mark Hiedeman, 11-36010.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-court-say...75.html?_esi=1

[Kobi]

Republican Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois said after his Thursday debate against Democratic rival Tammy Duckworth that abortions are never necessary to save a pregnant woman's life, because modern technology has eliminated the risks of childbearing.

Walsh was defending his position that abortion should be outlawed with no exceptions, which is also the Republican Party's official stance on the issue.

"With modern technology and science, you can't find one instance" of a pregnant woman's life being at risk, he told reporters after the debate. "There is no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing." He added that "advances in science and technology" meant that abortion is never necessary for the health of a mother.

Walsh, a freshman Congressman, is currently trailing Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq War, in the polls.

In August, Republican Senate candidate and sitting Congressman from Missouri Todd Akin told a reporter that he didn't support exceptions for abortion for rape because women's bodies have a mechanism to prevent pregnancy in the case of a "legitimate rape." Mitt Romney and many national Republican politicians quickly distanced themselves from Akin and his comment. Romney has said he supports abortion exceptions in the cases of rape and the mother's health.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/c...-election.html

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Kobi wants to thump this guy in the forehead and suggest he consider being amongst the first in line for a retroactive abortion.

[Kobi]

A video of a 2008 speech Akin delivered on the House floor is being recirculated online.

In that address, Akin equated abortion providers to terrorists and suggested that it was "common practice" for them to be "giving abortions to women who are not actually pregnant."

Akin's comments were made on Jan. 22, 2008, as anti-abortion lawmakers spoke on the House floor on the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that women had a legal right to abortion.

During that speech, Akin described abortion as "un-American" because it runs contrary to the fundamental right to life described in the Declaration of Independence. Akin said he believed Americans would someday view the current era of legalized abortion in the same way they now view the era of legalized slavery — as inherently wrong. He referenced the nation's fight against terrorists, adding: "We have terrorists in our own culture called abortionists."

"You find that along with the culture of death go all kinds of other lawbreaking — the not following good sanitary procedures, giving abortions to women who are not actually pregnant, cheating on taxes, all these kinds of things, the misuse of anesthetic so that people die or almost die," Akin said in the 2008 speech. "All of these things are common practice."

http://news.yahoo.com/more-akin-abor...172151699.html

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Kobi puts this guy in the retroactive abortion line as well.

[Soon]

[Angeltoes]

Originally Posted by Soon

Love this^^^