Very Familiar Headline in Oklahoma: Abortion Bills Clear Oklahoma House Committee

Where is the Common Sense in Oklahoma?  Republicans have found a new way to attack abortion with feigning concern for the Mother's life in an abortion.  How about the Mother's life if she is forced to carry a child to full term when the child is not viable which could cause physical or mental issues after a doctor recommends a pregnancy be terminated?  You have many doctors who for their own personal reasons will not perform abortions but they will refer their patient to an abortion clinic if they feel an abortion is necessary.  Now the OK legislature is going to tell women they know more than their doctor?

How much more time is going to be spent in the Oklahoma Legislature on abortion bills when Oklahoma has pressing needs to debate like fixing the State Capitol from crumbling, the infrasture that is failing across Oklahoma, or our education system so that a student in rural Oklahoma receives the same high quality education as the larger school districts.  When are legislators going to be willing to bite the bullet and consolidate some of these small school districts and quit worrying if they will get reelected as they need to do the right thing.  Instead once again abortion is front and center in the legislature in a state with some of the toughest laws against abortion on the books.

It is a waste of our tax dollars as the decision should be between the woman and her doctor not the legislature when the procedure is legal across this Country.  Guess they missed the part that abortions are dropping.  Will someone explain to me how a Party that is so dead set against abortion for any reason is also against contraceptives.  What am I missing?  Never has made any sense.

February 13, 2014

Abortion bills clear Okla. House committee 

By SEAN MURPHY

Associated Press 

OKLAHOMA CITY — Two measures to further restrict abortion in Oklahoma easily cleared a House committee on Tuesday over the objection of outnumbered Democrats who argue the bills are unnecessary.

The first bill that the House Public Safety Committee approved would require abortion providers to have clinical privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their practice, while the second would restrict the use of abortion-inducing drugs. Both measures head to the full House.

The bills are among several anti-abortion measures that have been introduced this year in Oklahoma’s Republican-controlled Legislature, which has become a testing ground for some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

Rep. Mike Ritze, an osteopathic physician, said his clinical privileges bill is identical to one approved in Texas and is designed to provide a safety mechanism for women who may develop complications as the result of an abortion.

“It’s a safety issue. A person can hemorrhage to death very quickly,” said Ritze, R-Broken Arrow. “If you’re dealing with minutes to save somebody ... you better have a backup plan in place.”

Oklahoma already has a law that requires doctors to either have privileges or an agreement with a local doctor with privileges, prompting the head of Oklahoma’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to question the need for Ritze’s measure.

Read More at the McAlester News-Capital 

Is Rep Ritze (R) grandstanding hoping to run for higher office as his bill makes no sense.  Tired of these males being the judge and jury when it comes to women's health.  This state is regressing not moving forward.   There is one Republican lawmaker with Common Sense which is rare to find in Oklahoma today:

 Not every lawmaker in Oklahoma is pleased with the state’s constant quest to limit women’s access to reproductive health care, however. Last year, state Rep. Doug Cox (R) — who’s a practicing physician — admonished his fellow Republicans for waging a war on abortion and contraception. “What happened to the Republican Party that I joined?” Cox lamented in an op-ed. “What happened to the Republican Party that felt that the government has no business being in an exam room, standing between me and my patient? Where did the party go that felt some decisions in a woman’s life should be made not by legislators and government, but rather by the women, her conscience, her doctor and her God?” 

Maybe someone can explain to me why Oklahoma is emulating Texas.  Must not be Sooner fans because the last thing they would want to do is be like Texas in anything.  This is just dumb to copy a state that has been on the attack against women's rights by the white GOP male dominated State Government of Texas.  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott who is running for Texas Governor is one of the leaders of the War on Women in Texas.  Abbott is opposed by Democrat Wendy Davis who polls close to Abbot almost across the board.  Could Davis flip Texas Blue?  It could happen with the neanderthal GOP and some of their male candidates in Texas where all common sense has been thrown out the window.

Oklahoma Considers Enacting Texas-Style Abortion Restrictions 

BY TARA CULP-RESSLER ON FEBRUARY 12, 2014 AT 10:30 AM 

Oklahoma lawmakers are currently advancing two measures intended to restrict abortion access even further in a state that already makes it incredibly difficult to end a pregnancy. On Tuesday, a House committee approved a harsh abortion restriction that’s directly modeled after a new law in Texas that has forced dozens of clinics to close in the Lone Star State. 

One of the proposed measures would require abortion providers in Oklahoma to obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their practice. Essentially, doctors would need to enter into a partnership with a local hospital, just in case one of their patients experiences serious complications from an abortion procedure and needs to be transferred there — even though the rate of complications from abortion that are serious enough to require hospitalization is estimated at just 0.5 percent. 

This type of unnecessary state law is known as the “targeted regulation of abortion providers,” or TRAP. Oklahoma actually already has an existing TRAP law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges. It just doesn’t specify that the hospitals in question must be within a 30-mile radius. 

The state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is skeptical that it’s really necessary to enact additional legislation in this area. “We’re being given a rationale that’s grounded in providing a safe atmosphere for Oklahoma’s women, but at the end of the day that’s just smoke and mirrors,” the director of Oklahoma’s ACLU, Ryan Kiesel, noted.

Read More at Think Progress

Then there is the new Ohio law.  Shocked some Oklahoma legislator didn't file a bill like that for Oklahoma.  Maybe they did and I missed it since this was enacted last year in Ohio my home state which is getting just as hard right as Oklahoma.  Never thought I would see that happen.

Ohio’s New Abortion Ban Forces Women To Continue Doomed Pregnancies Against Their Doctors’ Wishes 

BY TARA CULP-RESSLER ON FEBRUARY 11, 2014 AT 11:48 AM

Thanks to harsh new abortion restrictions in place in Ohio, doctors are warning that they can’t provide the best care for their patients — and sometimes, women are being forced to carry nonviable fetuses to term against the recommendations of medical professionals. 

Last year, Ohio enacted several new laws that further regulate the way that doctors are allowed to practice. Abortion doctors are now required to obtain transfer agreements with local hospitals, an unnecessary requirement that is forcing clinics out of business. And doctors are prohibited from performing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless the fetus is nonviable; by 24 weeks, abortion is outlawed altogether. 

Since the new law doesn’t adequately distinguish between elective abortions and medically necessary abortions, doctors warn that it’s forcing them to withhold critical health services from their patients. Sometimes, serious fetal abnormalities aren’t evident until women are past the legal limit for termination. Thanks to Ohio’s new law, however, doctors’ hands are tied when they encounter those situations. 

Dr. Jason Melillo, an OB-GYN who does not perform elective abortions because he is religiously opposed to the procedure, told the Columbus Dispatch that he will still refer patients to abortion services if it’s medically necessary. For instance, he had a recent patient who discovered that her fetus had a fatal chromosome condition, and he recommended that she should terminate to avoid the risk of future complications. But it was too late. 

“By this point she was 27 weeks. The doctors were saying they can’t do it. There wasn’t even a medical debate about it. Everyone agreed she shouldn’t deliver but were afraid they would run afoul of this law,” Melillo explained. “What if she gets a blood clot? What if she needs a cesarean section? Now you’re putting this woman through risky medical procedures for no good reason.” 

“Nobody likes to end a pregnancy for a fetal problem. But it’s worse to leave a patient without medical care because doctors are afraid of violating the law,” he continued. 

Later abortion procedures are very rare, but they often occur in the most heartbreaking of circumstances: Wanted pregnancies that end up going terribly wrong. In states that have enacted bans on later abortions without adequate health exceptions, doctors have repeatedly warned that cutting off access to medically necessary abortions could end up forcing women to carry nonviable pregnancies to term, risking their health and their emotional well being. These type of later-term abortion bans also disproportionately harm young, low-income women.

Read More at Think Progress 

What is going on with all these abortion bills in the states?  Is this coming out of ALEC?

Kansas House approves bill to tweak state's abortion law
KMBC Kansas City‎ - 2 days ago

South Dakota Bill Could Ban Abortion as Early as Seven Weeks
RH Reality Check‎ - 1 day ago

Some of these are the same males that do not want an exception for life of the mother, incest, or rape. How can you make a woman who has been raped carry that child to full term and relive it every day -- most women could not handle it.

Anti-abortion all-stars. Federal lawmakers made news last year when an all-male House committee convened a hearing on abortion (twice). Male legislators dominate in proposing anti-abortion bills in the states, too. Of the 330 state lawmakers to sponsor such measures last year, 257—more than 75 percent—were men. Seventy-three were women. (According to the National Conference of State Legislators, about 75 percent of state lawmakers in 2013 were male.) About 1 in every 25 female legislators, and 1 in every 20 male legislators, sponsored an anti-abortion bill. The vast majority of the sponsors, 310 in all, were Republicans; 20 were Democrats.

The War on Women continues by the Republican dominated legislatures and House of Representatives.  Time to return Common Sense to this Country and throw out the social conservatives.  For a Party that wants smaller government, they sure do pass a lot of laws trying to regulate how a person handles their health or their lives. Personally don't think it is my business to tell another woman what she should do -- don't walk in their shoes and until someone does, then they have no business dictating.   Very sick and tired of the GOP and the hard right social engineering.  Will voters finally wake up to how much of our tax dollars are being wasted on the hard right's demand that only their agenda be followed.  Enough is enough -- vote them out in 2014!

It is 2013, but in the GOP it seems more like it is the "Leave it to Beaver" of 1950's.

UPDATE from The Hill, 1:15 p.m., 20 June:

In a blow to House GOP leaders, the House on Thursday rejected a five-year farm bill.
Members voted down the $940 billion bill in a 195-234 vote that only won 24 Democratic votes. Most Democrats voted against the bill because it cut food stamp programs by more than $20 billion.

Many Republicans also voted no, but for a different reason. They said it was too expensive a bill to pass when the country has $17 trillion in debt.

In the final vote, 62 Republicans opposed the bill, and with the Democratic defections that was enough to send it to defeat.

*******
Cong Gingrey (R-GA) wants to teach grade school children proper gender roles in their future life as a "Mommy and Daddy." The GOP House just passed a 20-week Draconian abortion bill to protect a fetus.   In the House Agriculture bill the GOP wants to cut $20 billion from food stamps which would hurt the baby after it is born.  Makes zero sense!      

Are there no Republicans in Congress with the backbone to stand up to their members when they make such ludicrous statements like Congressmen Gingrey?  No one chastised Trey Franks either - they just moved in Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to run his bill as a woman since no women sits on their all male committee that came up with the horrific abortion bill.  Women have no voices in the Republican Party in Congress unless they agree to everything they are told to say.  If you agree to spout their GOP rhetoric, Leadership will put you out front like they did Blackburn to make a fool of herself on the House Floor and in an interview.  Still cannot get over in an interview Blackburn compared the abortion bill to something that will put more rapists behind bars because of its reporting requirement:

In case you doubt that Blackburn, the gentler face of the GOP, is as bad as Franks and Akin, here she is today defending the indefensible HR 1797:

Blackburn went on to defend the reporting requirements in the legislation, arguing, "[T]he hope is that that will help with getting some of the perpetrators [i.e. rapists] out of the population that are committing these crimes against women and against minor females. We certainly would hope that we could rid our society of these perpetrators." 

In other words, the Tennessee Republican thinks her bill will reduce rapes. When Melvin asked, "How do you fight rapists with an abortion bill?" Blackburn changed the subject. 

She went on to say, three times, "Science is on our side on this." The American Medical Association disagrees. Blackburn added that "80 percent" of American women support her bill, but there is no poll that supports this argument.

How Blackburn can do an interview and say with a straight face that 80% of the American women support her bill is beyond me.  First of all it is Trey Franks bill not hers.  Secondly there is no way 80% of women would support that bill.  I will bet no Democrat women, very few Independent women, and even some Republican women will not support that draconian abortion bill.

Why do Republicans keep assuming that all GOP women are pro-life? Is it because the Republican women are afraid to speak out if they are pro-choice because all the nastiness that will come their way.  Unfortunately, many on the GOP side are married to the same type of conservative as Gingrey, Akin, Franks, Santorum, or any other conservative male who believes they know what is best for women which is to be subservient to their husbands - you are to service your husband, get pregnant, stay home with the children and answer to his every want and need which would make you the perfect wife in their small hard right conservative minds.

Then you have Gingrey who wants proper gender rolls taught to grade school students:

“This is what a father does that is maybe a little different, maybe a little bit better than the talents that a mom has in a certain area..."

I want to throw up that this man is even in Congress.  The way he talks is so condescending talking down to people like we are all five or six year olds. Revise that to 1-3 year olds when he references Mommy and Daddy.  Unbelievable!  How dare he wants to teach young children their roles in life - there are no roles - each person is different in what they do with their lives.  Some stuffy Congressman have no right to want to put his idea of gender roles in the public schools.

Every morning I wake up I discover some Republican idiot in the US Congress has taken it to new lows and wasn't disappointed this morning when I read this from The National Memo of what Gingrey had to say about Father's Day:

Georgia’s Phil Gingrey: Teach Proper Gender Roles In Grade School [VIDEO]
June 19th, 2013 3:29 pm @LaurieInQueens 

As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on the Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Republican congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia took to the House floor to make the argument for the discriminatory legislation. 

Children, he insists, need both a mother and a father… and should be taught — in separate classes for little boys and little girls, of course — proper, traditional gender roles in school. Because mommies do mommy things, and daddies do daddy things. 

“You know, maybe part of the problem is we need to go back into the schools at a very early age, maybe at the grade school level, and have a class for the young girls and have a class for the young boys and say, you know, this is what’s important,” Gingrey suggests. “This is what a father does that is maybe a little different, maybe a little bit better than the talents that a mom has in a certain area. And the same thing for the young girls, that, you know, this is what a mom does, and this is what is important from the standpoint of that union which we call marriage.” 

And though he believes children need two parents, Gingrey — who is running for retiring Saxby Chambliss’ Senate seat in 2014 — is quite clear that same-sex parents simply do not make the grade. Mommy can work, but afterwards, she should be coming home to daddy. The adult females in his family, he points out, all have jobs. “But they’re still there as moms,” he says. “And when they come home and take over that responsibility, they need a shared partner, and that partner is that partner for life. And I’m talking about, of course, the father.” 

If you can stand it, watch this stunning display of sexism and homophobia below:

Gingrey just doesn't take a swipe at gay parents, as he also hits single parents, and Dads who stay home with their children while their Mom's work.  Then there are the grandparent who may have custody of their grandchildren.  IMHO children need a loving home with parent(s) who they know care and are willing to become part of their lives and be there for them.   The worst part of Gingrey's remarks is that they are shared beliefs of the hard right of the Republican Party and no one in the GOP has the nerve to tell people like Gingrey to sit down and shut up because it might make their hard right base mad - bunch of Republican wimps are in the halls of Congress.  It makes sense when you look at who the GOP put in charge of and members of committees. The GOP Leadership in the House put Lamar Smith in charge along with some members on the science committee who don't believe in science and think the world is 5,000 to 8,000 years old.  There are all GOP males headed by Trey Franks on a committee that handles the numerous abortion bills and women's reproductive rights who believe you cannot get pregnant from rape.  You have people on the Intel committee like Michelle Bachmann which in itself is funny.  She has trouble with the truth and has for some time and you trust her with our nation's secrets?   Then there is the infamous former car thief who plea bargained and insured a building of his for three times the amount - burned down three weeks later who is head of House Investigations.  We saw how dishonest Chairman Issa was when he only allowed redacted transcripts to be released on their feigned IRS scandal.  He was warned by the ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings (D-MD) to release all the transcripts but Issa kept up the farce it went to President Obama.  Cummings released the transcripts this week that showed Issa was liar and that it did not go to the White House. The latest one the GOP has come up with to defend their abortion bill comes out of a Texas State Senator on the reason for not getting an abortion is that young male babies masturbate so you have to teach when they are born not to do that.  The Republican Party and its members of Congress have officially jumped the shark!  Wonder if it is necessary to explain to the Neanderthal GOP what 'jump the shark' means? In all this hyperbole about abortion by the Republican Party and the fetus must be protected,  what is lost is their voting in the Agriculture bill to strip $20 billion from food stamps.  It can be summed up in one sentence:

Almost all Republicans in the House have shown a belief a fetus should be protected at all cost but after they are born want to cut the food stamp programs that lead to a healthy baby and child.  

Chris Hayes covered these cuts very well on his new program All In:

All In   |  June 18, 2013 

Republicans want to cut $20 billion from food stamps 

The House is slated to debate a farm bill this week, in which Republicans want cut $2 billion a year from the food stamp program. The president has threatened to veto it. 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There is one person who is standing in the way of the archaic Republican ideas and ready to use his veto pen - President Barack Obama. Best decision in politics I ever made was to join Republicans for Obama and support his re-election. If I knew what I know now, I would have supported him in 2008 against McCain/Palin.  Republican hardliners are making it very easy to switch parties.