Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Saturday, May 21, 2011
And sick. I can't fathom any other remotely rational reason for our legislators to tack on language to the already idiotic sonogram bill (registration may be required. Sigh.) that withdraws funding from any hospital that offers "abortion-related services."
The problem is that the term isn't legally defined, so it could include contraception, pap smears, sonograms to check the health of a baby, you name it.
To top it off, the state has stripped $40 million from the budget to essentially defund a program that provides contraception and health screenings to low-income women. As I noted last week, Planned Parenthood is cut out entirely. According to the article, there are 28 clinics in our area, only two of which perform abortions.
The problem is, you cut out these programs, and when someone (man or woman) is finally diagnosed with cancer, the odds are that the diagnosis will not be made early and it will cost more to treat. The odds of bankruptcy and death are greater. And before you get all holier than thou about personal responsibility, a lot of these uninsured folks had good jobs with health insurance before the economy collapsed. Sure, they can get insured - if they don't want a home or don't mind skipping feeding and clothing the kids.
These folks passing these idiotic bills claim to be Christian. Back in Christ's time, one illness didn't stop someone from seeking further medical attention because they couldn't afford it. Christ also said something about "inasumch as you have done it for the least of these..." So if outlawing abortions is doing it for the least of these, why doesn't funding health care fall under the same umbrella? Someone who is out of work (not by choice) certainly falls under "the least of these," don't they? These same Christians wonder why people seem to be turning away from God. Well, if the message is God is only there for people who have money, what do you expect? I know not all churches are that way, but our elected representatives are codifying the other message. There's a reason the people who founded this country didn't want government to put their hands in religion, but that's just what people are doing, in the name of the founders.
Oh, my head hurts.