Family Planning Services for Low-Income Women on the Chopping Block in Washington State
New Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire's proposed state budget "would eliminate about $1 million in funding over two years for nurses providing direct family-planning services to women in community service offices around the state," reports Erica C. Barnett on the Slog. Barnett points out that the services the nurses provide cut costs - prenatal care, cancer screening, annual exams, and birth control - in the long run. Barnett writes,
Karen Cooper, director of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, calls the proposal to cut the nurses' funding "stupid," both because it leverages so much federal money and because it will only cost the state more in the medium to long run. "Obviously, there are going to be cuts, but they need to be thoughtful and smart. You don't cut things that end up costing you more money," Cooper says. "If cutting birth control means there are more babies born in this state, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that's going to increase [the state's] expenses. Birth control is cheaper than babies."
Republican Party Should Continue to Support Human Life Amendment, Says President Bush
In an interview with Town Hall columnist Cal Thomas, President Bush defended his anti-choice legacy and said that the Republican Party should continue to support the Human Life Amendment. "I will be the first to concede that laws change only after hearts change, but our party has been on the leading edge of saying to people there's a better way than what took place in the past in the country on a very sensitive issue like abortion," he said. For what LifeNews.com thinks of Bush's legacy, look here.
Arizona to Allow Anti-Choice License Plates
Before the holiday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry sought to burnish his anti-choice bona fides by supporting anti-choice license plates in his states. Now, the plates story surfaces in Arizona, where the Arizona License Plate Commission approved anti-choice groups' request to get a "Choose Life" plate. YumaSun.com reports: "Despite the unanimous vote, the move was not really voluntary: A federal appeals court last year rejected the commission's contention that the message was improper for a state-issued license plate, ordering the panel to honor the request. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to disturb that ruling." Proceeds from the licenses, which costs $25, will "will support basically providing alternatives to abortion and promoting life,'' said Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a member of the Arizona Life Coalition.
Christian Defense Coalition Protest Will Greet Obama Inauguration
Christian Defense Coalition protesters and their 25 large signs "showing the development of life from conception until birth" will follow the inaugural parade route, reports EarnedMedia.
Some Asian Immigrants Use Medical Technology to Ensure Sons
Sex-selective abortion happens in the United States, too, reports the San Jose Mercury News. "A Columbia University study suggests that Chinese, Indian and Korean immigrants have been using medical technology, most likely including abortion, to assure their later children were boys. And a soon-to-be published analysis of birth records by a University of Texas economist estimates there were 2,000 "missing girls" between 1991 and 2004 among immigrant families from China and India living in the U.S. - children never born because their parents chose to have sons instead." Instead of abortion, couples seeking to parent sons may be using preimplantation genetic diagnosis, in which doctors "harvest fertilized embryos, identify their sex after a few cellular divisions, and implant the chosen gender."
Wonkette on Teen Birth Rate
Do yourself a favor and read Wonkette's take on the increase in the teen birth rate:
Oh BLAST YOU, Center for Disease Control! You issue these fancy figures about rising teen birth rates, knowing full well that the only thing Americans find more interesting than celebrities getting buried alive in coffins of cow eyeballs is the thought of teenagers fucking each other. So everybody gets excited at all the hot teen sexx happening, right now, furtively, in walk-in closets and wood-paneled basements across the United States, and then it turns out that these exciting statistics are from 2006.
That is not really the CDC's fault, it's the most recent data they have, but STILL. It completely ruins our hypothesis that teenagers are getting knocked up because sexytime is the cheapest form of fun a youngster can attain in our New Depression.
