Jan Brewer signs 'life begins at menstruation' bill, the most draconian anti-abortion

[jaxx]

Fri Apr 13, 2012 at 07:42 AM PDT
Jan Brewer signs 'life begins at menstruation' bill, the most draconian anti-abortion law so far
by Meteor Blades

The law “disregards women’s health in a way I’ve never seen before,” said Center for Reproductive Rights’ state advocacy counsel, Jordan Goldberg. “The women of Arizona can’t access medical treatment that other women can.” [...]

The fingerprints of policy group Americans United for Life are all over much of the bill’s language, according to Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute. She says the legislation is a mishmash of parts of other states’ bills, and predicted that still other conservative states looking to restrict and discourage abortions will now look to Arizona’s bill as model legislation.

“The point is to make it so difficult to provide abortions that no one will do it,” said Nash. “Arizona likes to thumb their nose at women. They take that as a badge of honor.”

The life begins at menstruation law goes into effect in 90 days:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/13...law-so-far

What a shame. I really can't imagine how those people get up by themselves.

[Brainwreck]

Good lord, I don't quite know how to respond to this. I might suggest that every intelligent menstruating woman in the country send bundles of discarded--you know what--to Jan Brewer and suggest she resuscitate all the dead potential babies in that mess. Hmm, I suppose it would only mean something if one included those little sacks of discarded sperm. Hmm? I wonder if my wrecked brain has gotten too confused by all of this. Now I'll be afraid to eat my morning egg in case someone forgot to candle it. Oh yekk, this morning I probably killed and ate a baby chick.

[Hekate]

Oh my gods what are we doing to ourselves...

[OptimistesMaddie]

(04-13-2012 12:24 PM)Hekate Wrote:  Oh my gods what are we doing to ourselves...

local schools, local governments and all important levels in our communities. We didn't think it was a big deal but 30 years of this infiltration results in Alec, Brewer, Walker, Kasich and on and on.

We let them destroy our schools and our institutions....

We will take our country back.....maybe this should be our rallying call. Maybe our call should also be that if they want to practice their religion they can do it at their churches and other places but not in the government.

[sandnsea]

I'm confused. Pregnancy has always been dated from the last menstrual cycle.

[There Is No Spoon]

(04-13-2012 12:33 PM)sandnsea Wrote:  I'm confused. Pregnancy has always been dated from the last menstrual cycle.

• It sets the gestational age as beginning on the first day of a woman’s last period, rather than at fertilization. Which, in practice, means that a virgin can get pregnant and instead of barring abortions after 20 weeks as the law states, actually cuts the time to 18 weeks.

• Medication abortions (by pill), usually done at home or a clinic within the first nine weeks of pregnancy, must now be done by a medical provider who has hospital privileges within 30 miles of where the procedure takes place. The law also mandates outdated protocol that Nash says may cause confusion. The provision is an attempt to shut down medication abortions altogether. North Dakota and Oklahoma are in litigation over similar provisions in their laws.

• Sex education is not mandated in Arizona, but any such education must now prioritize birth and adoption.

• Health-care facilities must put up signs warning against abortion "coercion."

• The state health department must set up a website focusing on alternatives to abortion and displaying photos of fetuses.

• "Counseling" is required for women aiming seeking abortions because of fetal abnormalities. Such counseling must include perinatal hospice information.

• Previous requirements are reiterated for a notarized parental consent form for minors and a mandatory ultrasound screening 24 hours before having an abortion.

[sandnsea]

(04-13-2012 01:52 PM)There Is No Spoon Wrote:  

(04-13-2012 12:33 PM)sandnsea Wrote:  I'm confused. Pregnancy has always been dated from the last menstrual cycle.

• It sets the gestational age as beginning on the first day of a woman’s last period, rather than at fertilization. Which, in practice, means that a virgin can get pregnant and instead of barring abortions after 20 weeks as the law states, actually cuts the time to 18 weeks.

This law didn't do this, the medical community did it eons ago. It has always been this way.

Focusing on this will just mean the rest of the bill will be missed completely. And pro-choice advocates will look like fools. Everybody knows how pregnancy is calculated.

[There Is No Spoon]

(04-13-2012 01:58 PM)sandnsea Wrote:  

(04-13-2012 01:52 PM)There Is No Spoon Wrote:  • It sets the gestational age as beginning on the first day of a woman’s last period, rather than at fertilization. Which, in practice, means that a virgin can get pregnant and instead of barring abortions after 20 weeks as the law states, actually cuts the time to 18 weeks.

This law didn't do this, the medical community did it eons ago. It has always been this way.

Focusing on this will just mean the rest of the bill will be missed completely. And pro-choice advocates will look like fools. Everybody knows how pregnancy is calculated.

Yeah?

Quote:[–]sluggdiddy 29 points 3 hours ago

Yes but.. that is for doctors to determine and they have a hard time doing so even with their medical training so why the fuck are politicians trying to do it?

This bill changes the definition so that women loose two weeks (of the twenty weeks) to be able to get a legal abortion because this starts the clock before you even know you are pregnant, before you even have sex. So it in effect makes it illegal to have an abortion after 18 weeks, making it the earliest cut of in the country.

This was not some bill passed in good faith meant to just align the times up with the medical field. This was done to limit the amount of time woman can get an abortion.

Quote:[–]Hammedatha 1 point 4 minutes ago

Medical professionals don't rely on that date to make any hard decisions, it's a semi-arbitrary point that they use as a reference for the start of the pregnancy and a vague idea of how advanced it is in later months. It's not definitive, not something laws should be based off of.

[sandnsea]

(04-13-2012 02:26 PM)There Is No Spoon Wrote:  Yeah?

Yeah.

Now if doctors want to revise the normal means of calculating gestation, since we have such better tecchnology to do that, then by all means they should. And if they'd like to fight to redefine the age of the fetus based on ultrasounds and the doctor's medical opinion, they can do that too. But they sincerely cannot say there is anything despicable about calculating pregnancy from the last menstrual period, it's just absurd. And a waste of time. And gives women on the margins an excuse to abandone this fight. People are too busy to get in a fight over the calculation of pregnancy when it's the way it's always been.

[There Is No Spoon]

More...

Quote:[–]SevenRabbits 3 points 4 hours ago

Arizona's New Abortion Law Doesn't Do What Everyone Thinks It Does

In medical terms, however, what Arizona has mandated is not that unusual or controversial. Jennifer Gunter, is an OB/GYN who has written extensively about abortion and abortion politics. [...] She has previously explained on her blog that the age of pregnancy is always calculated from the LMP, because that is the only date in the reproductive cycle that can be determined with any real accuracy. According to Gunter, when a doctor talks about gestational age they are always "starting the clock" with the pregnant woman's last period. Arizona is merely codifying an established medical practice.

[–]sluggdiddy 15 points 3 hours ago

NO NO NO. IT does do exactly what its meant to do. Gives women two weeks less (of the twenty) which they can legally get an abortion. It does this by starting the clock two weeks earlier, before you are even pregnant, or even have sex.

The bill does exactly what people say it does, its not some bill passed in good faith to match up the times with the medical community, you know damn well the gop doesn't give a fuck about what the medical community thinks. This was pushed to limit women's time to have an abortion, that is all, doctors use that date for medical reasons and its really hard for them to determine in the first place, so politicians with no medical training have no right trying to do this.

Doing something in medicine and doing something in the law are two completely different things, there are so many issues that now come up because of this two weeks prior to conception bill. I don't know why so many people are missing the point that, this was done to limit the time you can have an abortion, its now effectively 18 weeks in that state, which is the earliest cut off in the country.

[–]lungfish59 1 point 18 minutes ago

I don't know why so many people are missing the point . . .

They miss the point because it suites them.

[KonaKane]

I'm having one of those surreal moments. Looking at this "bill" and blinking, wondering if I'm really awake at the moment.