Governor Sebelius has proven herself again and again to a broad spectrum of Kansans -- and in a state that enjoys a 2 to 1 Republican margin. She is a two time elected insurance commissioner and a two time elected governor, as well as having served in the State House before taking statewide office. Time and again, she has shown herself to be a rooted centrist who has a propensity to get things done.
However, today is another day
and the anti-choice extremists are at it again. Her nomination has brought
about a barrage of anti-choice inflammatory rhetoric.
Over the past few days, the article and blog coverage asserting her supposed "extremism" has bordered on obsessive. But today, in the Kansas House, Speaker Mike O'Neal brought two anti-choice bills up sooner than expected in order to add fuel to the fire. The hope is to embarrass the Governor and to put sand in the cogs of her nomination process.
The notion that Sebelius is an "extremist" is preposterous. In a statement she released regarding her veto of an anti-abortion bill, she emphatically stressed her personal opposition to abortion and her commitment to reducing the abortion rate in Kansas. The Governor has unequivocally put her money where her mouth is on this issue.
She has been a tireless advocate for expanded health care for pregnant women, for comprehensive and medically accurate sexuality education and for more accommodating adoption statutes. What the Governor has done, and what we don't see in more partisan politicians, is that she has worked for the greater good of all people in the state of Kansas.
If you only listened to the right wing rhetoric, you might conclude that the laws regarding reproductive health care in Kansas are highly suspect and expansive. However, the stark reality is that Kansas has a number of narrowly defined statutes regarding abortion care; most notably in statute 65-6703, which you can view at www.kslegislature.org. This statute was crafted to allow women who have later term pregnancies and who fall within strict parameters to have procedures in a safe and legal manner.
The Governor, in her quest for the greater good, has chosen to allow those previously crafted statutes to stand as they were written. Additionally, she understands that Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton are emphatically the law of the land. It would be futile for the Governor to accommodate those who wish to challenge those long standing and substantial legal cases.
This is the bottom line: Does the Governor support legal reproductive health care services for women and their families? Yes. Does the Governor also have a broader health care agenda, one that will serve a wide spectrum of citizens, including pregnant women who wish to have children? Yes. The Governor's consistent actions throughout the years clearly indicate that she has a balanced and thoughtful approach to health care.
What the anti-choice leaders fail to see is that their absolutism and so-called purity on this one issue - women's rights - is one of extremism. Their absolutist, fanatical approach has led them nowhere but to the fringes. Unfortunately, when the debate or discussion moves so far from the center, it leaves little room for meaningful dialogue about how to more realistically enhance the quality of life for all citizens across the United States.
]]>As everyone knows, Kansas has been a hotbed of anti-choice activism since the late 1980's, with the most infamous events occurring during the so-called "Summer of Mercy" in 1991, staged in Wichita, Kansas by anti-choice organizations from around the country. Unfortunately, the anti-abortion squeaky wheel is still at work.
However, instead
of mass riots in front of clinics these days, the anti-choice zealots
have taken to prompting key politicians sympathetic to their cause to
grind the axe for them. Most recently and most notably, former Attorney
General Phill Kline took up the anti-choice mantle for those who wish
to outlaw all reproductive health care for women.
When the Kline crusade against Women's Health Care Services, operated by Dr. George Tiller, and Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri broke in February 2004 (after subpoenas had been served under a gag order back in 2003) it quickly became apparent that Kline's quest for 90 medical records of women who had had abortions was one of smoke and mirrors. It was not one of protecting minor girls as he had claimed, but rather, to charge both clinics with criminal offenses for performing late termination of pregnancy, thus shutting them down for good.
Those who wished to preserve legal reproductive health care in Kansas realized that Kline had to be defeated in his re-election. So it should have come as no surprise to anti-choice organizations that women's rights groups would mobilize against Kline in 2006 when he ran for re-election.
I give you this background, since it has become known that anti-choice factions are working against Sebelius's nomination as HHS Secretary, in part, because of her recruitment of a Democratic challenger against Kline in 2006. Why would this arouse suspicion and surprise from conservatives? After all, Sebelius is the top Democrat in Kansas and has great authority over the recruitment and election of such candidates. That's part of her job. Regardless of Kline's fishing expedition, she still would have recruited the best possible candidate to run against him - hence, electing more Democrats to office.
Second, it is prudent to point out that the office of the governor is a separate operating entity from the office of attorney general. It is an autonomous agency from that of the governor. Therefore, the governor has no jurisdiction over the functions of the attorney general and played a minimal role, if any, when he was fishing for women's medical records.
What is true
and what the anti-choice advocates don't like is that Governor Sebelius
is unequivocally pro-reproductive health care. But, that does not mean
abortion care alone. What they choose to ignore is that she is a strong
advocate for the health care of children, for prenatal care for women
and for preventive medicine. This, unfortunately, gets lost in the debate.
It would behoove
social conservatives to take the Governor's cue on this: that comprehensive
medical care, which also includes health care for pregnant women and
children, would go a long way to serve their so-called "pro-life"
agenda. However, the earth will most certainly freeze over before an
admission of any compatibility on the issue surfaces.
So, is there a "grand conspiracy" as Robert Novak purports (and where some of his facts are blatantly wrong, but then I didn't get a phone call) in a column, reported on Firedoglake, in which he tried to discredit Sebelius? Unequivocally, the answer is NO. When the Governor took the oath of office, she pledged to uphold the law and to make reasonable and sound policy decisions that would benefit all Kansans, not just the narrow political and moral agenda of a few. This is a commitment that she would most certainly take with her to Washington.
The Obama Administration would be lucky to have such a passionate, committed, bi-partisan secretary as Governor Sebelius.
]]>Sen. Brownback is known for his extreme conservatism. It's not just fiscal restraint and state's rights with this guy. He has members of the far-right saying, "Wow, this guy is hard-core." Not surprisingly, Sen. Brownback is thoroughly anti-choice. He does not believe that there are any circumstances under which a termination of pregnancy is acceptable, not even in cases of rape or incest. So it's not a shock that he's introduced another bill regarding abortion. The knee-jerk reaction is to assume that any bill coming from Sen. Brownback regarding this issue is inherently flawed and a thinly veiled effort to undermine women's rights, which is why everyone who has read the bill or anything about it is finding themselves a little confused, because that's not what this bill is.
Here's what the bill does:
For women and families whose prenatal testing has indicated that the fetus has a genetic disorder, physicians will be required to provide "access to timely, scientific, and nondirective counseling about conditions being tested for and accuracy of such tests." Additionally, the bill would create a nation-wide list of families who are willing to adopt children with special needs and referral to support services, including a national clearinghouse of coping resources.
While he may be getting cheers from some, Sen. Brownback's efforts smack of an inability to grasp the difficulty of the heartbreaking choices some families must make. A diagnoses of Down Syndrome does not always mean that a family will give birth to a living child with Down's. What it can mean is that the disorder is such that their baby will die from Down's. The same is true for many genetic and chromosomal disorders. There are degrees of severity and some of them simply are not compatible with life.
The spirit of this bill is laudable; anything that allows women and families to make the decision that is best for them is a step in the right direction. But one step doesn't get you to a destination. If Sen. Brownback is serious about reducing abortion, then it's time to focus on the causes and impact of unplanned pregnancy. In fact, knowing Brownback's typical M.O., one has to wonder if this is an attempt to lull everyone into a false sense of security before tacking on a bunch of amendments that undermine a woman's right to choose.
Sen. Brownback says that this bill is an effort to promote the "culture of life." But the so-called "culture of life" has to be about more than preventing abortions, it must be about making it easier to access information, birth control and the resources parents need to raise children in today's world.
The fact is that the "culture of life" is not being promoted in this country, period. Families are not guaranteed paid medical leave, not all women can access the preventative health care necessary to decrease and detect birth defects, students are not given honest and thorough sex education, and when given the chance to cover low-income children for healthcare, the Congress (Sen. Brownback included) said "no."
What are we to make of a culture that focuses more on the pre-born than they do the pre-schooler? There must be a broad and sweeping overhaul in how this country deals with issues like poverty, health care and education before anything can be done to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions.
]]>Phill Kline's charges against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri in Overland Park, Kansas, are part of another attack on women's rights. On Wednesday, October 17, Kline filed 23 felony and 84 misdemeanor counts. They range from accusations of providing false information to failure to maintain medical records to providing unlawful late termination of pregnancy. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows about Kline's previous track record as an anti-choice zealot.
Kline's crusade to shut down abortion providers and harass women began back in October of 2003, when sealed subpoenas showed up at Women's Health Care Services and at Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood. That was four long years ago. Due to the gag order on the subpoenas, the general public and the press did not learn about his fishing expedition until early winter of 2004. In those subpoenas, Kline asserted that the clinics were guilty of wrongdoing, which lead to numerous years of litigation. Unfortunately, this is an extension of that case, only with Kline now as the District Attorney of Johnson County instead of as the Attorney General of the State of Kansas.
Initially, Kline spun his zealotry as protection of children from child rapists, even though the vast majority of the records that he sought were for adult women who had had abortion procedures. It did not take long for the media to see through this politically motivated ploy. However, the case raged on, with the real threat of women's privacy being violated.
It became clear that the only way Kline was ever going to stop his trolling for women's medical records was for him to lose his AG seat. Due to his blatant misuse of his governmental office and extravagant expenditures, he lost his position to Paul Morrison by a 16 point margin, which was remarkable given the Republican vs. Democratic registration in this state, and given early polling numbers in the race. These numbers showed just how fed up and tired Kansans are with his one-issue-ax-to-grind-agenda.
And now, less than a year later, Kline is at it again, prosecuting as Johnson County DA. Taxpayers should wonder if Kline's charges hold any value, or if the attack is purely for political purposes. In reality, most of Kline's time is spent on his battle to shut down abortion clinics, and to take away your right to choose.
Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, told the Associated Press that the clinic did not perform any abortions past the 22nd week of pregnancy and that they always provide high-quality care for their patients. Clinics, including Dr. Tiller's clinic in Wichita, have been under attack since 2002 when Kline was elected attorney general. Since Kline opposes abortion, he is abusing his position to keep women from having access to it. With these charges, Kline is attempting to shut down these clinics and limit women's right to choose. He is further pushing women into becoming second-class citizens.
The first hearing is scheduled for November 16, but one has to wonder if Kline's charges will even hold up in court. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Morrison said Morrison had reviewed the current accusations, and found no crimes or misconducts, and questioned Kline's political influence behind the charges.
With anti-choice zealots like Kline in office, we cannot let our focus orour efforts wane. We must be diligent when protecting women's rights, as women are not truly free and equal in our society until we have the autonomous decision-making power regarding our reproductive lives. If there is no equity when it comes to reproduction, there is no equity in education, jobs or relationships.
As a state and as a country, politicians have under valued women's rights, especially reproductive rights, for too long. We cannot stand by and allow our elected officials to decide what is right and moral for the women of this nation.
]]>This initiative was composed using research done in Kansas during the years 2000 to 2004. The report, released by Catholics United for the Common Good (PDF), found a direct correlation between abortion rates and the availability of jobs, health insurance, and Head Start centers. It stated: "Increasing employment opportunities for families, access to education for children, and health insurance for working families can and will decrease the number of abortions." The report also found that Kansas counties with abortion clinics were actually much less likely to use that healthcare alternative than those who live in counties without clinics, and said: "This suggests that restricting access to abortion clinics does not reduce the incidence of abortion."
The proposal includes the following services:
These steps towards better equipping women with the necessities such as pre-natal care and birthing rights are just pure common sense. However, it's important that this proposal doesn't limit reproductive rights, but rather helps families in need. ProKanDo has been a long time supporter of these plans that aid families. This could be a great opportunity for women to gain assurance that they will not be thrown under the bus by the government, but given new opportunities not only to them, but also their children.
While these are great steps forward, we must remember to not sweep reproductive rights under the rug. This plan will work 100 percent of the time in an ideal world, but realistically, unintended pregnancies will occur, and we must be willing to provide women who need reproductive healthcare services the care that they need and deserve. We must work towards destigmatizing women's reproductive health care. This initiative is something we must work into a system we've already created, not a substitution for women's rights like many social-conservatives would like to see happen. This plan, unequivocally, cannot equate sacrificing reproductive rights.
This recent initiative is one that has been needed in our country for decades. It's about time that this be adopted. It isn't hard to see the broad range of positive effects of health care for women; providing children with a stronger education that is more accessible; and creating day-care at job training centers. This would help fuel the economy in multiple ways and provide a better future for all those involved.
Other ideas that have yet to be approved are funding maternity and day-care centers on college campuses to allow women an alternative to having to drop out of school in order to take care of their children. In addition, offering access to contraceptives and comprehensive sex education would be a substantial step forward in preventing unintended pregnancies.
Ensuring women's equal rights has been overlooked far too long in this country. This could be a step towards gaining the equality women have long fought to achieve. Let's not forget along the way, however, to provide access to the full range of reproductive healthcare services, which is also a component of women's equality.
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