Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
I have written a number of posts for the Turley blog about The GOP’s war on women and proposed extreme anti-woman legislation which has been sponsored by members of the Republican party (here, here, here, here, here, and here). In a piece for Mother Jones, Stephanie Mencimer said that Paul Ryan has a “long history as a culture warrior”—and that people are taking “a fresh look” at it since Mitt Romney named Ryan as his running mate. I thought I’d do some investigating of my own to find out more about the Wisconsin “culture warrior’s” position on women’s issues.
According to Laura Bassett, Rep. Ryan “voted to defund federal family planning programs, authored a budget that dismantles Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, all of which disproportionately aid and employ women, and voted multiple times to prevent women in the military from using their own money to pay for abortions at military hospitals.”
Sylvia Casablanca, a medical doctor and holistic psychotherapist, wonders if Ryan will now “head the conservative war on women.” Casablanca wrote in a VOXXI article that Ryan “sounds, thinks, acts, so much like Rick Santorum!” She added that both men have spent much of their public lives “battling the things that matter most to women.” She continued, “He [Ryan] has been opposing contraception, eulogizing women who quit successful careers to be stay-at-home moms (like their own wives have done), and vowing to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act. And, Ryan voted against the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.”
Casablanca feels that Ryan’s stance on the issues mentioned above are “zilch” compared to his “support of a federal ban on abortion in all circumstances, including incest and rape.”
In her Mother Jones article, Mencimer also wrote the following:
What isn’t so well known about Ryan’s record, though, is that one piece of legislation he supported is so extreme that it would have turned Romney’s children into criminals.
The Sanctity of Human Life Act, which Ryan co-sponsored, would have enshrined the notion that life begins at fertilization in federal law, thus criminalizing in vitro fertilization—the process of creating an embryo outside of a woman’s womb. In IVF, doctors typically create multiple embryos and then only implant the healthiest ones in the woman. Some of them stick and become babies, and some don’t. The embryos that don’t make it to the womb are either frozen for later use or destroyed. The Sanctity of Human Life Act, if passed, would make all those embryos “people” in the legal sense, so if they aren’t used or don’t become babies after being implanted, they would essentially become murder victims under the law.
H.R. 212: Sanctity of Human Life/Personhood Bill
Sponsor’s Summary: To provide that human life shall be deemed to begin with fertilization.
Excerpt from the text of H. R. 212:
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) FERTILIZATION- The term ‘fertilization’ means the process of a human spermatozoan penetrating the cell membrane of a human oocyte to create a human zygote, a one-celled human embryo, which is a new unique human being.
(2) CLONING- The term ‘cloning’ means the process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, that combines an enucleated egg and the nucleus of a somatic cell to make a human embryo.
(3) HUMAN; HUMAN BEING- The terms ‘human’ and ‘human being’ include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, beginning with the earliest stage of development, created by the process of fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent.
Link to MSNBC Hardball Video: Revisiting Ryan’s extreme pro-life positions: Chris Matthews talks with Kate Michaelman, former head of NARAL, and Politico’s Maggie Haberman about Paul Ryan’s extreme pro-life stance, and his support for a federal ‘personhood’ law.
In addition, Rep. Ryan is a cosponsor of some other “extreme” anti-woman legislation that has been introduced in Congress. To wit:
H.R. 3805: Ultrasound Informed Consent Act
Sponsor’s Summary: To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and the opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion.
H.R. 3: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Open Congress Summary: This bill would make permanent and expand the Hyde amendment restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortions. It seeks to prohibit even indirect funding streams that may potentially come in contact with abortion services. For example, it would deny tax credits to companies that offer health plans that cover abortions and it would block anybody with insurance that covers abortions from receiving federal subsidies or medical cost tax deductions, even if the abortion portion is paid separately with personal funds. Women who use tax-free Medical Savings Accounts would have to pay taxes on the costs of abortions.
H.R. 358: Protect Life Act aka “Let Women Die” Bill
Open Congress Summary: Amends the new health care law so that no federal money could be applied to health insurance plans that cover elective abortions, even if the abortion coverage is paid for entirely with private funds. It also states that a federal agency can not force a health care provider that accepts Medicare or Medicaid to provide abortion services, even in cases when the mother’s life is endangered.
From Human Rights Watch:
US: House Vote Puts Women at Risk
Bill Would Permit Hospitals to Let Women in Need of Care Die
(Washington, DC) – The United States House of Representatives approved a bill on October 13, 2011, that would put women’s lives at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, if it becomes law, would reverse longstanding federal policy requiring hospitals to provide life-saving care regardless of expense, Human Rights Watch said.
The Protect Life Act, HR 358, would amend the healthcare reform law to grant hospitals far-reaching powers to deny patients abortion care, without any exception for emergency situations. US law currently requires hospitals receiving federal funds to provide emergency care to anyone in need up to the point at which they can be stabilized or transferred, if the original hospital is incapable of providing the care they need.
“The misnamed Protect Life Act is about allowing women to die if they need an emergency abortion,” said Meghan Rhoad, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It is a vicious attack on women’s rights and on the most basic right to life.”
The Paul Ryan Vision: Ban Abortion, Defund Contraception, Outlaw In Vitro Fertilization
What do you think about Paul Ryan’s position on women’s issues?
SOURCES
Paul Ryan: the ‘Personhood’ Crocodile? (Huffington Post)
Paul Ryan Sponsored Fetal Personhood Bill, Opposes Family Planning Funds (Huffington Post)
Paul Ryan, new head of the Republican war on women? (VOXXI)
Bill Press: The Paul Ryan-Mitt Romney ticket: trouble for GOP (Newsday)
Sandra Fluke: 8 Points on Ryan’s Voting Record on Women’s Issues (Politic365)
Rep. Paul Ryan Supported the “Let Women Die” Bill (Blog for Choice)
How Did Your Representative Vote on the “Let Women Die” Bill? (Blog for Choice)
See How Your Lawmaker Voted on the “Let Women Die” Bill, H.R.358 (Prochoice America)
Sandra Fluke: Paul Ryan on women’s issues — so bad it’s unbelievable … but true (Lean Forward/MSNBC)
Five Reasons Why Paul Ryan Is Bad For Women’s Health (Think Progress)
The Paul Ryan Vision of America: Ban Abortion, Defund Contraception, Outlaw In Vitro Fertilization (Democracy Now)
List of Bills Sponsored and Cosponsored by Paul Ryan (Open Congress)
nick,
“I shoved it up your ass and you know it. ”
Are you speaking to me?
You do a lot of rambling. You don’t address your comments to a specific person so it’s hard to know to whom you are talking. Get some anger management therapy. That may help you.
What we got from you was “self-righteous” indignation.
Take your cue from Rafflaw, he’s trying to get you onto another thought. He’s a good friend to you. Good friends will steer your right.
rafflaw,
I posted the following at the Akin thread earlier today:
Rep. Todd Akin’s Rape Remark At Odds With Science Of Pregnancy
By: Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor
Posted: 08/20/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/akin-rape-remark-science-pregnancy_n_1811642.html
Excerpt:
When a viable sperm penetrates a viable egg inside a woman’s reproductive tract, the result is a fertilized egg that can then implant in the uterus. That fact of life is consistent regardless of how that sperm and egg met up, including whether or not the sperm was ejaculated during rape.
That may be news to Rep. Todd Akin from Missouri who told a local television station, in explaining his stance that abortion should not be allowed even in the case of rape: “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
“Physiologically, if the sperm is in the vagina, a pregnancy can occur, regardless of the circumstances of how that sperm got there,” said Dr. Melisa Holmes, an ob-gyn and founder of Girlology, an organization that promotes healthy sexuality and communication in families.
And though the anti-abortion Republican says he “misspoke,” Holmes says that Akin’s remark also suggests that some rapes are not “legitimate,” and this continues a harmful misconception about violence against women.
“A rape is a rape, and a woman has the same physical and emotional consequences whether she’s raped by a stranger in a dark alley or someone she’s known for five years,” Holmes told LiveScience. “That’s one of those misperceptions that gets perpetuated and unfortunately affects women in a bad way — ‘Were you really raped, or were you at fault for part of it?’”
Perhaps Akin is correct in thinking it’s not the easiest of tasks to get pregnant; that’s why men don’t ejaculate just one sperm and instead release nearly 100 million sperm. (Men who have fewer than 20 million sperm per milliliter of semen may have difficulty conceiving, according to a WebMD article.) That’s because few sperm survive the grueling journey from the vagina to the fallopian tubes where they can meet up with an egg. Even for those that make it, only the healthiest will penetrate, and fertilize, the egg. [11 Odd Facts About the Pregnant Body]
Still, of the 6.7 million pregnancies in the United States every year, about half are unintended, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The chance of getting pregnant from one event of unprotected sexual intercourse is 5 percent on average, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
And according to research by Holmes and her colleagues published in 1996 in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, that same rate applies to rape victims, though it’s tricky to compare these different populations.
I shoved it up your ass and you know it. Condescension seems to be your default mode. Reverse roles if your mind is capable. And, you still haven’t answered a pretty basic question. That tells me you have done nothing to help rape victims.
I had a good relationship w/ the woman who ran the Rape Crisis Center in KC. We set up a systen wherein all rape victims who came through our office would be introduced to their services. We had brochures in all the ER’s[I would deliver them for her when I visited the different hospitals]. It seemed most times when I took the victims to visit the Center there were no volunteers, just the director[a victim herself] and the secretary. I asked her once why there were no regular volunteers. She sighed and said, “It’s tough, people realize it’s just so heartbreaking.” She had a couple volunteers[victims also] who were there sporadically..that was about it.
What you got from me was righteous indignation.
nick,
It’s you who is judgmental. We express our opinions and when you don’t like them–you get snitty, snarky, and start insulting people. You have a very off-putting way of trying to win people over to your side of the argument.
FYI, I don’t read every comment posted on this blog–nor do I read every post. I don’t have the time.
I’d say good for you and your wife for adopting an abandoned boy. I wish more people would. My daughter and son-in-law are social workers. I’m sad to say that there aren’t enough good foster families where they can place children who have to be removed from their homes
rafflaw,
King doesn’t remember anyone getting pregnant from a rape? Is he speaking from experience?
😉
These men are dangerous mental midgets!
We adopted an abandoned boy named Carlos in 1987. I’ve spoken of him here several times He was 2 years old and would have been on the streets of that drug traffic mecca in a few years, almost certainly dead before age 10. He’s doing well, thank you for asking. I thought progressives weren’t judgemental. I’ve seen more judgementalism here than just about anywhere.
Elaine,
It is amazing that Akin and Huckabee are still relying on junk science or junk medicine in their claims that a woman can shut down her body to prevent from becoming pregnant after a rape. Now Rep. Steve King is also claiming that he doesn’t remember anyone getting pregnant from a rape! This is not just idiocy at work, it is designed to keep the far religious right energized for the upcoming elections. The good news is that is has done the opposite and energized the left against these mental midgets.
nick,
You appear to be an individual who has little patience and is quick to anger. It’s probably a good thing that you left the teaching profession.
nick,
Which “boilerplate” question are you talking about–and how did you rebut it?
We all know what the Pope thinks. he can spend thousands on a pair of shoes while babies starve to death. Karma is a mofo.
I happen to think every life is sacred, the babies already here should be taken care of before you force women to have babies they do not want to carry to term.
The fact that we cannot care for the babies we have is what you do not want to hear. Karma is a mofo, and all humans should be appalled by our disregard of these existing children.
karma women..it can be a mofo!!
The question was your stupid boilerplate question about rape victims that was rebutted. What about my question Elaine, what have you done for rape victims except pontificate about them? I told you what I’ve done!!!
Nick obviously does not care to think about the millions of babies who die every year of starvation or disease that is easily curable with a few pennies of medication.
Or the millions more who are hungry or exploited or abused or neglected. these are the kids who need to be adopted.
shano,
Nick doesn’t like it when people question what he says–or ask him tough questions.
nick,
To whom did you direct your last comment? Which question are you referring to?
shano, We’re done. And you just dimished yourself as had Elaine. SELFISH!! Watch out for that karma.
Where..in anything I’ve written, could you come to pose that question. I have prosecuted rape victims[I just spoke of one case on the cop lying thread in Florida]]. I have sat w/ rape victims, taken them to rape crisis centers, told them what to expect on the stand, shielded them from scumbag defense attorneys, etc.. What could possibly give you the temerity to say what you just di?. What the hell have you done for rape victims? I have helped send numerous rapists to prison. If you had any reading comprehension when I have discussed working for a prosecutors office you would known NOT TO GO THERE! Disgraceful.
nick, those people are incredibly selfish. they want a ‘baby’. A prisitine baby who has not been abused or neglected. All the while, there are thousands of kids who need a home and thousands more without enough food to eat.
Pure selfishness..