Now that I have your attention, let me start by saying that restricting access to contraception is precisely what the new federal policy proposed by the Bush administration does not do. By defining emergency contraception and IUD's as "abortion," what the administration wants you and your grandmother to think they're doing is restricting access to abortion services. Please explain to your grandmother that they are doing no such thing. It's nothing more than a political gimmick to energize the right wing, conservative Christian base. What this new policy would actually do is to restrict federal funding for hospitals that refuse to hire personnel who refuse to provide abortion services. Sound confusing? In other words, this means is that if you're a hospital who receives any federal funds, you cannot discriminate against health care providers who refuse to provide abortion services (abortion being defined as noted previously). But, there are already federal laws prohibiting such discrimination in place! The only additional requirement that this new rule imposes is to force these hospitals (if they want to keep their funding) to certify in writing that they are in compliance with federal laws already in place. It is a proposal that is very carefully crafted to do NOTHING!
The aftermath has played out in the fashion of a Shakespearean farce. Rather than ignoring this proposed nonregulation, the democrats have seized on it as an opportunity to lash back - calling it "...A dangerous assault on women's health."
Nobody is more in favor of providing contraception and family planning services than I am. But please, let's make sure the battles we fight are meaningful ones. A federal ban on partial birth abortion, for example, could potentially have the effect of seriously limiting the medical options available to a woman for managing complications during the second trimester of her pregnancy. This current proposal does not mess with the legality of abortion, or birth control or with the laws that are currently in place in 14 states guaranteeing women who are in need access to emergency contraception. It may keep one or two reactionary pharmacists from losing their jobs and will certainly generate extra paperwork but, in the grand scheme of things, I think us progressives can live with that.
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