Bye Bye Abortion Clinics In Texas
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 14th, 2014
Good morning
Once again the right are using the court to make law they couldn’t get passed through their congressional process.
From Think Progress:
Court Ruling Devastates Texas’ Abortion Clinic Infrastructure
Two signs at a rally in Dallas where a group of nearly 200 gathered to protest the approval of new abortion restrictions in TexasCREDIT: AP PHOTO/TONY GUTIERREZ
The number of abortion clinics in the second most populous state is dwindling to just eight, following a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that allows a stringent new law to take effect immediately in Texas. On Thursday night, a panel of conservative judges reversed an earlier decision that allowed 13 clinics to remain open for the past several weeks.
Thursday’s decision is the latest installment in the battle over HB 2, the package of harsh abortion restrictions that Texas lawmakers approved last summerdespite gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis’ infamous filibuster against the legislation. An earlier provision of the law, which started going into effect last fall, requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges from local hospitals, an unnecessary business arrangement that has forced half of the state’s clinicsto close their doors already. Another portion of HB 2, which requires abortion clinics to make costly renovations to bring their building codes in line with ambulatory surgical centers, will now also take effect.
Just eight clinics in the entire state of Texas are currently certified as ambulatory surgical centers, or ASCs. They’re all located in San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Houston. With the building code restrictions in effect, a broad swaths of the state — including the incredibly impoverished regionsalong the Mexico border — is now left without any clinics for hundreds of miles. Texas’ new reproductive rights landscape is illustrated in this map from the Texas Tribune:
CREDIT: TEXAS TRIBUNE
“What we have been fearing is now official: Texas faces a health care crisis, brought on by its own legislators,” Amy Hagstrom Miller, who used to operate five clinics in the state, said in a statement in response to the ruling.
Hagstrom Miller, the CEO of a group called Whole Woman’s Health, has just one clinic left under HB 2: A building that she rents in San Antonio that was already certified as an ASC when she moved in. She has been fighting hard to keep her other clinics operating, particularly the facilities she used to run in the Rio Grande Valley, a border community where immigrant women are left without many health care options. But in a recent interview with ThinkProgress, she explained that building more ASCs is simply not a tenable option.
“I wouldn’t be able to afford to raise the money for a $3 million ambulatory surgical center as a small business owner. There’s no bank that’s going to lend that money to me,” Hagstrom Miller said. “Plus, I would not be interested in building from the ground up. I think it’s the wrong solution on many levels. Philosophically, it’s wrong because it’s completely based on misinformation — it has nothing to do with patient care. It’s also, to me, just a poor use of resources. I could help so many women have safe abortions for $400 dollars rather than put $3 million dollars into a building.”
Medical experts have repeatedly spoken out against Texas’ new law, saying that the requirements won’t do anything to improve abortion clinics. Abortion is already an incredibly safe medical procedure that’s less risky than colonoscopies, gallbladder surgery, knee replacement surgery, or giving birth to a child. Both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) oppose requiring abortion providers to get hospital admitting privileges. ACOG also opposes imposing additional building code requirements on clinics.
Nonetheless, these type of restrictions are rapidly advancing throughout the country. Known as the “Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers,” or TRAP, these laws have particularly taken root in Southern states, where an estimated 8.6 million women of reproductive age may soon be left with just 12 abortion clinics across five states.
TRAP laws are typically framed as protecting women’s health, even though there’s absolutely no relationship between harsh abortion restrictions and better health outcomes. But that hasn’t stopped conservative judges in the Fifth Circuit from buying into the framing. According to Nancy Northup, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, the most recent court decision in Texas “is an endorsement of politicians’ disingenuous tactic of undermining women’s safety under the false pretext of protecting it.”
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Readers: Then we’ve got repub Texas A.G. Greg Abbott, saying that the law that shut down 80 percent of clinics in the state, is merely a manageable “inconvenience” — not an undue burden — to Texas women.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) and his colleagues wrote in the memo that “the vast majority of Texas residents” still live “within comfortable driving distance (150 miles)” of an abortion provider. For the women who live in the farther-flung regions of the state, such as the low-income Rio Grande Valley near the Mexico border, Abbott wrote, “abortion can be accessed by driving approximately 230-250 miles — an inconvenience, but still a manageable one.”
I say we make Abbott drive that far to get his much needed Viagra and then tell him it’s an inconvenience, but still a manageable one, and see how he likes it.
I know it has been said time and time again, but when will these D.A.A.B.O.R. women wake up, support women and stop voting in these men that couldn’t care less about the health and well-being of women, and their right to access health care when they need it.
Thoughts? Blog me.
Peace baby.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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October 14th, 2014 at 9:11 am
And white women just keep on putting these sick white boys in the House and Senate.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:13 am
Fred#32October 14th, 2014 at 9:06 am, Universal health care will cause this to spread faster than it does in Africa. John Ringo’s book The Last Centurion, paints a good picture of the probable mechanisms. http://alfin2100.blogspot.com/2012/10/megacities-and-pandemic-of-doom.html
October 14th, 2014 at 9:16 am
Sam#33,Wonderful Women Of The World, AMEN, AMEN! Liberals refuse to face the facts, they prefer to be in Denial.
They’re don’t know how to handle anything, they make BAD decisions, they have very poor judgement.
We’ve seen it for the past 5 years. I think Democrats belong in the enterainment industry or sports, where they don’t need to use logic or reasoning.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:21 am
It’s a shame we can’t get my sisters to stop electing the same men over and over again. If they can’t see it to elect a woman at least pick a man who respects the female anatomy.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:21 am
Fred#3, Tell us again what St Ronald of Reagan did to prevent the spread of the AIDS epidemic. Is that what “liberals” should do now?
October 14th, 2014 at 9:45 am
Helen#5, He tried to lock up all gays but he couldn’t.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:56 am
Ike#6, So your best comeback is a pathetic attempt at humor.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:58 am
You stupid people trying to turn this into a political whatever people are sick or could be become sick here in this country, or Europe. and West Africa. It matters little as to whose political leanings you are. When you get to the pearly gates God is not going to ask which political party you belong to., Get a grip on it people!!!! GROW UP. This is not the time for politics.
It requires people to make very thought out decisions about where you choose to go, what is an essential activity, or should you shelter in place. We might have to forgo activities such as football, baseball, basketball, and other games. This might be the strangest Christmas season ever.
I think the mayors of every large city should call together all the leading medical educators, hospital administrators, and medical clinics and come up plans that deals with the possible situation like in Dallas. The mayor, the police chief, and the airport administrators, Amtrack, or other such services should have a plan.
That goes for school admin as well. If everyone of these groups will work together we will get thru this. No pointing fingers. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem.
October 14th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
#27 Thomas, when I see no comments, I just work my ‘open sesame’ juju – pretty easy.
Oh great, now Texas is going 3rd world country on its women, how could you be a VO ‘vagina owner’ and vote for these fucks, pardon my French …
Sorry, forgot commenter name from yesterday but yes, nurses often know way better than docs the practical application of medicine and processes, so put high fever/ebola symptoms in quarantine with or without doc approval and then call in the meds…I cannot fathom how they let that man out…based on race(?), freaking unbelievable – that’s just beyond gross negligence of a human.
Luv, Zen Lill
October 14th, 2014 at 7:07 pm
Michelle, yes, there have been some good moments on Guam for women. But then there is the tobacco industry pushing cigarettes on our youth at an unprecedented level. The Tobacco Industry preys on the youth of countries that don’t have the impediments placed on them on the mainland.
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Is Guam smoking more? Tobacco tax revenue up by $1.6 million
Gov. Eddie Calvo on Monday said fewer Guam residents are smoking cigarettes, but taxes collected from the sale of tobacco products tell a different story.
As of August, the government of Guam had collected $10.16 million in cigarette taxes — $1.6 million more than the same period last year, according to information from the government budget office.
That means Guam residents this year bought about 533,000 more packs of cigarettes than they did a year ago, or a total of 3.38 million packs.
The cigarette tax is a flat $3 per pack.
The administration has predicted a $1.5 million jump in sin tax collections next year, according to its budget bill — from $14.67 million to $16.2 million — which means smoking and drinking are expected to rise in the coming year.
Calvo, during his weekly address on Monday, said the island has experienced a big decrease in the number of smokers.
The governor’s statement is based on the Guam Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System 2012 Survey, according to the governor’s office.
Governor’s director of communications Troy Torres said between 2011 and 2012 the number of people on the island who smoke decreased, from one-in-three to one-in-four.
Calvo, in his address, credited the decrease in smoking and an increase in the number of people exercising to an islandwide outreach effort to get smokers to kick the habit and to prevent children from starting.
“For years, doctors have been telling us what’s good for us. Why are people suddenly paying attention? What’s the difference?” Calvo asked in his address. “It’s education.”
The governor said he’s still waiting to view the latest data and added that he is excited to see if the decrease has continued since 2012.
In 2003, senators established the Healthy Futures Fund, which collects all the taxes from tobacco-related sales and 50 percent of the excise taxes imposed on alcoholic beverages to be used for “health and education programs relating to tobacco and alcohol prevention, cessation, treatment and control.”
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Notice how our Gov. Calvo claims that Guam is smoking less. You know who is paying him. Frankly I am tired of this race destroying just about everything they touch for a few dollars more.
In the next 10 to 20 years my island will be consumed with death and illness and death from tobacco caused cancer. This race is truly a cancer upon the rest of us.
When they are not messing our minds up with their hypocritical religious bullshit, they are controlling our natural resources and forcing us to accept their polluting substitutes and fucked up values.
Hafa Adai
October 14th, 2014 at 8:40 pm
Damn, Michelle they are just ignoring the law and stealing votes and getting rid of them in my state of Georgia.
The have taken 50,000 votes and hidden them. Please get Madaline to find them. This is just tragic how bold the republican party has become. Their constituents know they can not win without criminal acts to steal elections and they are okay with it.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:05 pm
Mike,™ If I were you I would take a look at the new movie, “Kill The Messenger.” It is based on a true story about how the CIA destroyed a San Jose Mercury News reporter for telling the world that they aided and abetted the sale of cocaine into OTW neighborhoods to provide funds for Reagan’s war in Nicaragua.
They got the top news hosts in the TV media from Dateline to 60 Minutes, news magazines, news papers and any other media source to the public to say he was lying. The reason it was so easy is because 98% of those pundits were white boys.
Hence, they didn’t care about the CIA selling drugs to OTWs. Today, the same white boy controlled media sources don’t give a damn about killing arabs. So your tale could very well end up the way the reporter for the SJ Mercury News did.
He never worked again in any media source after he was fired by the SJ Mercury news paper. And he accomplished the unique phenomena of being able to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head not once but twice.
If I were you, I’d take the first escape possible and stay hidden. The Bushes don’t take kindly to being exposed. And Cheney is a stone sociopath with money as his only reason for living.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:06 pm
Michelle, we need your help here in Texas. The republicans have gotten a federal judge to reinstate a law that will prevent tens of thousands of votes from being counted.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:25 pm
When the white boy agrees on a legal issue that makes sense don’t make the mistake of thinking that white boy is logical. He is just agreeing on something he wants to happen for his own reasons.
It has NOTHING to do with the law, constitution or what is fair or right. Therefore you shouldn’t be surprised when he agrees on something just the opposite.
Something that is truly ludicrous like the claim like there is voter fraud.
October 14th, 2014 at 10:26 pm
The media is saying that it is a slam dunk for the Republicans to take over both houses of Congress. If that is so true, how come the republicans are spending so much money on stealing the election?
Could it be they believe in Madaline?
October 15th, 2014 at 6:38 am
MG how far and wide the Bush family tree roots spreads and how many people are in bed with ithat entire family is not news…I remember blogging about that empire 6 years ago. It’s just been suppressed from making headline news and I had to shut down my blog shortly after that and lots of info on black water and Halliburton and the global sex trafficking and raping of women. Hmmm and that is why I’m always amazed that this blog makes it another day …. So much info here, must be alien protected ; )
-ZL
October 15th, 2014 at 7:05 am
Why are women complaining? Aren’t they the ones electing the men voting for these laws that close abortion clinics?
October 15th, 2014 at 7:07 am
Zen Lill, I’m sorry to hear you blog was shut down. I’m new here(only 3 months) I bet it was exciting reading.
If it is anything like the stuff on this blog, I can see why it was attacked. Sometimes I have difficulty getting on or even finding this one.
October 15th, 2014 at 7:22 am
Tea Partyers are America’s equivalent of Brown Shirts. The only freedom they favor is their freedom to dominate others and Power’s freedom to dominate and kill those they dislike.
When cops kill or abuse OTWs, they say nothing. They LIKE this kind of behavior by uniformed organized crime.
When government forces you to do their religious bidding, they love government. They want smaller government, but they want to be in your bedroom, your wallet, your car and any place else they desire and they think that they deserve to do this cause someone was stupid enough to give them a badge and a gun.
October 15th, 2014 at 7:43 am
How Crooks Trick You Into a Virus Download
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you ever get malware on your PC, the most likely cause will be that you performed the virus download yourself.
Despite everything we hear it’s not that easy for crooks to plant malicious programs on your PC without your help.
They use lots of cunning tricks to fool you into downloading their viruses, some of which even the best security software may not detect, especially if they’re newly crafted.
In a security report published earlier this year, Microsoft said these “deceptive downloads” were the top threat in nearly every country worldwide, where they studied the contents of nearly 600 million computers.
What makes them “deceptive”?
Well, it’s because they’re often baited with free, genuine downloadable programs and games, or even music.
“For example,” says Microsoft, “you might receive a file in an email or through social networking but when you try to open it you see a message that says you don’t have the right software to open it.
“You do a search online and come across a free software download that claims it can help you open the file. You download that software, but you unknowingly might also be downloading malicious software … with it.
“This malware might have the ability to access personal information in your computer or use your computer for cybercrime.”
In another common version of this trick, victims receive a message pointing to a video, usually supposedly of a sensational nature.
But when they try to watch the video, they’re told they need a special viewer or an add-on to their usual media player (called a “codec”).
Again, this is merely a ruse to get them to download a virus onto their machines.
Others are less dangerous but just as frustrating, like programs that change your browser’s home page (and keep changing it even when you try to re-set it), or spyware that reports on your viewing habits for unscrupulous marketing companies.
So, what can you do to avoid this nasty trap?
Well, think about it: Genuine online video, music and games producers don’t, in the main, produce items that need additional software to run them beyond what is already available on most machines.
Why would they, since such a requirement would severely limit the popularity of their products?
So, if you already have a mainstream media player and standard viewers like QuickTime or Adobe Flash, you shouldn’t need anything else — including add-ons and updates that the malware crooks might say you need.
So, here’s Microsoft’s advice:
* Think before you click.
* Only download material from sites you already know you can trust.
* Make sure you’re using the latest versions of software that are already installed on your PC.
* Use a reputable anti-virus program and keep it up to date. This last bit is crucial because, as we said earlier, crooks are always coming up with new pieces of malware.
The best way to keep your software current is to allow automatic updates for programs you know and trust.
* Use newer software whenever possible. This is less likely to be vulnerable to malware attacks.
If you think you may already have fallen victim to a deceptive download, run a full scan of your system via your Internet security software.
If you have a current version of Windows (Windows 8 or 8.1), you can run the built-in Windows Defender.
Or with older versions, you can try Microsoft’s free Safety Scanner:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx
Of course, there are also plenty of other anti-virus programs — free and paid-for — that safeguard you against nearly all except the most recent threats.
And some Internet browsers now have checks built in for deceptive downloads.
Sometimes, your security software may detect malware but be unable to remove it. You may need professional help, but you can also sometimes find removal guidance online if you know the name of the virus.
Microsoft also offers advice on this here: http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/mmpc/help/remediation.aspx
In a worst-case scenario, you may have to restore your PC to an earlier version. This underlines the importance of keeping regular system backups.
Otherwise, you’ll be back to square one with a completely new install. That’s a high price to pay for a single, deceptive virus download!
Alert of the week: On the same theme as this week’s main issue, there’s a new alert relating to the current popular Ice Bucket Challenge fad.
In this craze, people produce videos of themselves pouring a bucket of water over their heads — in the name of charitable money-raising — and then challenge their friends to do the same.
It makes for some hilarious videos, which is why crooks are sending out emails supposedly pointing to some really spectacular ones, but they’re really just malware links.
Other scammers have set up bogus lookalike pages for the original charity that sparked the craze — the ALS Association.
October 15th, 2014 at 7:54 am
White people are easy to freak out. For a group that claims to be so moral and religious, they sure hate to meet their make. They all claim they want to go to heaven, but none of them want to die.
Now they are freaking out over ebola. The politicians on the right know they can use this kind of fear to get votes. Blame Obama and say you will save the freaking idiots and they will hurry to the polls to vote for you.
I’m white people. So don’t all bent out of shape screaming I’m talking about all white people.
October 15th, 2014 at 8:07 am
Janet, I’m fucking freaking out and yes I am white. a second person at that Dallas hospital has contacted ebola from treating Duncan.
October 15th, 2014 at 9:03 am
[…] Julie: I hear your concern. I have been following the story and I am very aware of what is happening with the missing/stolen unprocessed voter registration forms in Georgia, and the New Georgia project. You’re right on with your assessment. My suggestion is that you e-mail your Senators and tell them that you know what they are up to, and that you support the lawsuit suing the State of Georgia. And then when election time comes, you know what to do – Vote ‘em out. […]
October 15th, 2014 at 11:23 am
Why did the idiot get on a commercial airplane when she knew that she had been exposed to a patient who died from ebola?
October 16th, 2014 at 9:25 am
[…] Joyce: If they’re part of the republican party, I don’t think they exist. In my opinion, if women vote for the repubs, they are either as dumb as a box of rocks or just ignorant and don’t know that their party houses misogynists. Whatever the reason, it really doesn’t matter because it is their vote that matters, and a vote for the repubs is one less for the Dems…and then the damage is done. […]