Although I am unequivocally pro-choice, I respect those who are peacefully opposed
to abortion on moral grounds. But anyone who supports the Bush administration’s
most recent attack on family planning is completely nuts as far as I’m
concerned.
The administration has put forth a proposal to deny federal funding to any
health programs, including schools and hospitals, that “discriminate against” providers who refuse to provide
abortion or some types of birth control. To give you a feel for how this policy
would affect women’s lives, the draft proposal, according to The New York
Times, “expresses concern about state laws that require hospitals to provide
emergency contraception to rape victims who request it.”
To that end, the Bush administration would like to make the definition of abortion
much broader. According to the proposal, abortion should be redefined as
anything “that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero
between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation.”
That “before or after implantation” is crucial: it means
that birth control pills and emergency contraception could be considered
abortion—and that any clinic that thinks otherwise could
lose federal funding.
Does anyone else feel like she’s in the Twilight Zone?
Photo: prochoice.org
