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Jul

15

HHS seeks to define contraception as abortion to restrict aid & refusal immunity further

Filed Under Civil Rights, Congress, Gender, George Bush, Health Care, Politics, Republicans, Social Issues, Women | 10 Comments

Here is the New York Times article, and from it, Feminsting helps sum it up (no, the belief that this would happen isn’t new, the rules are):

You might think Bush has done all the damage he possibly can to reproductive rights. But he’s not done yet:

The Bush administration wants to require all recipients of aid under federal health programs to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control.Under the draft of a proposed rule, hospitals, clinics, researchers and medical schools would have to sign “written certifications” as a prerequisite to getting money under any program run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The rule defines “abortion” so broadly that it could also apply to birth control pills and emergency contraception. And because the rule would apply to federal health programs, low-income and uninsured women will be most affected.

Sam at Lazy Circles summarizes:

So, the inner city women’s clinic employee who refuses to talk to patients about birth control? Can’t touch her. The hospital pharmacist who refuses to fill prescriptions for birth control? She can’t be fired or disciplined. The doctor who refuses to give emergency contraception to a rape victim for “religious reasons?” Give that man a promotion.

An even more in depth review can be read at RH Reality Check, including the definition of abortion in the proposals.

Up until now, the federal government followed the definition of pregnancy accepted by the American Medical Association and our nation’s pregnancy experts, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which is: pregnancy begins at implantation. With this proposal, however, HHS is dismissing medical experts and opting instead to accept a definition of pregnancy based on polling data. It now claims that pregnancy begins at some biologically unknowable moment (there’s no test to determine if a woman’s egg has been fertilized). Under these new standards there would be no way for a woman to prove she’s not pregnant. Thus, any woman could be denied contraception under HHS’ new science.

And, specifically,

Anyone working for a federal clinic, or a health center that receives federal funding–even in the form of Medicaid–and would like to prevent a woman from accessing most prescription birth control methods has federal protection to do so. As the HHS proposal details,

Because the statutes that would be enforced through this regulation seek, in part, to protect individuals and institutions from suffering discrimination on the basis of conscience, the conscience of the individual or institution should be paramount in determining what constitutes abortion, within the bounds of reason. As discussed above, both definitions of pregnancy are reasonable and used within the scientific and medical community. The Department proposes, then, to allow individuals and institutions to adhere to their own views and adopt a definition of abortion that encompasses both views of abortion. (emphasis mine)

Makes the Viagra coverage by insurance companies that McCain so doesn’t like to discuss seem even more absurd.  Sure – let men do all they can to have sex with women, and keep them pregnant.

Will he say he is like Bush on this rule, or no?

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:44 pm July 15th, 2008 in Civil Rights, Congress, Gender, George Bush, Health Care, Politics, Republicans, Social Issues, Women | 10 Comments 

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Jul

15

WCPN Sound of Ideas: Social Networking w/NPR’s Andy Carvin & BFD’s George Nemeth

Filed Under Blogging, Cleveland+, Media, Tech, WCPN/SOI | 2 Comments

How cool is that?  Here’s tomorrow morning’s show at 9am:

Linked In, Facebook, MySpace–online social networks are changing more than the Internet. Whether we’re ready or not, they’re changing politics, civics and the way lives are lived. Wednesday morning at 9, we’ll explain online social networking, and we’ll talk about why some people are so attracted to exposing every facet of their lives online and how these networks are changing everything from dating to running for president.

Guests:
George Nemeth, local blogger, tweeter, civic-minded social network guru
Caroline McCarthy, Staff Writer, CNET.com
Andy Carvin, Senior Product Manager for Online Communities at NPR Digital Media

Listen live here, later here.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:04 pm July 15th, 2008 in Blogging, Cleveland+, Media, Tech, WCPN/SOI | 2 Comments 

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Jul

15

More fun with guns

Filed Under Cleveland+, Crime, Culture, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Social Issues, Statehouse | Comments Off

A shooting a day keeps the [fill in the blank].

From Cleveland.com:

Police were called at 6:30 a.m. today to assist paramedics who were trying to get to a 19-year-old shooting victim.

An angry crowd and the armed suspect were keeping them away from the victim in the 3300 block of East 65th Street.

Paramedics said a shot was fired at them.

I can just hear it now:

“I want the self-defense defense!”

“No way! I get the self-defense defense!”

“No, me!”

“No, me!”

“Sheesh – just pull out a gun and decide already, would you?”

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:00 am July 15th, 2008 in Cleveland+, Crime, Culture, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Social Issues, Statehouse | Comments Off 

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Jul

15

It’s not pretty, but it’s real

Filed Under Blogging, Culture, Health Care, Jill Miller Zimon, Parenting, Social Issues, Women | 10 Comments

Due to the circumstances of my growing up, I’ve never been particularly obsessed with my weight.  Currently, I’m in a food intake restrictive/workout 4-5 times a week mode for a number of reasons, including the fact that I put on 10% of my body weight after I injured my back and I haven’t really felt well, or myself, in several months and I’ve had enough of that. Finally.

But in general, I’ve never been one to complain about being overweight and I’ve never gone on any diets.  Back when Lean Cuisine first came out and I wasn’t married, I would eat them – but that was for convenience sake.  But no diet pills, no joining any clubs, not even a single book have I ever bought. Everyone is different – this isn’t a judgement on any of those approaches to achieving or maintaining a healthy weight.  But again, due to influences during my childhood, I became adequately uninterested in all of those things.

I put more weight on than I should have with my first pregnancy, but was on target with the other two.  Losing the weight didn’t happen after the first child was born until after his first birthday party, where all the other moms – whose first borns had turned one – all looked like they’d lost the baby weight and then some.  The day after that party, I started working out and going to classes. Since then, when I was 32, I’ve maintained more or less the same weight, within a three to five pound range, except twice, when I’ve gone to where I am now (though I’m actually back on the way down) – though I stopped going to classes a long time ago and have had a bit more haphazard approach to working out (some readers might remember my posts about the country music videos and BRAVO cable tv that I watched while on the treadmill).

And for those of you who remember the bar mitzvah pics from last year, I was almost underweight for me there – but that was just exhaustion and drive to perfection before all my family and friends that made me that thin (for me – not for most women my size).

Well – at BlogHer, there are some fabulous women who write often about body image. I haven’t joined in or commented because I’m not really very comfortable talking about or writing about my body – what I like, what I don’t like and so on. I’m fine, I’m basically healthy – I cannot complain.

But some of the entries that have resulted after Suzanne wrote this post have made me realize that sometimes what it might take for others to appreciate their body is to see others take pride in theirs – that’s what inspired me to write this post anyway.

So – here it is – last December, me in a bathing suit.  Like I said – it’s not pretty, but it’s real.

jillswimalone.jpg

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:17 am July 15th, 2008 in Blogging, Culture, Health Care, Jill Miller Zimon, Parenting, Social Issues, Women | 10 Comments 

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