McDonnell Caves on Ultrasounds, Where Do We Go From Here

Truth lost out

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell caved on his support for the S.B. 484 ultrasound bill and even used the language of the lefties like "invasive" and "consent" (see my debunking of the ultrasound-is-rape-charge here) to defend his reversal:

Thus, having looked at the current proposal, I believe there is no need to direct by statute that further invasive ultrasound procedures be done. Mandating an invasive procedure in order to give informed consent is not a proper role for the state. No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure.

This statement just opens him up to so many attacks, from all sides.  First, is he admitting that he hadn't already looked at the current proposal that he had previously stated support for??  Good job, gov'na!

Second, his words dangerously echo the liberal idea that ANY law pertaining to abortion isn't the "proper role for the state" and puts the state between a woman and her abortionist.  This is a slippery slope - leading to the question of what IS the proper role of the state in terms of mandating informed consent on abortion.  Obviously pro-choicers would say there is none and McDonnell's words must hearten them; they will be sure to throw them back in his face should the subject come up again.  It will be difficult for him to defend Virginia's informed consent 2001 statute that he helped pass as a delegate (and which he cited in his decision) in light of his new view of the "proper" role of the state. 

Third, he acts as if abortion is just "another medical procedure" - like pro-aborts who compare it to removing tonsils, a mole or a tumor.  Abortion is not just "another medical procedure," it stops a beating heart and ends a life, there are unique and compelling interests that the state - and all people of good conscience - have regarding it.

Where Do We Go From Here

The most frustrating thing is that, once again, hysterically unsupportable lies won the day and pro-lifers like me who fought to spread the truth were betrayed, just like with Komen.  THIS. MUST. END. NOW.  The question is, how do we regroup, learn, and counter the next culture war ambush?  

Apparently hysteria like MILLIONS OF POOR MINORITY WOMEN WILL DIE OF BREAST CANCER IN THE STREETS!!!!11! and REPUBLICANS WANT TO BAN BIRTH CONTROL!!!!11!! and VIRGINIA WANTS TO RAPE WOMEN!!!11! has been affective for radical lefties.  So do we need to be more reactive and hysterical, thinking of the most extreme, ridiculous sound bytes and scream them from the top of our lungs like the left does?  This is difficult for many on the right to do but I do admit to occasionally enjoy the indulgence of fighting fire with fire.

Perhaps along with a little bomb throwing, we need to work on our coordination and anticipation skills.  In hindsight, this kerfuffle was entirely predictable and pro-lifers should have been prepared for it.  Even if we were caught flatfooted, we should have begun hitting back hard last week and providing cover for the VA GOP immediately.  All the pro-life groups and activists should have coordinated and begun a PR strategy to address the media and a campaign to write to VA state reps to encourage their support and defense of the bill as soon as it happened.  Instead - maybe because we thought the rape charges were too ridiculous to be taken seriously - we let it languish, which allowed the lie to fester and spread.  It became a part of the national conversation and local politicians got scared.

Bottom line: we need to get better at this - ALL of us on the right side of the political spectrum do - especially if we want a chance at defeating Obama.

Incompetence and Confusion Abound

(Added 2/23/12) Reading this Washington Post article, "McDonnell, Virginia Republicans back off mandatory invasive ultrasounds," it is shocking how none of the major players knew what was going on or what the bill would entail - from the pro-abortion lobby, to the GOP representatives who sponsored it, to the Governor who said he'd sign it.  Check out the key words I've bolded:

Confusion over the legislation and ultrasounds — and considerable national media attention — preceded the unraveling of the bill. The original measure stated, simply, that a woman needed an ultrasound before an abortion. Many lawmakers did not understand that at the young fetal age abortions usually occur, the invasive vaginal ultrasound would be needed to establish gestational age, as required by the bill.
...
Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Winchester), who introduced the measure, said she did not realize that the ultrasound would not be external, and she said she still was not certain that would be required under the legislation. But she said she would move to strike her bill because of that uncertainty.
...
“I had no concept about this other issue,’’ she said. “It didn’t come up in the committee, it didn’t come up in the subcommittee. I’m still not sure if it’s right or not right.”
...
McDonnell’s announcement came a day after legislators and governor’s staff members, including Chief of Staff Martin Kent and Secretary of Health Bill Hazel, huddled in his office Tuesday night to hash out a compromise after learning that some ultrasounds could be more invasive than first thought.
...
Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, said that after years of lobbying legislators on similar bills, she didn’t know the ultrasound would be a vaginal one until a colleague at the National Women’s Law Center informed her the first week of the session.

Unbelievable!  I can't believe the incompetence and confusion from the representatives who sponsored the bill and the governor who had been outspoken in his support of it.  Shame on them for not researching the issue so they would be prepared for the lying attacks and could counter them, shame on me for assuming they had already done basic research before getting behind an issue!  I suppose I can take some comfort in the fact that the pro-abortion lobby didn't know either and only discovered the trans-vaginal angle about a month ago. It just sucks when the people who are supposed to represent our side do such a horrible job and make us all look bad by association.

This delegate sums up my feelings on this episode of betrayal, and kudos to him for chastising his fellow turncoat Republicans:

“Instead of confronting the misinformation that’s going on here, some Republicans want to back away from this,’’ said Marshall (R-Prince William). “Instead of confronting the public with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, we — the descendants of those who fought the British empire — are sounding the call for retreat.”

UPDATE 3/7/12: McDonnell signs a modified ultrasound bill.

Related Posts:
If Ultrasounds are Rape, Abortionists Have Been Raping Women for Years!
No, Planned Parenthood, Birth Control is NOT "Basic Health Care"
Debunking the Myth that 99% of Women Are Using Birth Control
Controlling the Birth Control Debate
Susan G. Komen for the WIN: FAIL What Planned Parenthood doesn't want you to know 
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If Ultrasounds are Rape, Abortionists Have Been Raping Women for Years!

[Update: New post - McDonnell Caves on Ultrasounds, Where Do We Go From Here]

Goodness, it's getting hard to keep up with all the new pro-abortion hysterics, it seems as if a new one comes up every day (Obama is happy, I'm sure)!  From Komen temporarily defunding Planned Parenthood, to Obamacare mandating free contraception, now it's a bill in Virginia that would require ultrasounds be performed to determine the gestational age of an unborn baby to be aborted.

Gestational age is important for determining which abortion procedure to execute - Jill Stanek has some examples in Virginia of  abortionists disciplined for complications arising from their misjudgment of the age of the babies they attempted to kill. The outrage is that pro-choice extremists are trying to say that the ultrasound requirement, because some ultrasounds are trans-vaginal, is "state-sanctioned rape!"  Yep.

As Red State "streiff" blogger notes, trans-vaginal ultrasounds are not specifically required by the bill (S.B. 484), only that an ultrasound "be made pursuant to standard medical practice in the community."  In most cases, an abdominal ultrasound will be used. Although trans-vaginal ultrasounds are better for detecting pregnancies between 4 1/2-6 weeks, that is only a short period of time in which they are considered more reliable than abdominal ultrasounds.

Additionally, according to the National Abortion Federation, some women may choose them: "Some patients find TVU [transvaginal ultrasound] more comfortable than TAU [Transabdominal ultrasound] because TVU does not require a distended bladder."  But of course, feminazis don't listen to reason, they just want distract you with the word RAPE!!!  (Google "The Big Lie," by the way, and tell me this is not it.)

RHRealityCheck.com - a rabidly extreme pro-abortion website was among the first to say that an ultrasound is "State-Sanctioned Rape," bizarrely citing this definition of rape from VA law:

§ 18.2-61. Rape.
A. If any person has sexual intercourse with a complaining witness, whether or not his or her spouse, or causes a complaining witness, whether or not his or her spouse, to engage in sexual intercourse with any other person and such act is accomplished (i) against the complaining witness's will, by force, threat or intimidation of or against the complaining witness or another person; or (ii) through the use of the complaining witness's mental incapacity or physical helplessness; or (iii) with a child under age 13 as the victim, he or she shall be guilty of rape.

Um, explain to me again how the abortionist is having "sexual intercourse" with his victim against their will in this situation ... ?  (Although that has happened!)  I thought there would be something in there about penetration with an object at the very least!  Pretty much big fail in utilizing legal definitions there, RHRC.  Sounds like they are the ones in need of a reality check.

But that doesn't stop useful idiot Dahlia Lithwick from jumping on the theme of rape in her article in Slate.  Here's a list of all the ways she alludes to trans-vaginal ultrasound as rape:

"bodily intrusion," "forcibly penetrated for no medical reason," "physicians who would merely like to perform their jobs without physically violating their own patients," "physical intrusion by government into the vagina of a pregnant woman," "unwanted penetration with a medical device violates either the undue burden test or the right to bodily autonomy," and "physically invading a woman’s body against her will." 

She finishes off with "One might hope that even the benign act of giving women 'more information' not be allowed to happen by forcing it between her legs." Right, as if she's just fine with the regular trans-abdominal ultrasounds that will result from this law, it's only the trans-vaginal part she has a problem with!  Hey, you know what actually is a state-sanctioned, vaginally penetrative, invasive procedure? An abortion!

Regarding the idea of women not giving "consent," Virginia S.B. 484 says that the ultrasound is "a component of informed consent to an abortion," which means it is consented to if an abortion is consented to - contrary to feminazis trying to say it would be forced without consent and thus rape. Women are told ahead of time that an ultrasound will be involved, so the idea that it is "physically invading a woman’s body against her will" is ridiculous.  Furthermore, ultrasounds are already a part of the abortion process in many cases, but pro-choice radicals won't let that get in the way of a good false rape charge to further their agenda.

The Slate rape-scare screed also cites an American Independent (TAI) article titled "Virginia ultrasound bill at odds with medical standards," which sounds like it's going to tell you that these ultrasounds are medically unnecessary.  TAI turns to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to find out "when it is appropriate to administer a trans-vaginal ultrasound."  The ACOG helpfully pointed out that abortion was not on their list, but lo and behold, the list includes "to estimate gestational age," which is exactly what the VA bill calls for the ultrasound to do!

TAI also notes that the ACOG has a pamphlet on what to expect in preparation of a first trimester abortion which includes this sentence: "An ultrasound exam may be done to confirm the date of the pregnancy."  But WAIT, how can that be!  I thought the ultrasound bill was at odds with medical standards!  Here the ACOG tells patients to prepare for an ultrasound for the exact reasons the VA bill states!  This means that many women are already getting ultrasounds before abortions - are they being raped against their will by the state, too?

In fact, Commentary says "Ultrasounds Already Part of VA Planned Parenthood Abortion Procedure" – is Slate going to say these women are being "forcibly penetrated for no medical reason?"  Are abortionists who do trans-vaginal ultrasounds already "physically violating their own patients?"  If so, let it be known that the "sacred" big abortion business Planned Parenthood rapes women!

So sorry, pro-aborts, but ultrasounds and determining the gestational age of unborn babies are important - along with the ACOG and Planned Parenthood, your Archbishops of Abortion, the National Abortion Federation (NAF), leaders even say so!  NAF's "A Provider’s Guide to Medical Abortion" page that streiff found says, in the section titled Ultrasound Imaging in Early Pregnancy:

"In the context of medical abortion, ultrasonography can help determine gestational age, assess the outcome of the procedure, and diagnose ectopic pregnancy and other types of abnormal pregnancy."

 NAF says determining gestational age is especially important for women undergoing "medical" abortions, i.e. through medication:

"Clinicians who provide medical abortion must be able to diagnose pregnancy and estimate gestational age. Accurate estimation of gestational age is essential, as the efficacy of the FDA-approved mifepristone/misoprostol regimen and of methotrexate/misoprostol regimens for medical abortion decreases as the pregnancy advances beyond 49 days' gestation.
...medical abortion researchers and many providers in the United States have routinely used ultrasound for gestational dating.."

Thus, again radical pro-choicers' hysterics are proven wrong, unfortunately days after their poisonous headlines are in the public consciousness.  As they say, a lie can run around the world before the truth has time to put on its shoes. Time to fight fire with fire and turn pro-aborts' words against them - if ultrasounds are rape, then abortionists have been raping women for years!

______________________

UPDATE 2/22/12: The truth has finally put on its shoes, but is it too late? (Emphasis below is mine, as always)
LifeNews.com: Planned Parenthood Rape Myth Debunked, 99% Do Ultrasounds:

Abortion advocates in Virginia have come under heavy criticism for equating the ultrasound legislation there would allow women to see before an abortion to rape.  Yet, while abortion backers say having an ultrasound is like getting raped, a 2003 study shows 99% of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities do them beforehand.
...
“Vaginal ultrasound was always performed before the early surgical abortion at 59 (83%) sites, under certain conditions at 11 (16%) sites, and never at one (1%) site,” the study noted.
“Vaginal ultrasound was always performed after early surgical abortion at 18 (26%) sites, under certain conditions at 46 (66%) sites, and never at 6 (8%) sites.”
...
“Vaginal ultrasound was very common before the medical abortion, with 37 (92%) sites reporting that they always performed it,” the study continued. “Vaginal ultrasound was always performed after early medical abortion in 35 (87%) sites, performed under certain conditions in 4 (10%) sites, and never performed in 1 (3%) site.”

The research report’s authors also noted that the frequency of the use of vaginal ultrasounds before abortion is not limited to the abortion centers surveyed, but common practice in the abortion industry.

“Almost all sites offering early medical abortion always performed a vaginal ultrasound before and after the abortion, consistent with common practice in the US,” the study said.
The study also indicated some abortion centers will not actually perform an abortion without first performing a vaginal ultrasound.

Americans United for Life: Abortion Proponents Argue Against Medical Standards of Care:

What happens when abortion providers don’t follow practices of standard medical care?
You get Kermit Gosnell.  Or Steven Brigham and Nicola Riley.  You get unsafe, unsanitary conditions.
You get a “back alley.”
...
A basic component of an ultrasound law is a required standard of care.  A “standard of care” is “a statement of actions consistent with minimum safe professional conduct under specific conditions, as determined by professional peer organizations.”  Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary (20th ed. 2005).  In the ultrasound context, this means that abortion providers are to perform an ultrasound in a professional manner consistent with the way ultrasound is performed across the abortion or obstetrics communities.

But abortion proponents are arguing against including a basic standard of care in ultrasound requirements.

For example, ultrasound bills are currently making their way through the Virginia legislature.  Contained in these bills is a provision that the ultrasound “shall be made pursuant to standard medical practice in the community.”  In other words, abortion providers must follow a basic standard of care.  They shouldn’t conduct the ultrasound haphazardly.  They shouldn’t throw an image of the woman’s gall bladder on the screen and claim that it is “products of conception.”

UPDATE 2/22/12 Part 2: Commentary confirms pretty much EVERYTHING we've been saying ("raping" women is standard medical care):  
Planned Parenthood Says it Won’t Do Abortions Without Ultrasounds

“That’s just the medical standard,” said Adrienne Schreiber, an official at Planned Parenthood’s Washington, D.C., regional office. “To confirm the gestational age of the pregnancy, before any procedure is done, you do an ultrasound.”

According to Schreiber, Planned Parenthood does require women to give signed consent for abortion procedures, including the ultrasound. But if the women won’t consent to the ultrasound, the abortion cannot take place, according to the group’s national standards.

Schreiber said there are several options at that point. If the woman is uncomfortable with a transvaginal ultrasound, which is more invasive, she can wait until the fetus is large enough to opt for a transabdominal ultrasound.

“But if she’s uncomfortable with a transvaginal ultrasound, then she’s not going to be comfortable with an equally invasive abortion procedure,” Schreiber told me.

Americans United for Life Says Attacks on Virginia Ultrasound Law Could Result in Fatal Consequences for Women

Powerful - Lori Ziganto takes on rape and trans-vaginal ultrasounds from personal experience:
Demagoguing Rape, Exploiting Victims: The Degenerate Left Continues to Use and Abuse Women 

As a woman who has experienced both, the equating of a transvaginal ultrasound with rape is beyond despicable. For the women, my arse.

The transvaginal ultrasound that I had when pregnant with my daughter did not cause me violent, bodily harm. It did not put me in fear for my life. It did not cause me to have to still sleep with a light on. The rape did, even to this day — twenty years later. It did not make me have to constantly plan my shopping trips to avoid the dark or suffer the fear and heart racing caused by walking alone through a dark parking lot. To this day. It did not make me introverted and fearful in social situations, convinced that everyone was staring at me. Hello, mad hair twirling!

It did not leave scars on my face and chest, caused by a broken beer bottle used as one of the weapons against me. And while those scars may have faded to the point that only I can see them, the scars that no one can see on the inside are still there. And always will be.
...
They diminish rape, empower rapists and re-victimize those who have been raped — for attempted political points. Demagoguing RAPE. They have truly moved past rock bottom and are scraping the earth’s mantle. Their abuse of women knows no bounds. They know an ultrasound is in no way like rape; in fact, Planned Parenthood uses them themselves before sucking a child from a woman’s womb. But that’s the point, isn’t it? They just don’t want silly little women to see the ultrasounds themselves. They are trying to scare women with cries of ‘it’s just like rape”- an ultrasound –  as a way to push the ‘ball of cells’ lie to women. All so that more women will kill their children completely uninformed. Informed choice my strappy sandal-clad foot. See the actual baby? That doesn’t suit. It’s not good for the blood money bottom line.

UPDATED 2/23/12:  I like that we're finally getting into the "life-saving" language now, much more effective.
National Review: Abortion Advocates Wage a Misinformation Campaign over Virginia Ultrasound Legislation:

There is a breathtaking display of unvarnished bias as abortion advocates and their allies in the national press try to kill legislation in Virginia requiring that an ultrasound be performed prior to a surgical or chemical abortion. Ultrasound laws are currently in effect in 22 states, with five of those states requiring exactly what Virginia is considering. Why? Because, simply put, ultrasound laws save lives.

Performing an ultrasound before an abortion should be a commonsense standard of care for abortion providers. Ultrasound assists an abortion provider in determining gestational age. The farther along in pregnancy that a woman is, the greater the risk that abortion poses. Ultrasound also serves an essential medical purpose by diagnosing ectopic pregnancies which, if left undiagnosed, can result in fallopian rupture and life-threatening bleeding. For example, the FDA has reported that at least two women have died from ruptured ectopic pregnancies following use of the abortion drug RU-486.

However, the abortion lobby doesn’t want women to receive these life-saving exams if the images produced by the ultrasound could sway women away from abortion....

UPDATED 2/25/12: Ramah International, a place that provides healing for regretful post-abortive women, has a section with information for women to consider before making the decision on whether or not to have an abortion. Included are important reasons for requiring ultrasounds before abortions that you may not have even thought of - what if the abortion mill is taking advantage of a woman who is not even pregnant or is about to miscarry:

Confirm your pregnancy with a doctor who doesn't do abortions.

There have been cases where abortion clinics have provided clients with incorrect information in order to obtain their abortion fee. Carol Everett was an abortion clinic owner who used to provide abortion services in Texas. She testified in Congress that she sold abortions to women who were not pregnant but feared they were. For the best medical input on abortion we recommend you speak with a medical professional that has nothing to gain in your abortion decision. Your local pregnancy care center can provide you with that referral.

Get an ultrasound.

You may receive an ultrasound from your local pregnancy care center. This non-diagnostic ultrasound can tell you how many weeks you are into the pregnancy or whether or not your pregnancy is viable. In other words, it could be that you are going to miscarry the baby and won’t need the services of an abortion clinic. This service, provided by a certified sonographer, may aid you in making this important decision.

UPDATE 2/22/12 - New post reacting to collapse of the Virginia Ultrasound bill:

McDonnell Caves on Ultrasounds, Where Do We Go From Here

UPDATE 3/7/12: McDonnell signs a modified ultrasound bill.

UPDATE 3/8/12: Wow, even after the VA GOP modified the bill so as not to require a transvaginal ultrasound - or "rape" as the radical pro-aborts call it - opponents still weren't satisfied and called transabdominal ultrasounds "battery:"

During the final debate on the bill in the Virginia House, Delegate Charniele Herring, Alexandria Democrat, outrageously stated that requiring the external “transabdominal ultrasound is tantamount to battery.”

Seriously? Does that mean that Planned Parenthood of Virginia and physicians’ offices across the state are “battering” women with “unnecessary” procedures? If not, then don’t all women in the state deserve the common-sense standard of care that even Planned Parenthood admits is necessary before abortion?

The hysterics never end.
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Related Posts:
No, Planned Parenthood, Birth Control is NOT "Basic Health Care"
Debunking the Myth that 99% of Women Are Using Birth Control
Controlling the Birth Control Debate
Susan G. Komen for the WIN: FAIL What Planned Parenthood doesn't want you to know 
How Planned Parenthood Exploits Minors
Planned Parenthood exposed again
Front-Alley Abortions
Blood Money: More Abortonists Butcher Their Customers
Just your friendly neighborhood abortionists
Abortion ends in death. Can you live with that?
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No, Planned Parenthood, Birth Control is NOT "Basic Health Care"

Flashback: Susan G. Komen for the WIN FAIL: What Planned Parenthood doesn't want you to know

Ok, so I've talked about #1 Controlling the Birth Control Debate and #2 Debunking the Myth that 99% of Women Are Using Birth Control, now for Part 3 I am going to discuss this nauseating quote from a Planned Parenthood statement celebrating the Obamacare contraceptive mandate (which they call a "benefit"):

"The birth control benefit underscores the fact that birth control is basic health care, and is fundamental to improving women’s health and the health of their families."

No, Planned Parenthood, birth control is NOT "basic health care."

Unlike abortion, which stops a beating heart and ends a life, I am pro-choice when it comes to contraception.  However, contraceptives are, on the whole, not a health care need, but a lifestyle want.  The vast majority of women don't use contraception because they need to prevent pregnancy for their health but because they don't want children at that particular point in time in their lives, for whatever reason, that's fine to me.  They choose the birth control that they want based on things like convenience or side effects - perhaps using a barrier method to avoid bad ones like weight gain or using hormonal contraceptives to gain good ones like clearing up acne.  Ok, all well and good, but here's the rub: these are not real medical or health reasons and they do not deserve to be force-subsidized by religious objectors who consider it a sin or even just by regular Americans who don't think it's their business to pay for it!  As IMAO_ said: If you want contraceptives to be a personal matter, you probably shouldn't force other people to pay for it.  Not to mention the fact that you're trading in a whole lot of freedom to the government for no co-pay.

No, Planned Parenthood, birth control is NOT "fundamental to improving women’s health." 

In fact there are many cases in which it hurts women's health.  There are many known serious risk factors related to hormonal birth control including several cancers (cancer.gov cites an increased risk for breast, cervical, and liver cancer from oral contraceptives).  The first thing the drug label says for Depo-provera is "Women who use Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection may lose significant bone mineral density." Even Planned Parenthood lists the serious and potentially fatal side effects for contraceptives with estrogen like the pill, the patch and the NuvaRing as heart attack, stroke, having a blood clot in the legs, lungs, heart, or brain, or developing high blood pressure, liver tumors, gallstones, or yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice).  (Interesting aside - Planned Parenthood lists these risks under the section labeled "What are the Disadvantages of xxx" and not under "How safe is xxx."  Seems like it should be the opposite.  Or both.)  Those are rarer but more serious risks, more common risks include weight gain, depression/mood swings, decreased libido, nausea, and headaches.  Not the worst, but not fun and certainly not an improvement.

Of course, as Jim Geraghty notes, there may be some women with real medical reasons who genuinely need help paying for birth control, but we should tailor policies for those specific needs, not issue a blanket ultimatum that all women - regardless of need or ability to pay - should get it for free, which is HUGELY expensive and will raise the premiums for everyone who has insurance (i.e. all of us, under Obamacare.) 

No, Planned Parenthood, birth control is NOT fundamental to improving "the health of [women's] families."

Come on, is that a joke?!  Is there a PP press release generator that randomly spits out combinations of words like "women," "health," and "families" and whatever it comes up with is published?  Not even going to bother ...

Read more on my discussion of the Obamacare contraceptive mandate here:

Part 1: Controlling the Birth Control Debate

Part 2: Debunking the Myth that 99% of Women Are Using Birth Control

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Debunking the Myth that 99% of Women Are Using Birth Control

There's a meme going around in the media that 99% of women are on birth control.  First of all, if this is true, clearly there is no crisis of accessibility or cost - 99% is as universal for coverage as you'll ever get.  And if 99% of women already have a way of getting or paying for birth control, then why in the world do we need to make it free through an Obamacare mandate?? But anyway, we need to examine this 99% stat.

The 99% figure comes from Planned Parenthood's old research firm, the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute.  For this discussion, we will make the leap that Guttmacher's figures are reliable despite their bias.  In a 2010 fact sheet titled Facts on Contraceptive Use in the United States, Guttmacher says, "Virtually all women (more than 99%) aged 15–44 who have ever had sexual intercourse have used at least one contraceptive method."

#1: This stat by definition includes women who have had sex only once and/or have only used contraceptives once.  This is not saying 99% of women are using birth control currently but have used it at least once in their lifetime. In fact they explicitly say that "62% of the 62 million women aged 15–44 are currently using a method."  62% is still a lot but it's not 99%, but ...

#2: Note the use of the word "method" in the previous quote - there's a big distinction between using a "method" and "contraceptive use" which the fact sheet has in its title and subheadings.  "Use" implies using a contraceptive device, rather than doing something that would prevent conception.  This is important because to get their 99% figure, they include withdrawal and periodic abstinence (natural family planning,etc.) as contraceptive methods! 

Really, Guttmacher, you include women who have only had sex once and their partner "pulled out" to say 99% of women have used birth control??

#3: They also include the permanent (at least in intention) one time procedure of getting a tubal sterilization or vasectomy, which combine to be a plurality of contraceptive "use" (about 37%, with the Pill #1 by itself at 28%).  Emergency contraception - a potential abortifacient - is included under "other."  In this Obamandate conversation, contraception, abortifacients and sterilization have been separated into their own categories.

#4: Along with vasectomy, the male condom is included in this chart, so these should not be included in any stat on the use of birth control by WOMEN.  And to the kind of people offended that yesterday's hearing on the Obamandate only had men on the panel because they think contraceptives are only a women's issue are wrong: this is a reminder that it's a men's issue, too.  By the way, the panel was all men DID have women (more below in an update), but was a majority men because the focus was on religious objections to the mandate and religious experts or priests, rabbis, etc. are predominantly male.

#5: The fact sheet says "only 7% of women aged 15–44 are at risk for unintended pregnancy but are not using contraceptives."  This does not address WHY these women are not using contraceptives - maybe they don't care either way if they get pregnant - but Democrats seem to assume it is because they're not handed out for free.  So, we're forcing EVERYONE to subsidize ALL women's birth control for Obamacare - including those who can pay, those who already get it free or at a discount - because up to 7% of women "at risk" are not using it???

That's the real story behind the 99% myth and its relevance to the Obamandate.

Full Guttmacher chart in fact sheet of contraceptive methods used:

UPDATE: Great quote from one of the women on the Obamandate Congressional panel (my emphasis) via Heritage:

"This debate is not about whether women have the right to obtain these drugs. Rather, this debate is about whether those who believe that contraceptives or abortifacients violate their religious convictions must pay for them. There is a vast difference between the right to make a purchase for oneself and requiring someone else to pay for it."

Read more on why I oppose this Obamacare contraceptive mandate here:

Part 1: Controlling the Birth Control Debate

Part 3: No, Planned Parenthood, Birth Control is NOT "Basic Health Care"

 

Controlling the Birth Control Debate

First the Planned Parenthood-Komen kerfuffle, now contraception?  Who would have thought 1 year ago that we would be battling the culture wars again 9 months before a presidential election when the economy's in the tank.  Well, maybe Obama.  And that's the point.  As Dick Morris said this week:

It's a deliberately calculated move on his part.  The Democrats realized that abortion is no longer a winner for them.  So what they're trying to do now is replace it with contraception.

So far it seems to be working - not only are they distracting from Obama's economic and foreign policy failures, they're trying to wedge moderates against the GOP on social issues.  It astounds me that Obama and liberals have been able to turn the truth of an Obamacare mandate forcing religious objectors to pay for contraception into the hysterical liberal lie that REPUBLICANS WANT TO BAN CONTRACEPTION!!!!11!

[Glenn Reynolds: "It’s as if we passed a law requiring mosques to sell bacon and then, when people objected, responded by saying 'What’s wrong with bacon? You’re trying to ban bacon!!!!'"]

No one is trying to ban contraception or access to it!  They are trying to stop the government from forcing not only religious groups for whom it is a mortal sin but ALL Americans to pay for it (through increased health insurance premiums) to be "free" (no co-pay).

A woman who works for the Catholic church is not "banned" from getting contraception; she has access to it, she just can't get the church to foot the bill.  If she wants contraception she can pay out of pocket. And don't give me the "what if she has to choose between buying birth control pills or eating dog food??!" sob story, there are plenty of pharmacies that offer discounts and free clinic programs that help low income women - she could even go down to her local high school and grab some free condoms from the office basket for all I care!  [Update: 2 recent headlines: California counties get federally-funded teen mail-order condom program and Pa. vending machine dispenses 'morning-after' pill]  Bottom line: with or without this mandate, contraception will remain available and accessible, the only difference is who pays for it, how, and at what price.

There is absolutely no reason for contraception to be universally free on demand for anyone who wants it and certainly no reason - logically or morally - for the government to unilaterally force insurers give it out free.  Granting this kind of power to the federal government is truly troubling - and it should be a concern no matter which ideological end of the spectrum you sit.  Turn about is fair play.

Hey liberals: You know that if the Obamacare law has the power to mandate the right to free birth control, it also has the power to ban it, right?  As Rush Limbaugh said, "Obamacare could ban contraception. Once Obamacare is implemented, the government can make any change unilaterally it wants."  As in, the next president, (oh, let's REALLY give them chills!) maybe Santorum, can not only change that mandate, but replace it with whatever other mandate he wants because the law gives him that power. As they say, "A government big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away."

If the government can force insurers to cover birth control for free, and can force you to buy health care, what CAN'T it force companies and citizens to do?  I am very afraid that if the Supreme Court does not declare Obamacare unconstitutional we will find out.

UPDATE: Last year Jenny Erikson wrote about her experience buying birth control even though (GASP!) her insurance didn't cover it, and she says of the mandate:

This isn’t about helping women obtain contraceptives; this is about exerting control over yet another portion of U.S. business. Women already have access to birth control for little or no money. Medicaid (government-sponsored medical care for those that meet income guidelines) covers contraceptives. Planned Parenthood hands out condoms like they’re candy. Walmart fills birth control pill prescriptions for as little as $9 per month.
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The only thing this birth control mandate will do is remove the cost of contraceptives from women that can afford it, and shift it to everyone else in the form of their premiums going up. Which means that people barely managing their payments every month will have to scrimp elsewhere, or drop their coverage and get on the government plan. After all, it will soon be illegal to be without health insurance.

UPDATE!!!  I just wrote this follow up:

Part 2: Debunking the Myth that 99% of Women Are Using Birth Control

Part 3: No, Planned Parenthood, Birth Control is NOT "Basic Health Care"

Read it!!!

Happy Valentine's Day, From the Democrats

Every year I enjoy reading the Republican National Committee's GOP Valentine's Day Cards - not the best this year, but here are the good ones.

 My caption: Obama, this Valentine's Day, I have a one term proposition for you.

That's the truth - here's how nasty Debbie Wasserman-Schultz gets: DNC Chair Blames Tea Party for Shootings, Embraces OWS Criminals

Oh, Joey.  Biden's just a barrel of gaffes. Also, Joe Biden is an Idiot, Part 385,734

My caption: On Valentine's Day, I just want to hold you ... in contempt.

Get Sebelius away from my uterus!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My 5 Favorite Pictures from CPAC 2012

Ok, considering I only took about 20 pictures, this list isn't all that exciting.  I worked and didn't go out Thursday or Friday and was sick on Saturday so I missed out on a TON of fun and I am really disappointed.  I miss CPAC already - can't wait for 2013, in so many ways!

Michelle Lancaster (@SkiGarmisch on Twitter) - and a Giants fan - Bradying over our choices for the GOP nominee.

Newt looks right at me.  And judges me.

Occupy Protesters dressed up as the "1% Tax Dodgers" get kicked out of the hotel by security.

My 16 pieces of flair - I went above the bare minimum - that I collected from all the CPAC booths!

Kristina R. (@ORLibertyGal), April Gregory (@AprilDGregory), and Stephen F-ing Kruiser (@StephenKruiser) being social at dinner.

I hope to redeem myself at Blog Con in April.

Susan G. Komen for the WIN: What Planned Parenthood doesn't want you to know

UPDATE 2/3: Komen reverses.  All my criticism of their past support of Planned Parenthood stands, my new support is withdrawn, and Planned Parenthood remains, as it always has been, evil.

Original post:

Yesterday people who want the best for women and their health rejoiced at the announcement that Susan G. Komen for the Cure was ending it's relationship with Planned Parenthood. 

Because of their past support of an organization that not only commits abortion but also hides child sex abuse, engages in Medicare fraud, and wastes my taxpayer money, I had never been able to give to Komen for the Cure.  For the first time I can support Komen for the Cure and I'm so happy to add them to the anti-cancer charities that I give to!  Please join me in donating to Komen HERE.

I am so grateful that Komen is no longer letting their money support such a criminal organization.  They've stopped enabling the victimization of poor, uninsured women, unborn babies, and abuse victims at Planned Parenthood. Now they can focus on sending their anti-cancer donations to legitimate organizations that save lives instead of killing them by the millions.  Komen can support groups that actually perform mammograms - unlike abortion giant Planned Parenthood that only refers women elsewhere for life saving mammograms.

Predictably Planned Parenthood wing-nuts went crazy over this sensible decision.  To the Planned Parenthood useful idiots crying "shame, shame" on Komen for the Cure for cutting off ties with the biggest abortion business in the country, I say, "Shame on Komen for not cutting ties with Planned Parenthood earlier!"

Clearly all the people who went to Facebook and Twitter to condemn Komen, pledge to never support them again and give money directly to Planned Parenthood instead were just radical Planned Parenthood cultists who were never interested in helping fight breast cancer but only in laundering money to Planned Parenthood.  Why would ANYONE give money to Komen with the intention of helping Planned Parenthood??  If these people actually did that, they were fools and now they're just cutting out the middleman in donating directly to PP, which they should have been doing anyway. And shame on them for choosing pushing abortion over fighting breast cancer.

Now, aside from Planned Parenthood being a Big Abortion business that aborts a baby every 96 seconds - fine, I get that some people are ok with this destruction of innocent human life - that's not even Komen's reason for cutting ties. PP is under under Congressional investigation for a multitude of crimes - which should concern ALL sides of the political spectrum.

How serious are these charges?  U.S. News and World Report's Washington Whispers reports:

New charges from seven former workers—including a self-described "abortion doctor"—that Planned Parenthood used federal money for abortions despite prohibitions is expected to fire up Republicans seeking to shut off tax dollars to the massive family planning group.

In a letter to the House committee investigating Planned Parenthood, the seven former workers also charged that they have witnessed staffers fail to notify parents when a minor sought an abortion, failed to provide a women undergoing an abortion with "accurate and relevant information" regarding the stage of her pregnancy, or detect and act upon instances were a female was brought to a clinic under coercion, possibly even human trafficking.

...The committee is probing allegations that Planned Parenthood is misusing taxpayer funds, which the seven pegged at $1 million a day in state and federal support. In opening his investigation, Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns recently demanded documents related to audits, abortion-funding, and policies on reporting sexual abuse from Planned Parenthood.

Unfortunately Planned Parenthood devotees don't care about any of this, no matter how many women, children, and families are hurt.

Here are some of my posts about the disgusting practices of Planned Parenthood:

How Planned Parenthood Exploits Minors 

Planned Parenthood exposed again

Update: Americans United for Life documents the known and alleged abuses by Planned Parenthood

LifeNews.com has even more headlines.

On covering up sex abuse, including on children, incest victims, and sex trafficking:

New Video: Planned Parenthood Staff Urge Teen to Lie About Sex Abuse-Abortion

Planned Parenthood Caught on Video Covering Up Sex Trafficking

Planned Parenthood Abortion Center Staffer: We Bend the Rules on Sexual Abuse

Ohio Planned Parenthood Abortion Center Sued Over Incest Case Coverup

Judge: Planned Parenthood Rushed Abortion on Sexually Abused Teen

Planned Parenthood Staff Urge Teen to Lie About Sex Abuse-Abortion

Engaging in fraud:

Massive Fraud Case Against Planned Parenthood Moving Forward

Planned Parenthood Abortion Business Settles Medicaid Fraud Case

Planned Parenthood Continues Falsifying Medicaid Documents

UPDATE 2/2: - Komen GETS it, they know all the huff about ending their $700,000 contribution to a big abortion business with $1.1 BILLION in revenues is just BS:

Komen supporters accuse Planned Parenthood of milking Komen’s decision to generate a fund-raising bonanza.
“Why are they going nuts?” Mr. Raffaelli [a Komen board member] asked rhetorically. “And the answer is that they want to raise money, and they’re doing it at the expense of a humanitarian organization that shares their goals and has given them millions of dollars over the years.”(via NYT)

That's all that is important to Planned Parenthood - money. That's why they go around like Chicken Little shrieking that MILLIONS OF POOR WOMEN WILL DIE IN THE STREETS!!!!!111!!! if they get a tiny fraction of their budget defunded so they can shake the pockets of their gullible fanatics.  Pure lies, just to keep the blood money rolling in.  Disgusting!

UPDATE 2/5: In trying to put all the blame for defunding Planned Parenthood on Komen VP Karen Handel, liberal HuffPo surprisingly includes information on PP's oppressive, thuggish, and even violent tactics:

The backlash against Komen was intense, including threats of violence, angry letters from members of Congress and public rebukes from political figures such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The charity struggled to deal with the pressure, especially in a face-off against Planned Parenthood, an organization whose fine-tuned political team has experience in these high-pitched, high-stakes debates.
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"Komen is a great group, but politically speaking, they're no match for Planned Parenthood."
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But as a result of her efforts, Komen has been left reeling and its reputation as a top charity endangered. "We're under attack. We're getting threats of violence," the source said. "It's devastating."

So,  the biggest abortion business in the country, with a budget of $1.1  BILLION, that doesn't even provide mammograms, just got its supporters to destroy a breast cancer charity with a $400 million budget over the loss of less than $700,000 in grants, some of which were not even defunded?  Disgusting.  Again, Planned Parenthood is evil.
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