Reproductive Rights Hang by a Thread in Mississippi

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Last updated on July 18th, 2012 at 10:51 am

Last week, a Judge in Mississippi showed a little mercy for the only remaining abortion clinic in the state. It can stay open, at least for now. Women’s reproductive rights in Mississippi are hanging by a thread much to the delight of conservative politicians. Should the Judge rule against the clinic , the women of Mississippi are left with coat hangers, unless they have the means to cross state lines to get a medical procedure that is protected by the constitution.

It’s so nice to know that in this period of high unemployment, conservative politicians in Mississippi have their priorities straight.

As reported by The Baptist Press,

In his latest action, Jordan said he needed time to review new rules for implementing the law that were approved the same day by the Department of Health, the newspaper reported. Jordan will decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law while the suit by the abortion clinic goes forward.

These rules are designed to effectively close the Abortion Clinic, without coming right out and saying so. As the Sacremento Bee reports:

A new law would require anyone who performs abortions at the clinic to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital. The clinic filed a lawsuit June 27 seeking to stop the law, which it says creates unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that could drive it out of business.

Gaining privileges comes with conditions, including a requirement to admit a minimum number of patients per year. Of course, since professionals who perform abortions tend to know what they’re doing during a procedure that is safe, they are unlikely to fulfill the admissions quota, therefore effectively barring them from having privileges at the hospital.

Then there’s the fact that the doctors who provide abortions at the clinic are from out of state and of course, the religious test.

Admitting privileges can be difficult to obtain. Some hospitals won’t issue them to out-of-state physicians, while hospitals that are affiliated with religious groups might not want to associate with anyone who does elective abortions.

These rules have nothing to do with upholding quality care, nor is about anything resembling concern for the health of women who seek abortions. It is about circumventing Roe v. Wade to ban abortion in Mississippi, as State Representative, Bubba Carpenter, gushed about a few weeks ago. Just a portion of his comments in which he speculated about a court challenge:

It’s going to be challenged, of course, in the Supreme Court and all — but literally, we stopped abortion in the state of Mississippi, legally, without having to — Roe vs. Wade. So we’ve done that. I was proud of it. The governor signed it into law. And of course, there you have the other side. They’re like, ‘Well, the poor pitiful women that can’t afford to go out of state are just going to start doing them at home with a coat hanger. That’s what we’ve learned over and over and over.’

But hey, you have to have moral values. You have to start somewhere.

So much for the GOP’s claimed love for the constitution.

Conservatives like to talk the talk about morality when it comes to abortion. Of course, they tend to overlook the immorality of their position. While claiming they are pro-life, that sentiment ends at birth. It ends when it comes to the health of women. It ends when it comes to the health of poor people. And yes, it ends when it comes to the health and well being of babies, children and their parents.

This frontal assault on Mississippi’s only remaining abortion clinic is but one battle in the GOP’s war on women. It’s a war in which there are no rules.

Sometimes, humor shows the severity of an issue, as Lipstick Liberal’s series on Stephen Colber, as a prison of war points out.

Transcript

LIPSTICK LIBERAL CREEPS UP INTO SHOT – SHE IS A SOLDIER IN THE FIRE FIGHT

OF HER LIFE!

America, I am reporting to you today from the latest battleground

in the Republican War on Woman, where I Believe the GOP is about to announce the

release of a prisoner of that war; American hero Stephen Colbert!

I was the ONLY one to expose this war atrocity, thanks to Stephen’s secret coded

messages to Lipstick Liberal during his show! Oh, I thought I was crazy too, until…

(STEPHEN COLBERT SAYS “MESSAGE RECEIVED”)

Since then, I have been forced to march all over the map, watching Republicans

pillage…you know, I think these guys love their rocket launchers, a little too much,

just saying.

Last month, I almost rescued him from this ungodly place! But was kicked out for

saying “a bad word”, well, mother f***er!

Hello? Yes, Governor, I can barely hear you, is Stephen okay, is Stephen okay! What?

You want to declare victory over the BIGGEST PROBLEM AFFECTING your State

and the country?

I’m losing, Governor – a victory over what? Victory over Unemployment?

Healthcare? Poverty? Fried food?

Abortion, really? Okay fine, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, how is my Stephen Colbert?

Hello, hello? (SILENCE)

Okay, GOP! You wanna play, let’s play! Keep taking away my money, my health, my

dignity! Because YOU will never, never, never take away my Stephen Colbert!

Because She said it FIRST But I say it better, “Republican Balls are weak and

sensitive”,” If you wanna get tough, grow a LIBERAL Vagina,

SHOT GUN CLICK

those things can take a lot a pounding!

Until next time Lipstick Liberal says

(blows kiss) mmmmuuuuuuaaaa!!!!) I’m comin for ya Boehner

End of Transcript

As I said, in the GOP’s war on women, there are no rules. The GOP is not, in reality, holding Stephen Colbert as a prisoner of war. The real prisoner of war is Roe v. Wade.