the so-called conscience clause

NOTE: point forward, anything I find share-worthy for Facebook is also going to end up here. It'll lead to more blog entries, of course, and also an archive of news and nonsense I felt compelled to share. So, here goes:

Pharmacist Refusal Clauses: There's No Conscience In Sending Women Elsewhere
Agreed. One of George W. Bush's lasting monstrous acts was to allow pharmacists (and by extension doctors and nurses) to refuse to fill legally acquired prescriptions for such things as emergency contraception or even regular birth control. Because Mr. Bush was so biased against a woman's ability to make her own decisions and so distrusting that women know what's best for them, and because of his misunderstanding of what different forms of birth control are and do, he decided that pharmacists should be able to refuse to do their jobs. This has allowed medical personnel to refuse care to pregnant women because it might harm their fetus -never mind the health or life of the woman- and has allowed nurses to forcibly remove IUDs and then refuse to reinsert them, and has forced women to carry pregnancies they do not want.
Here's the deal, people: if you don't approve of abortion or allow your religious beliefs to interfere with your decisions to the extent that you need to push them forcefully on others, maybe you shouldn't be a pharmacist.

Bottom line: If your beliefs interfere with your ability to do your job, find a different job.


In a similar vein, Planned Parenthood urges you to TAKE ACTION on a petition to provide no-cost birth control -to list birth control as a preventative measure and thereby exempt from co-pays under the new health care plan.
"Birth control matters. It matters to the young woman finishing college or starting a career. It matters to the family struggling to make ends meet. It matters to the woman suffering from endometriosis. It matters to mothers and fathers who treasure the children they have."

It matters, bitches. Let people prevent unwanted pregnancies and thereby be better able to care for the children they already have, or the children they might have someday. Or, perhaps, allow them to remain childfree if that is their desire.

Needless to say, I'm passionate about this topic. Reproductive rights and vaccines and environmental causes, that's me. So there.