As a long-time supporter of Democrats, I’ve been forced into an awful realization during the past few years. None of what transpires under their governance is for the interests of the people they govern. While I am not suggesting the opposite is true of the Republicans, there is one critical difference. When called on to act, however reprehensible the calls may appear to us, steadfast Republican supporters respond.

The Nashville school shooting simply attests to this fact. How? Simply by the fact that the voice of power for unchecked gun ownership is driven primarily by Republicans. They are passionate and they are committed. The issue of abortion is another excellent example of how a dedicated and carefully construed Republican plan to eliminate women’s access to this life-saving option was like a steamroller flattening the people it most affects. How the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and then President Trump worked diligently to stack a Supreme Court with like-minded jurors?

While I type this, Republicans are in the last quarter of a fiendishly well-orchestrated campaign that, in its final steps, will, through a judge in Texas, overrule the FDA approval of a drug that doctors have relied on for decades to induce abortion safely. Where are the Democrats, you ask? Uncomfortably quiet. As they were when Roe v. Wade was overturned.

You see, Democrats absolutely do care, the truth is they may even voice outrage, but at the end of the day, they lack the “true grit” to do what is necessary to ensure the safety of their wives and their children. They don’t dare to stand up for themselves, and for this simple reason, Republicans will continue to ride roughshod over you like sheep. Unlike Charlton Heston’s mantra from the May 20, 2000, National Rifle Association national meeting, they don’t exhibit sufficient fire in the belly to cry out the sensible alternative to: “You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.” 

Before you accuse me of being harsh, let’s examine the issue of gun control and ownership of high-powered, semi-automatic weapons like the AR15, the homicidal maniac’s weapon of choice. After every school shooting, the public sings the same refrain. “This has to stop,” and “let this be the last, ” knowing it will never be. After all, didn’t we think Sandy Hook would be the last? How many lasts have happened since that horrific shooting – a war against children?

A reality check for those who still believe in your elected politicians to look after your best interests. How did the pandemic go, how’s that women’s right to choose plan looking, and is there a bipartisan bill to outlaw AR15s moving through both Houses of Congress? Thought not. Biden and co. will issue platitudes of ire on social media and make passionate statements; a week will pass. Then, like with all the previous atrocities committed in schools, it will be forgotten by all but the bereaved parents, traumatized classmates and teachers – forever emotionally scared.

Your Child Could be Next!!!

If you are privileged enough, do not think you can homeschool your child to adulthood in complete safety either. Shooting in malls, movie theaters, dance clubs and churches mean that nowhere on U.S. soil is your child beyond the reach of these armed maniacs, often themselves only recently children.

You know the risks to your children, and yet you still choose to do nothing. Where is the communal outrage of people assembling and marching in the streets? Since the Vietnam War, America has forsaken its power and the mechanisms of civil disobedience. Even the French shame you and the Republicans; they laugh, load their guns, and head off to the range. They photograph themselves and their families holding AR15s and standing in front of the family Christmas Tree on election campaign greeting cards.

Stopping This Madness is Possible!

It would be best if you acted as a united front to protect your children across the US, and strikes are the most effective means of achieving this. They require no confrontation, and send a message those in power cannot ignore. Act now, or suffer the consequences at the next election, and if you have children of your own, I pity them if you continue to sit idle. If for these two issues alone – choice and gun safety – rally and elect representatives who unite to keep people safe.

Boycott schools, keep your children home, shut down all educational institutions, mobilize the support of academia, administration and teachers who are also in the line of fire and make your voices heard, for the sake of your children and your country’s future. The world is watching and your children are living in fear. School is now a battlefield. Children are sent in buses to the front. Consider the mental anguish you are exposing your children to by your inaction. Consider the mental health of future generations.

While you’re about it, do right by your wives and partners, do right by the women you know and rely on for so much, do right by your daughters, and show them the support they deserve. Stand up for them in the same voice and help restore their access to choice. Help them restore their access to essential healthcare. Support for mothers, sisters, daughters and all children is a shared responsibility. Do not shirk away from this responsibility, I implore you.

The post Trump’s America. Deride Them, But They are Better Than You appeared first on Medika Life.

This week the US House of Representatives passed a bill giving veterans access to no-cost contraception through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The legislation passed with bipartisan support 245–181.

This bill intends to give Veterans access to birth control like all other Americans who have enjoyed free access to family planning services since the 2008 Affordable Care Act.

Green spoke on the House floor in opposition to the legislation. The speech is filled with incorrect statements and misinformation. No one is surprised anymore by Green’s nonsensical rants. She has mocked victims of the Parkland shooting and blamed California wildfires on Jewish space lasers.

Green even compared wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a respiratory virus during a pandemic to the Holocaust stating, “We can look back in a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany.”

Representative Green’s statements about Plan B and emergency contraception are simply incorrect and ill-informed. Here is what she said.

Green states, “contraception stops a woman from becoming pregnant. The Plan B pill kills a baby in the womb once a woman is already pregnant.” This statement is entirely false.

Plan B is the brand name of one form of emergency contraception. Emergency birth control prevents pregnancy and is not an abortion medication.

RU486 (Mifepristone) is a medication used to induce abortion. Abortion medication terminates a pregnancy and is not a form of emergency contraception.

Plan B and RU486 are not the same medication. One has nothing to do with the other.

Emergency contraception (EC) contains progesterone, a hormone produced naturally by the ovaries. It is often called “the morning after” pill. Common brands, such as Plan B, are available over the counter without a prescription.

Emergency contraception is formulated with a high dose of progesterone. This hormonal blast disrupts, delays, or prevents ovulation. When people take Plan B within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, it reduces the risk of pregnancy by 70–80%. If a woman is already pregnant and takes Plan B, then nothing happens.

Emergency contraception is called Plan B and not Plan A for a reason. It reduces the risk of pregnancy and does not cause an abortion.

Here is a chart outlining the hormonal changes that occur during a menstrual cycle. The hormones must follow this particular pattern for the ovary to release an egg successfully.

Plan B emergency contraception sends a shock to the system through a high level of progesterone to disrupt or delay ovulation.

The high dose of progesterone in Plan B also thickens the cervical mucus creating a toxic environment for sperm. 

Plan B will not terminate an already established pregnancy. Plan B progesterone does not cause abortion.

Emergency contraception decreases the risk of pregnancy by inhibiting ovulation. If a person is already pregnant and conception has occurred, then Plan B will do nothing. It is too late for emergency contraception.

Taking emergency contraception after one is already pregnant will only add more progesterone to support the developing fetus.

Progesterone can be helpful in certain high-risk pregnancies. Obstetrician gynecologists and infertility doctors often give extra Progesterone to help prevent miscarriages.

Marjorie Taylor Green also stated, “Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act is not contraception, it’s providing with taxpayer dollars the ability for women to have an abortion.”

Once again, Taylor is wrong. Birth control methods do not work by causing abortions. In addition, Federal law bars the use of Medicaid funds for abortions through the Hyde Amendment.

Green got one thing right when she stated, “Words matter and their meanings need to be exactly clear.” 

I agree. I wish Green had paid attention in her junior high health class and learned the basics about human reproduction and contraception. 

The post Marjorie Taylor Green Needs a Primer on How Birth Control Works appeared first on Medika Life.

This Texas abortion ban continues Governor Abbott’s pattern of limiting the rights of individuals in favor of the government control over people’s lives. Previously, Abbott signed SB 8, which banned abortion in Texas after six weeks of gestation. Many women do not know they are pregnant so early in pregnancy.

SB 8, known as the “ heartbeat ban,” removes the rights of pregnant people to control what happens to their bodies even if they were the victims of incest or rape.

The new law passed on July 16 takes the abortion ban on step further. Under HB 1280, any health provider who attempts to perform an abortion could be charged with a second-degree felony. If the abortion is successful, doctors can be charged with a first-degree felony and potentially life in prison. Physicians who perform abortions would face fines of a minimum of $100,000 and lose their license.

While it may seem strange that Texas would pass a state law contingent upon a potential change in Federal law, the timing of HB 1280 coincides with abortion legal challenges happening on a national stage. The US Supreme Court will hear arguments this fall on a Mississippi law banning abortion after fifteen weeks gestation.

Mississippi’s abortion law serves as a test case for many other abortion restrictions passed in various states. The Mississippi law is in direct conflict with the wording in Roe v. Wade which gave women the Constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability, the time at which a baby can survive outside of the uterus.

Due to advancements in neonatology intensive care, preterm babies can survive as early as 23–24 weeks in most hospitals. A Mississippi Supreme Court victory would remove the viability threshold established in 1973, opening the legal doors for other states to limit reproductive rights.

Some believe the Supreme Courts’ shift to the political right increases the odds of Roe vs Wade will be overturned. The former President appointed three pro-life Justices during his term. Justice Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett have a strong history of supporting anti-choice legislation. The conservatives are now in the majority, six to three.

The new Texas abortion ban, HB 1280, that turns physicians into criminals, was co-sponsored by Southlake’s Representative Giovanni Capriglione and McKinney’s Senator Angela Paxton.

The law includes no exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest. There are narrow exceptions for pregnant people with life-threatening conditions

An increase in government control over healthcare decisions has many people on edge. Paxton Smith, the valedictorian of Lake Highlands High School’s Class of 2021, drew national attention for her passionate commencement speech. Smith focused on the idea of personal liberty.

Smith questioned the “heartbeat bills” idea that rape victims, through no fault of their own, can no longer make a personal choice regarding their future. Instead, the Texas Government dictates these womens’ future. As Smith said, “a decision that will affect the rest of their lives is made by a stranger.”

Texas women no longer have the right to choose to parent or choose an alternative path. Instead, Governor Abbott has determined the Texas Government should decide what is best for each woman.

Smith summed up the dangers of governmental overreach stating:

“I have dreams, and hopes, and ambitions. Every girl graduating today does. And without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us.”

The post Governor Makes Abortion in Texas A Crime if Roe v. Wade Is Overturned appeared first on Medika Life.

One can now legitimately ask the question, “what’s next”. An assault on women’s right to the vote? Ridiculous you say, but wait. Until last week women had a semblance of control over their lives, their health, and their bodies. Greg Abbott has undone that in a move that’s left Texas with the most restrictive abortion laws in the US.

The Texas abortion bill is known as S.B. 8, and is described as a “heartbeat ban” abortion measure. It prohibits abortion the moment a fetal heartbeat has been detected. By banning abortion after the six-week mark, many women in Texas who are not even aware they are pregnant will not be allowed to get the procedure done in the state. The bill, which goes into effect Sept. 1, does not include exceptions for women impregnated as a result of rape or incest but offers a provision for medical emergencies.

Let’s examine a primary point of this bill from a medical perspective. The heartbeat the bill refers to is in fact not an actual heartbeat. This early in the pregnancy there is not a fully formed heart, it hasn’t developed yet (usually at the end of week 7) and what the instruments are detecting is an electrical signal that will be replaced with a heartbeat. It’s a simplified explanation, and the graphic below of a six-week fetus should help you understand this better.

This signal can actually be picked up as early as the 4th week of pregnancy and the fetal heart differs from the heart of the newborn. Our heart adapts to life outside of the womb after we’re born, as the fetus relies on its mother’s lungs rather than its own, so there are fundamental structural differences in a fetal and newborn heart. Which is neither here nor there. It’s just so we are all on the same page relating to actual science.

What is actually at issue here are two things. The health, both mental and physical, of the mother and the right to life of the fetus which we’ll address first. If you are going to view life as sacrosanct and its importance all-consuming, then even allowing a six-week window to terminate that life seems ridiculous. The number of weeks is arbitrary, life is life, whether it’s snuffed out at 6 days, 6 weeks, or 6 months and if you truly believe in its value, you aren’t going to be negotiating time spans.

Which suggests this isn’t really about a right to life. Not really. This is more about politics and Governor Abbott’s conservative view of life and potential aspirations for a presidential run. How? Well, off the back of a Supreme court action contesting S.B. 8. It is crafty, clever, and manipulative politicking at the expense of public health.

The legislation may also simply be a reflection of the sexist views of Abbott and his party. A women’s ability to terminate the progeny of a man makes him vulnerable. The solution is simple. Remove her right to choose.

The S.B. 8 abortion law is going to have a number of dire consequences for women in Texas.

• The bill discriminates against lower-income families, women who enjoy financial resources can travel out of state to abort, not an option for those without the budget to travel freely.
• An upsurge in illegal and dangerous backstreet abortion clinics, placing pregnant mothers’ health in grave jeopardy. Mothers who would need further medical attention may be subject to prosecution.
• Pregnancies resulting from rape and incest that are forced to term by law will place the mother’s mental health at grave risk and lead to unwanted children.
• Genetic abnormalities discovered further into the pregnancy will not entitle the mother to consider an abortion under the current legislation.

Essentially, the message this new legislation sends to women across Texas is a stark one. Governor Greg Abbott and his conservative governance have little regard for your health and for your rights to choice. Your abilities to make an informed decision about your body have been seriously undermined.

The structure of the bill allows for anyone assisting the mother to abort the fetus after the six-week period to be prosecuted. In theory, if you’re driving your wife or partner across state lines for the purposes of obtaining an abortion you could be arrested and prosecuted. If a teenage boy gets his girlfriend pregnant and an abortion is carried out, either set of parents would have cause to file a civil complaint against anyone involved in enabling the abortion.

According to the Washington Post, the Supreme Court announced this week that it will review a similar restrictive Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, potentially providing a clear path to diminishing Roe v. Wade’s guaranteeof a woman’s right to choose an abortion. At a six-week restriction, Texas must surely follow on the heels of the Mississippi review. 

Mississippi and Texas are among many Republican-led states to have passed restrictions conflicting with the Supreme Court’s precedents protecting abortion rights, hoping for a chance to get a case before a Supreme Court they believe is more amenable to their arguments. 

The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would examine whether “all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.” Women across the country are going to be watching the outcome very closely.

The post Texas’s New Abortion Law Endangers Women and Science appeared first on Medika Life.