Republicans continue to say they don’t have to change their core principles, they only have to change the language they use to get their message out. One perception they want to alter is the idea that they are running a “war on women”. Looking at the news over the past few years, I’d say the Republican Party has a long way to go on this subject.
- Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky): “Talk about a manufactured issue. There is no issue.”
- RNC Chairman Reince Priebus: “It’s a fiction.”
The Texas Front
the facts and commentary: A federal judge has struck down part of Texas' new abortion restrictions. Doctors will no longer be required to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The judge stated that there was no medical reason for this requirement since hospitals would care for emergency patients no matter who the admitting doctor was. The court also pointed out that admitting privileges are granted only to doctors who admit a certain number of patients each year. Since most Texas abortion doctors come from out of state, are only in Texas for a few days a month and records show that the number of emergency admissions over the past ten years has been very small, this is a threshold abortion doctors could not meet. (And, the low number of emergency admissions would seem to fly in the face of Texas legislator's stand that women must be stopped from having abortions because they are so unsafe.)The court left in place the state-mandated drug protocol requirement--a protocol that doctors say is outdated and not as safe as newer protocols. It should be noted that newer protocols call for a lower amount of drugs to be used and have been proven to be as effective as the high dose protocol these non-M.D. legislators are forcing on women. (One has to wonder if these legislators were so worried about women's health why they would mandate a protocol that M.Ds. call "unsafe". Maybe to justify their hospital admissions requirement?)
Governor Rick Perry (R) said said his office will file an appeal.
The Alabama, Mississippi and Wisconsin Fronts
the facts and commentary: Federal judges in these three states have also struck down the admitting requirement section of their new abortion laws. In each state, the judge has called this regulation unnecessary since hospitals care for any emergency patient that arrives at their door. (Really, if you're an out-of-state visitor and you arrive at a Mississippi emergency room following an automobile accident, are they going to send you back home to wherever because they don't know your home state doctor?)
The North Dakota Front
the facts: Both the admitting requirement and the state mandated drug protocol have been struck down by federal judges in this state.
The Oklahoma Front
the facts: Oklahoma is another state to have their drug protocol requirement struck down by a federal judge. In this case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the law would not only put limits on medical abortions, but would effectively ban them altogether. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the state's appeal to have the restriction re-instated.
The Michigan Front
the facts and commentary: Michigan abortion opponents have gathered enough signatures to require the Republican heavy legislature to consider a law that would ban health care policies issued in that state from including coverage for abortions. Abortion coverage would still be available, but a woman would be required to purchase a separate rider at her own expense if she wanted the coverage. A majority of both the House and Senate have indicated they would vote in favor of a ban. A similar bill was passed by the Michigan legislature in 2012 but was vetoed by Governor Rick Snyder (R) who questioned the government's right to require riders in private insurance plans. If the legislature fails to pass this requirement into law, the signatures gathered guarantee that it will be put on the state ballot in 2014. (I wonder if there will be a similar call for men to purchase an additional rider to provide coverage for vasectomies or prescriptions for Viagra. I'm just thinking of men's health, of course.)
The Republican War on Women is "fiction"?
WHAT YOU DO SPEAKS SO LOUDLY
THAT I CANNOT HEAR WHAT YOU SAY.
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