The Georgia legislature passed a new abortion bill (HB 954). Yet another law (it’s only a matter of time before it’s signed) governing the practice of medicine based on nothing resembling science.
The issues:
Fetal pain. The law will make Georgia the seventh state to enact a gestational age limit based on the false belief that a “20 week” fetus can feel pain. The lack of cortical connections as well as the absence of connections between the thalamus and the subplate before 23 weeks means that a 20 week fetus does not have the neural ability to feel pain.
Any abortions after 20 weeks must be done so the fetus has “the best opportunity…to survive” There are 2 ways to perform a 20+ week abortion: a dilation and evacuation (D&E), which is a surgical procedure where the cervix is dilated and the fetus is removed in parts, and an induction of labor, whichcan take several days in the hospital. What this law means is if a woman has an abortion for genetic reasons she must have her labor induced. The life of the mother clause does allow doctors to offer a D and E in specific situations. A fetus can’t survive before viability, so this “best opportunity” seems moot and just another way to make the experience more challenging and expensive, although if you read further it is clearly a set up for…
“Any baby born alive that is capable of sustained life must get medical aid.” Meaning if you have an induction at 22 weeks for a severe congenital anomaly, a pro-life doctor or nurse can swoop in and resuscitate your baby against your wishes. Of course, nowhere does it say the government will pay for this medical care. This medical aid against the parents’ wishes could also be applied to situations where parents have made the difficult decision not to resuscitate their premature baby.
And finally the mistake? Well, I’m not going to disclose it until after it’s signed into law. I had to read the bill multiple times to make sure I was reading, well, what I was reading. This error makes it crystal clear that no one with any basic medical knowledge read the bill.
But hey, it’s only women’s health care we’re talking about.
The Georgia abortion bill HB 954 has been widely promoted in the press as another “20 week” bill, but it isn’t (and this is the mistake in the bill’s wording that I was referring to in yesterday’s post). I think it wants to be a 20 week bill given it’s aimed at “fetal pain”, but if you read the exact wording it appears as if the lawmakers passed a bill that legalizes abortion (outside of life/health of mother issues) up to 22 weeks gestational age.
The Georgia lawmakers go to great lengths to describe how at 20 weeks post fertilization they think a fetus can feel pain (it can’t, BTW). In fact, the definition of a 20 week fetus in Georgia HB 954 is 20 weeks post fertilization, which is inaccurate medical terminology (and why I wrote yesterday that it was clear no doctor read the bill). At 20 weeks after fertilization a fetus is actually 22 weeks gestational age in medical terms.
This is the exact wording from the bill:
“At least by 20 weeks after fertilization” (in reference to fetal pain). This phrase appears 4 times in the 1st section.
“Probable gestational age is an estimate made to assume the closest time to which the fertilization of a human ovum occurred…” also in the 1st section.
And then specifically in Code Section 31-9B-1 gestational age is defined as follows: “the postfertilization age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is planned to be performed or induced, as dated from the time of fertilization of the human ovum.”
Let’s be very clear. Pregnancy is dated from the 1st day of the last menstrual period (LMP) not from fertilization. Even when an ultrasound is performed, the additional 2 weeks pre-conception (if you will) are built into the dating. It’s even on a pregnancy calendar I downloaded and on every single prenatal wheel that OBs use to date pregnancies.
Think of gestational age dated from the LMP/by ultrasound as metric and correct, and think of the post fertilization age in the Georgia bill as an out of date Imperial system that has no scientific meaning (you sure won’t find it in any medical textbook).
Other states, such as Arizona, actually use the correct medical terminology of LMP/ultrasound in their laws. So, in Arizona when HB 2036 reads “Gestational age means the age of the unborn child as calculated first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant woman,” it means what doctors everywhere call 20 weeks. As much as I disagree with the bill, at least they have their terminology correct.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, which I assume uses the correct medical terminology (i.e. 20 weeks = 20 weeks by LMP/ultrasound), as of April 1, 2012 there are 7 states with a 20 week gestational age limit: Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Arizona will be the 8th. Despite reports to the contrary, it is clear that Arizona is not imposing the most restrictive gestational age and given the wording in Georgia the Peach State will not be joining Arizona among the 20-week fetal elite.
Imposing gestational age limits is wrong. There are unfortunate circumstances where lethal or very severe anomalies are not detected until the 3rd trimester. I don’t think it’s anyone’s place to tell a woman who is pregnant with a baby who has no brain and a single eye like a cyclops that she has to go to term. I heard one woman in such a devastating situation say, “It was as if a little bit of me died inside every time some stranger asked when I was due to deliver.” Women don’t ever have late-term abortions out of convenience or on some kind of whim, they have them because of horrible, terrible, genetic calamities. Fortunately, with modern prenatal testing these later diagnosis are becoming rare, but they still happen.
I personally think the lawmakers in Georgia were aiming for a “real” 20 week bill, but were so deer-in-the-headlights about fetal pain!and 20 weeks! and life at fertilization! that they forgot to do any basic research. And that’s exactly who you want writing bills, not scholarly lawmakers who have thoughtfully researched a subject and consulted the experts, but douchebags competing to pass the most misogynistic, evidence-baseless legislation in a bizarre game of one-upmanship. It’s even more concerning because lawmakers are encroaching in the practice of medicine with this misinformation.
With states like Georgia using inaccurate terminology discussions can get confusing. But it is essential to make sure we are using the accurate medical terminology so we can all compare apples with apples, because for me pro-choice is pro facts.
KANSAS SPENDS HALF A MILLION DOLLARS DEFENDING ANTI-ABORTION LAWS | The Kansas attorney general has dolled out more than half a million dollars to private law firms for defending anti-abortion laws the state enacted last year, the Associated Press reports. The attorney general’s office paid $317,000 to a private firm for “helping defend a budget provision denying federal family planning dollars for non-abortion services to Planned Parenthood,” spent almost $177,000 on a law imposing new restrictions on abortion providers and expensed $104,000 in tax payer dollars to defend “against a law restricting private insurance coverage for elective abortions.” Kansas faced a $493 million budget shortfall last year and to close the deficit, Gov. Sam Brownback ® proposed $50 million in cuts to education programs.
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS FILES A LAWSUIT AGAINST OKLAHOMA PERSONHOOD INITIATIVE | The Center for Reproductive Rights is suing over Oklahoma’s ballot initiative for an amendment that would grant “personhood” and legal rights to fertilized eggs at the moment of conception. “This proposed amendment violates the federal constitution and seriously threatens the rights, life, and health of all Oklahoma women,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. A similar version of the personhood bill recently passed 10-1 in a state House committee, and now heads to the House floor where it will likely gain approval. Though, advocates for women’s reproductive rights were able to score a victory of their own when an Oklahoma district judge struck down a mandatory ultrasound law Wednesday. — Fatima Najiy
I was under mistaken impression that the injunction against the ultrasound law stopped the transvaginal part until 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said law had to go into effect in February (even that was wrong - the entire bill was enforceable in January with guidelines for bill given in February).
Nope. I contacted the Center for Reproductive Rights who informed me that ALL forced ultrasounds in Texas, including transvaginal ones, were enforceable under TX law starting on October 1, 2011.
We’ve had 184 days of them here. ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY FOUR DAYS.
When Virginia’s governor announced that TVU’s were too extreme for VA to even consider as part of legislation, we were already on day 144 of them IN PRACTICE here in Texas.
On Sept. 18, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 3043, the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act, by unanimous consent. On Sept. 16, the measure passed the House of Representatives by voice vote.
The Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act will fully recognize that Indian Tribes – as sovereign nations – are responsible for making certain their government programs and services best fit the needs of their citizens, just as other local governments across the country do.
For years, Indian Tribes have been taxed for providing health care, education, housing or legal aid to those in need.
Local and state governments throughout the United States frequently offer such services to those who need assistance, but the people receiving help are not taxed by the IRS.
Yes, you read that right. For years, Indian Tribes have been taxed for providing health care, education, housing or legal aid to those in need.
Indian tribes had to pay taxes for services they provided to help people.
I googled “The Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act” and only a handful of articles came up, none of them from any major news outlet.
While this is a shocking revelation to me, apparently it isn’t deemed worthy enough to be published by CNN, Fox, or NBC. I heard about it from my history professor who subscribes to a local Native tribe’s newspaper.
I was lucky to find it online, you can read the PDF here.
Of course, the government can’t protect us from buying slave-made goods if companies don’t know where or how to look for abuses. That’s why we’ve created FRDM®.
Der »Dreipunktgurt« ist vielleicht nicht die wichtigste Vokabel, die man kennen sollte, jedoch zählt seine Erfindung zu den wichtigsten Innovationen zur Sicherheit im Straßenverkehr. Und weil der Gurt eine schwedische Erfindung ist, die ihr 40-jähriges deutsches Jubiläum gerade feiert, Grund genug einmal zurückzublicken.
Erfunden wurde der Dreipunkt-Sicherheitsgurt vom schwedischen Ingenieur Nils Bohlin für die Firma Volvo. Seit 1959 wird der Gurt in schwedischen Autos verwendet. Volvo gab sein Patent für die unentgeltliche Nutzung des Dreipunkt-Sicherheitsgurts für andere Hersteller frei, da er der Sicherheit der Allgemeinheit diene. Seit 1969 werden daher auch in amerikanischen und seit 1974 auch in deutschen Autos die Gurte verbaut.
Die Anschnallpflicht gilt seit 1.1.1979 in Deutschland. In Schweden seit 1970 vorne, seit 1971 auch hinten. In den USA obliegt die Regelung über eine Anschnallpflicht den jeweiligen Bundesstaaten. New York führte 1984 als erster Staat die Pflicht ein, New Hampshire hat bis heute als einziger US-Staat keine Anschnallpflicht.
Trotz unumstrittener Tauglichkeit hatte der Sicherheitsgurt laut Zeit mit einer langen Skepsis und Ignoranz in Deutschland zu kämpfen. So beschwöre er unnötige Ängste und wurde bis in die 1980er Jahre von jedem dritten Autofahrer verweigert. Daher wurde vor 30 Jahren, 1984, ein Bußgeld für unangeschnallte Autofahrer eingeführt. Die Anschnallquote schnellte auf einen Wert von 90 % und liegt heute bei 98 %. Die Quote in New York State liegt bei 89,8 % und die in New Hampshire bei 72,2 %.
Das ursprüngliche Wort »Trepunktsbälte« heißt auf Deutsch und Englisch Eins-zu-Eins übersetzt »Dreipunktgurt« bzw. »Three-point belt«.
»Belt« bzw. »bälte« kommt vom Lateinischen »balteus« und stellt ein Band dar, das man um die Taille trägt (z. B. für einen Schwert). Im Deutschen verwenden wir statt dem »Band« das Wort »Gürtel«, was ebenfalls im schwedischen »gördel« und englisch »girdle« zwar existiert, aber weniger gängig ist. »Gürtel« bzw. »Gurt« hat eine germanische Wurzel und stammt vom Verb »gürten« ab. »Gürten« bedeutet ursprünglich etwas einzäunen, eingrenzen.
Trivia: - Alle sieben Sekunden greift ein Sicherheitsgurt. - 11.000 amerikanische Leben werden jährlich durch den Sicherheitsgurt gerettet.
Free Period: Our OB/GYN Expert Weighs in On New Law for California Schools
Period products will be provided free of charge in public schools across California starting next school year as part of new legislation recently signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.
The Menstrual Equity for All Act will require public schools with students in grades six to 12, community colleges and the California State University System to provide the free products in the 2022-2023 academic year.
We asked Alice Sutton, MD, obstetrician/gynecologist at UC San Diego Health, to explain the importance of providing free period products to this population of young women and how a comprehensive approach to women’s health is critical, especially for underserved students.
Question: What are some benefits to having tampons freely available in schools?
Answer: Students experiencing a lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management or a combination of these, may skip school if they don’t have adequate sanitary products, or they may improvise with items, such as paper towels that are not meant for menstrual hygiene.
Period poverty causes physical, mental and emotional challenges. Having menstrual products available in school will help students concentrate on their studies and keep them in class while meeting their health care needs.
Q: Are there concerns about whether there’s enough support in schools to help young women who are menstruating?
A: Young women who are experiencing painful or heavy periods often don’t know that there are safe and effective treatments for these issues. Sometimes the discomfort is bad enough that they miss class or extracurricular activities.
Having a nurse, teacher, coach or other trusted adult in a young women’s life in the school setting provides support and could steer her towards making an appointment with an OB/GYN to discuss options for management, such as lifestyle interventions and medications.
Q: Besides providing tampons, what else should schools be doing to support reproductive health in young people?
A: Appropriate education about the menstrual cycle, tailored to their age-level should be provided. At an even more basic level, some students may not come from homes where they have a parent who they can ask for advice, and so school may be the place where they can find a trusted adult who provides them with accurate information and can point them to appropriate resources.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends a first reproductive health visit between the ages of 13 and 15. It is a good time to establish care and have a first visit where the adolescent has the opportunity to discuss concerns privately with a doctor. Gynecology visits at this age are tailored to the patient. Topics that might be covered include normal anatomy and normal menstruation, healthy relationships and consent, immunizations, physical activity, substance use including alcohol and tobacco, eating disorders, mental health, sexuality, contraception and pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted infections.
My senior year of college at the University of Georgia was the first time I used the women’s restroom. For the longest time I had avoided public restrooms whenever possible. As a then very visibly gender non-conforming person, the men’s restroom was a historic site of violence. It wasn’t so easy for me to blend in. The constant stares in public, the misgendering (calling me by the wrong pronouns), and the glance-overs in men’s restrooms verified that for me.
As I walked into the women’s restroom, my heart beat rapidly in my chest. Would anyone assume I was trans? Would someone yell at me or out me? Would there be mass hysteria? It was a busy period between classes, so there was a larger influx of women than usual. But no one paid any attention to me. I walked past the other students with ease, did what I needed to do, and left. From then on, I never questioned which restroom to use. That is, until all of this “bathroom bill” business started to rear its ugly xenophobic head.
Employee benefits can make you stand out from other employers. If you want to attract and retain the right people, there are five employee benefits you should be offering.
Something that adds value to any employment position is employee benefits. When an employee signs up for a job with you, they expect to receive compensation in addition to their salary.
The vote on allowing joint sessions between the House of Bishops and Deputies squeaks by with a vote by orders with only a couple of delegations’ margin.
i kno i’ve said i was expecting the term to enter into politics. but even this is more cursed than I could have guessed. time to die
very cool and not at all going to fuck up huge swaths of the internet in order to try to get rid of sex work visibility
This is one of those times where government regulation is actually a good thing, and protects people.
Shut the fuck up catholic
Why is this an issue, if sex work is supposed to be real work? All real jobs require that you verify your identity with the employer.
^^^Exactly. If the sex-work-is-real-work-rabble actually gave a damn about those who are in the sex industry then they would be open to…
Government regulations, like ensuring that all sex workers are legal adults who are in the industry of their own volition and not the victims of human trafficking, pimping or grooming.
Public health oversight (including making condom-use mandatory, with affordable access to all contraceptives, abortions, and other medications & healthcare).
Labour union protections.
A radical restructuring of police departments’ vice unit that would now protect sex-workers from violent clients and investigate crimes– such as rape, battery and murder– committed against sex-workers, and ensure that all sex workers are legal adults who are in the industry of their own volition and not the victims of human-trafficking, pimping or grooming, and all participants pornographic media (and sexual “transactions") are legal adults who can freely–without fear of retaliation–withdraw consent, safely leave and have any of their videos or photos– even back when they consented– be deleted from all media platforms.
Legally prohibiting registered sex offenders and those with a history of domestic violence from attempting to patronize sex workers (ie: background checks prior “transactions").
And provide a social service department specifically devoted to helping sex-workers transition out of the sex industry.
And yet all the sex-work-is-real-work-rabble do is fly into histrionics, claiming that any sort of government interference and public health oversight of sex work is “slut-shaming”, “infringing upon freedom of speech” or “literally killing sex-workers"
And copyright protection - no one gets paid off those free videos. If all porn had to be sold, even for a penny, and people had to submit a credit card to see it, it would actually stop kids from accessing porn.
They don’t want this to happen because they know that a majority of videos would get taken down. They care more about getting off then they do about ensuring the safety of women and children so of course they don’t want protections put in place because they’re aware that the amount of content would plumit.
One of the best replies to sex work is work, is that free porn is wage theft and they contribute to it. A tiny fraction of men pay for the porn they watch, which often involves heightened vulnerability and risk of identity disclosure for the performers doing custom cam work and only fans. But if men had to pay one cent on their credit cards for every video they watched, they’d be outraged at the loss of privacy. Let the women lose their privacy, let the women lose their income and risk their possibility of future employment, but no - not the men!
This is why the Nordic model for criminalizing sex buyers works so well, men only act differently when it’s their social standing and criminal record at risk, they don’t cate about women.
Everything on that list would be a positive change. It ensures that everyone in the uploaded media consents to it being shared on the platform, will hopefully confirm the “performers” identites and ages which could protect underage girls and trafficking victims, and gives them the ability to withdraw consent and have the media removed in a timely manner.
If you’re against those protections, you’re fucking evil, actually.
For years, the meat and dairy industries have been trying to pass legislation to censorwhichwords plant-based products can and can’t use - keeping vegan companies jumping through hoops.
How about we get upset with turning an animal into a f*cking product, instead of (pretending to be) upset (a.k.a. offended) about calling a white liquid made from oats ‘milk’?
It may seem surprising that Fresno, better known for sprawling new developments, is paving the way when it comes to rules for eco-conscious tiny houses.
“We are the first city in the nation to actually write into its development code authorization for ‘tiny homes,’ ” says Mayor Ashley Swearingen. “If there’s one thing that Californians should know about Fresno, it’s that we are full of surprises. And just when you’ve think you’ve pegged us to be one type of community, we’ll surprise you.”
Fresno’snew rules specifically pertain to tiny homes on wheels, which are often treated like RVs in other cities. So that means there are limits on where and how long they can be parked. That’s angered some tiny-house activists, like the folks at “Containertopia” in the Bay Area. I spoke with them recently for a BBC documentary about reducing Californians’ carbon footprint.
Some counties, like Alameda, Contra Costa and Napa, allow cottages on wheels as caregiver dwellings in the backyard of someone who needs assistance. Here’s a list of California rules from the American Tiny House Association.
“This is an important step forward for the tiny house movement because it sets a precedent for other jurisdictions nationwide,” says Amy Turnbull, one of the directors of the American Tiny House Association. “This ordinance sends a clear message: we need to adapt our codes to accommodate new housing models and we need to do it quickly and decisively.”
Fresno’s zoning code now allows any homeowner to park this kind of tiny home on wheels as a permanent second dwelling, either for use by the homeowner or as a rental unit.
“This is a hot new trend in the United States housing market,” says Swearingen. “It attracts people who are drawn to the prospect of a simpler lifestyle with less stuff, and more financial freedom.”
Some of Swearingen’s motivation comes from wanting to support local jobs and manufacturing. A new Fresno company, California Tiny House, is now building these custom homes for people all over the state. It recently held an unusual open house to celebrate Fresno’s new rules, parking a 270-square-foot cottage on wheels in front of City Hall.
Nick Mosley is the 28-year-old entrepreneur behind California Tiny House. He gave me the five-minute complete tour, featuring the compact fridge, composting toilet and combined washer-dryer.
“It does the whole cycle, washes and dries,” Mosley explained. “All the water that you use through the house goes back to the water table. It’s all gray water.”
I nearly bumped into Fresno resident Cheryl Spencer as I stooped to check out the tiny upstairs loft with a built-in bed.
“You’re not intimidated that your head could hit the ceiling?” I asked her. “No, ‘cuz I’m short,” she laughed.
Spencer says the fact that new custom-built tiny homes like these start at $45,000 could really be a game-changer, especially in a city that was hit hard during the foreclosure crisis.
“More and more families are having to combine into one household,” Spencer told me as she admired the built-in cupboards. “This is ideal, a way a lot of people could afford a home that otherwise couldn’t. ”
That’s not to say Fresno is a tiny-house mecca yet. So far, all the tiny houses manufactured here have gone to Santa Cruz, Napa and other California cities.
Written by Sasha Khokha. To read the original article, please click here. #Follow @mytinyhousetrip as I gather ideas and concepts for my upcoming tiny house build! www.mytinyhousetrip.com
Staff Attorney Sasha Buchert delves into three types of anti-trans legislation to look out for: 1. “Bathroom Bills” 2. Pre-emption Bills 3. First Amendment Defense Acts (FADAs)
