This bill is certain to pass, and Gov. Goodhair is certain to sign it. I found this exchange very revealing, between Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth):Senate lawmakers have tentatively passed a controversial measure to require women seeking abortions to receive sonograms — and have the details of the fetus described to them — prior to the procedure. Pending a final vote tomorrow, the bill will head back to the House so the lower chamber can sign off on the Senate's changes.
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Oh, indeed, we know you well, Sen. Right-Wing-Radio-Talk-Show-Host-Turned-Right-Wing-Pol. We know you better than you want to imagine.Davis alleged the purpose of the bill "is to traumatize women." Patrick fired back: "You know me better than that."
OK. Once we've established in law that the State of Texas can require a doctor to perform a procedure that is medically unnecessary but conforms to a set of social/religious views, I propose the introduction of a similar law, one that requires every male state representative or senator who voted for that law to undergo a sonogram every time a woman in their district is compelled to undergo the same.
But wait... how can a male be given such a sonogram? Isn't it biologically impossible? No, it's not. Have you ever seen the device used to treat urethral meatal stenosis in a man, a thick steel rod? Surely the transducer of a sonogram isn't much larger than that. Just cram that muthafucka into that muthafucka and PUSH...
AFTERTHOUGHT: a friend reminded me on the comment thread that in my anger I advocated avoidable violence and the resulting pain. Perhaps I am becoming what I most abhor. More likely, I was just mad as hell at people bent on harming women. Either way, in the light of day (actually it's not quite dawn yet), I retract my fantasy violence. Dog knows there's enough of the real thing out there.
Ouch! Having just survived several catheter procedures, I'm totally against it!
ReplyDeletemandt, as a young man I suffered a meatal stenosis which was not only painful in itself but also made me susceptible to endless UT infections for years. So I agree with you; anything like that hurts too much for words.
ReplyDeleteBut anger made me say what I said in the post. The GOPers in this state act as if they truly loathe women and have not one iota of respect for them. If I were a "real man," I'd remove some of their teeth for them. But I'm not one to get into fights I can avoid, so instead I just fantasize their suffering. I'm not proud of it. But neither will I let go of it while they continue to make women into second-class citizens... that's unacceptable!
I mostly agree with you.
ReplyDeleteAs a pro-choice Catholic, I have always held that I cannot make that decision for another woman and I also believe that that decision is between a woman and her God or conscience. I, personally, have never had to face that decision. My own children were very much wanted and actually miracles as my ability to have a child was in question.
These guys annoy me because while they might cause an unwanted pregnancy, they will never, ever have one and therefore have no right to legislate on the topic.
This is strictly a women's issue -- and a gut-wrenching one at that. I refuse to believe that any woman opted for an abortion without severe emotional pain.
Just my take. And yeah, I'm a little nutty on this one. Sue me.
Kay, as you may know already, my very first job as an independent IT contractor was for the org now known as Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. I did not get the contract by accident: when I heard they were looking, I actively sought the contract. In many ways it was the most useful contract I ever worked.
ReplyDeleteSo why would a young straight guy so avidly seek a job with Planned Parenthood? That's easy...
When I was in college, I saw all around me the consequences of unwanted pregnancies, abject fear of pregnancy due to lack of contraceptives, STDs, the infrequency of RH exams of all sorts, etc. These brilliant young women (and I do not use the term lightly; this was at the South's most prestigious private university, if I do say so myself) faced drastically life-altering (and possibly life-ending) consequences if they didn't get much-needed help.
Planned Parenthood provided much of that help. And according to released statistics, only 3 percent of that help is in the form of abortion, NOT the 90 percent proclaimed by that Dog-damned liar, Sen. Jon Kyl.
No, these women were NOT uniformly the daughters of wealthy families: that university made a real effort toward socioeconomic diversity. (I was a scholarship kid myself.) So some of the women would have been unable to afford even the most basic of reproductive health care without Planned Parenthood. I cannot help thinking that's exactly what the GOP intends... punishing young women for being poor, while assuring that their own rich kids still have whatever they need.
Abortion aside, this... basic reproductive health care, especially for those who cannot afford it... is the central mission of Planned Parenthood, and the primary reason every caring person should support them, in principle if not in financial assistance.
Kay, an aside... AFAIK, I never caused a pregnancy. Like you, I just didn't want to deal with the possible consequences, so I was almost obsessively careful. So, fortunately, were the women in my life.
ReplyDeleteOf course, now I don't have any kids to look after me in my declining years... :-)
Good for you Steve!!! While at college I, too, saw a lot of the same thing. I also remember how woefully ignorant we were about such matters back in the 60s because our parents didn't talk about such things. My ex and I never hesitated to talk to out kids about *anything*. We felt it was the best way to protect them.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, a large majority of our legislators across the country are old men who are stuck in the old mentality and never had an even vaguely propressive thought in their live. It's up to us as voters to kick such bums out!!!
Not a good reason to have kids anyway because in today's world most of the kids are too busy trying to keep their own heads above water. In my case, it won't happen because I have no desire to live in Nevada or Maine and the fact that I don't wish to be a burden on either.
ReplyDelete