It is the perfect example of the hell, that results letting the religious whackos take over healthcare. They will suck all the federal money away from real healthcare though, all while getting tax-breaks on the business side. Secular hospitals cannot compete with their financial advantages. And don't get me started on the millions of tax-payer funds the cranks are putting into the fake "pregnancy Crisis Centers" who should be sued for malpractice, and practicing medicine without training, and licensed care providers.
This issue needs to be hammered home. We must draw attention to the fact that Catholic hospitals are harming us. The ACLU also has a great piece on their website, entitled 'Healthcare Denied'... I believe there is a slow takeover happening (along with school boards/vouchers pushing religion, county commissions, state legislators on up...) and the U.S. isn't paying attention. It's scary because people don't realize it's happening. Once the religious organizations have a monopoly or run the majority of hospitals, we're shit out of luck. It should not be legal. Catholic directives should not dictate my care. Since Catholic hospitals can simply refuse certain procedures on religious grounds (abortion!), of course the GOP would love ’em nationwide. The spread IS happening, and even in my own city. Locally, my friend had to find a different provider for an IUD because the now-Catholic hospital wouldn't do it. Many areas of the country have NO other options. Women shouldn’t have to seek out alternate providers for simple birth control, etc. And it's logical for the GOP to be on board, using their money and influence to facilitate the mergers of these institutions. Our town used to have two hospitals - one secular, and one Catholic (Mercy hospital). They then combined into just one hospital for the area (Trinity Health). I am TERRIFIED for our daughters.
In some PNW states, the majority of health care providers are now Catholic run organizations. They have recently taken over two of the largest medical facilities in my city. It's terrifying. This has become an issue for end of life care as well. Even in a "liberal" area, and a state that protects abortions and right to die, these options are increasingly becoming available only on paper.
And they're so concerned with child trafficking. No wonder! There's so much denial and projection going on in the right-wing hemisphere. It's astonishing and terrifying.
I grew up in Boston at a time when the Catholic Church exerted extraordinary influence. The Cardinal had as much political power as the highest elected official. My mother was the oldest of seven, and she and her siblings and /or their wives were pregnant over and over again, which had serious impacts on their health and longevity.
The GP who attended my mother's extended family was Jewish and did not feel fettered by the church's teachings; he delivered nearly all their children. After my mother's fifth pregnancy, he prescribed the pill, which was still experimental, because he didn't think she'd survive a sixth pregnancy and already had five kids for whom she was the primary caregiver.
I remember this caused a lot of conversation over Sunday dinner at my grandmother's. My nana and aunts felt that Dr. Kaplan wouldn't steer them wrong, but those church teachings of "accepting god's gifts" were a part of their upbringing as well as their marriage vows. The pill wasn't legalized in MA until 1966 for married couples - and not until 1972 for unmarried women; the time I'm talking about would have been about 1960.
Here's the tally; they were fertile af:
Mom - 6 kids (She had one more after 4 years on the pill; I don't know why. She also miscarried when I was 24.)
Aunt 1 - 9 (She was refused a tubal ligation at a Catholic hospital after delivery of her 7th child.)
Aunt 2 - 8 (One childhood cancer death)
Aunt 3 -5 (over a 20 year period!)
Aunt 1 by marriage - 4
Aunt 2 by marriage - 3, several miscarriages (I recall dismissive conversations about her inability to carry to term by her sisters-in-law!)
Aunt 3 by marriage - 3
The younger women had fewer pregnancies, because duh.
But the younger generation mostly fell away from the church and its teachings, so, I guess the plan for more souls kind of backfired. Making women suffer really is not a winning strategy.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the parent of Ascension. In addition, Ascension is a huge asshole relative to medical debt collection.
The fact that Ascension is allowed to exist while "cutting costs" is totally immoral. The amount of hospital consolidation permitting this evil hospital system to grow and flourish by denying care to people who need it the most has been happening for years, and the Feds stand idly by and permit it. It happens regardless of who is President and regardless of which political party controls Congress.
The Federal departments concerned with antitrust law are more concerned about Microsoft's buying a computer game manufacturer than they are by the fact that numerous hospital chains are regularly being swallowed up by monsters like Ascension. Ascension OB/Gyn units were being closed on a regular basis long before Roe V. Wade was overturned. Everybody's care suffers when this level of hospital concentration goes on, but pregnant women and their infants most of all.
I read the document that Jessica provided and saw that, along with hospital consolidation, the main reason all the OB/Gyn units were closed was due to low Medicaid reimbursements. Virtually all the closures occurred in areas with high Medicaid participation which, of course, were predominantly Black and Hispanic areas. Out of control capitalism (turning healthcare into a business plus unregulated hospital consolidation) plus structural and economic racism is a deadly combination that adversely affects everyone's health, but especially the health of the most vulnerable - women and infants.
This amount of systemic rot goes way beyond the abortion/lack of abortion issues into a policy of denying good healthcare services to a large portion of the U.S. population. The New Yorker article about the death of Yeniifer Alvarez-Estrada Glick described a number of problems she experienced due to her lower economic status, her undocumented status and the fact that she was living in a healthcare "desert". She needed to work, so she could not see a doctor as often as her extremely high-risk pregnancy indicated. In addition, being uninsured, she could only afford a few self-paying office visits. Her blood pressure medication was probably expensive as well - her husband said she was only taking half doses. A middle-class White woman who had similar health issues, living in a "richer" area would have probably been able to get the necessary advice about the inadvisability of her pregnancy in "coded" language and would have had the resources to get an abortion out of state.
So keep in mind that obscene entities like the Ascension system are not pro-life but pro-death. That the only things they want to grow and flourish are their executives' salaries and their corporate bottom line so that they can keep swallowing up hospital after hospital, aided and abetted by the U.S. government's total disregard of the health of its citizens. This will continue until we all rise up and demand truly universal healthcare as a right.
You should read that report that Jessica provided. It's a real eye-opener.
She also took half doses because the side effects of hypertension meds for some people are downright crippling. I have pretty extreme hypertension and I went through about 6 different prescriptions over the course of a year until I just fucking couldn't with that shit anymore. Losartan, the most effective one of the bunch, made me feel dead tired and nauseous all the time. It also caused nasty episodes that happened at random where I got so dizzy and sick that I had to lay down wherever I was or lose consciousness. Yeni's side effects sounded a lot like mine from the Losartan and the fact that she was able to work and go to all those appointments means she was putting such a Herculean effort into staying alive and supporting her family.
I know it's pointless and arrogant to speculate what she might have wanted had the healthcare system not robbed her and then failed her, but there's really two aspects to choosing a serious risk to your life for your fetus. 1.) Am I willing to sacrifice my life? A ton of people don't think past this one, both pregnant people and especially anti-abortion people. But there's an equally important second aspect. 2.) Are the people who love me willing to sacrifice me? This is a tricky one if the answer is yes (gag), but in Yeni's case it really seems like the answer would have been a resounding "no". Christofascists never think twice about mothers who *have kids already* either!
Pro republica did a very in depth series in 2017(ish) about maternal health and pointed out then that 1 out of 8 hospital beds is controlled by religious groups. i am sure it is higher now. I live in CA and was very surprised in preparation for my third child as a possible c section that in order to add on a tubal ligation at the same time I would have to have my “case” presented to a hospital committee for approval. Like wtf
This is why I get so angry when Republicans (usually men) say someone is being "anti-Catholic". People wouldn't be if they weren't forcing their religion on other people. There is supposed to be separation between church and state in this country. One of the founding principles. Not upholding it is unjust and dangerous.
I was so disgusted by the freakout when the FBI was looking into extremist Catholic churches and Wray shut it down immediately and apologized. What the fuck? Did they learn nothing from the large-scale child molestation?
I think they represent 23% of our population. They shouldn’t have this much control. And they probably wouldn’t without Leonard Leo, Opus Dei and the Federalist Society. We have to expand the Supreme Court.
It is the perfect example of the hell, that results letting the religious whackos take over healthcare. They will suck all the federal money away from real healthcare though, all while getting tax-breaks on the business side. Secular hospitals cannot compete with their financial advantages. And don't get me started on the millions of tax-payer funds the cranks are putting into the fake "pregnancy Crisis Centers" who should be sued for malpractice, and practicing medicine without training, and licensed care providers.
This issue needs to be hammered home. We must draw attention to the fact that Catholic hospitals are harming us. The ACLU also has a great piece on their website, entitled 'Healthcare Denied'... I believe there is a slow takeover happening (along with school boards/vouchers pushing religion, county commissions, state legislators on up...) and the U.S. isn't paying attention. It's scary because people don't realize it's happening. Once the religious organizations have a monopoly or run the majority of hospitals, we're shit out of luck. It should not be legal. Catholic directives should not dictate my care. Since Catholic hospitals can simply refuse certain procedures on religious grounds (abortion!), of course the GOP would love ’em nationwide. The spread IS happening, and even in my own city. Locally, my friend had to find a different provider for an IUD because the now-Catholic hospital wouldn't do it. Many areas of the country have NO other options. Women shouldn’t have to seek out alternate providers for simple birth control, etc. And it's logical for the GOP to be on board, using their money and influence to facilitate the mergers of these institutions. Our town used to have two hospitals - one secular, and one Catholic (Mercy hospital). They then combined into just one hospital for the area (Trinity Health). I am TERRIFIED for our daughters.
In some PNW states, the majority of health care providers are now Catholic run organizations. They have recently taken over two of the largest medical facilities in my city. It's terrifying. This has become an issue for end of life care as well. Even in a "liberal" area, and a state that protects abortions and right to die, these options are increasingly becoming available only on paper.
It's almost like everybody is being forced to live in their trauma. I'm very tired of it.
And they're so concerned with child trafficking. No wonder! There's so much denial and projection going on in the right-wing hemisphere. It's astonishing and terrifying.
Excellent post from ProPublica on the dearth of female legislators, particularly in the Southeast. When we're not at the table...
https://www.propublica.org/article/state-lawmakers-women-southeast
I grew up in Boston at a time when the Catholic Church exerted extraordinary influence. The Cardinal had as much political power as the highest elected official. My mother was the oldest of seven, and she and her siblings and /or their wives were pregnant over and over again, which had serious impacts on their health and longevity.
The GP who attended my mother's extended family was Jewish and did not feel fettered by the church's teachings; he delivered nearly all their children. After my mother's fifth pregnancy, he prescribed the pill, which was still experimental, because he didn't think she'd survive a sixth pregnancy and already had five kids for whom she was the primary caregiver.
I remember this caused a lot of conversation over Sunday dinner at my grandmother's. My nana and aunts felt that Dr. Kaplan wouldn't steer them wrong, but those church teachings of "accepting god's gifts" were a part of their upbringing as well as their marriage vows. The pill wasn't legalized in MA until 1966 for married couples - and not until 1972 for unmarried women; the time I'm talking about would have been about 1960.
Here's the tally; they were fertile af:
Mom - 6 kids (She had one more after 4 years on the pill; I don't know why. She also miscarried when I was 24.)
Aunt 1 - 9 (She was refused a tubal ligation at a Catholic hospital after delivery of her 7th child.)
Aunt 2 - 8 (One childhood cancer death)
Aunt 3 -5 (over a 20 year period!)
Aunt 1 by marriage - 4
Aunt 2 by marriage - 3, several miscarriages (I recall dismissive conversations about her inability to carry to term by her sisters-in-law!)
Aunt 3 by marriage - 3
The younger women had fewer pregnancies, because duh.
But the younger generation mostly fell away from the church and its teachings, so, I guess the plan for more souls kind of backfired. Making women suffer really is not a winning strategy.
I didn't notice any mention of this:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the parent of Ascension. In addition, Ascension is a huge asshole relative to medical debt collection.
Maybe people can start protesting in front of these "hospitals" to get media attention focused on what they are doing.
LIKE THAT IDEA 💡
Sister, I LIKE this idea a lot.
The fact that Ascension is allowed to exist while "cutting costs" is totally immoral. The amount of hospital consolidation permitting this evil hospital system to grow and flourish by denying care to people who need it the most has been happening for years, and the Feds stand idly by and permit it. It happens regardless of who is President and regardless of which political party controls Congress.
The Federal departments concerned with antitrust law are more concerned about Microsoft's buying a computer game manufacturer than they are by the fact that numerous hospital chains are regularly being swallowed up by monsters like Ascension. Ascension OB/Gyn units were being closed on a regular basis long before Roe V. Wade was overturned. Everybody's care suffers when this level of hospital concentration goes on, but pregnant women and their infants most of all.
I read the document that Jessica provided and saw that, along with hospital consolidation, the main reason all the OB/Gyn units were closed was due to low Medicaid reimbursements. Virtually all the closures occurred in areas with high Medicaid participation which, of course, were predominantly Black and Hispanic areas. Out of control capitalism (turning healthcare into a business plus unregulated hospital consolidation) plus structural and economic racism is a deadly combination that adversely affects everyone's health, but especially the health of the most vulnerable - women and infants.
This amount of systemic rot goes way beyond the abortion/lack of abortion issues into a policy of denying good healthcare services to a large portion of the U.S. population. The New Yorker article about the death of Yeniifer Alvarez-Estrada Glick described a number of problems she experienced due to her lower economic status, her undocumented status and the fact that she was living in a healthcare "desert". She needed to work, so she could not see a doctor as often as her extremely high-risk pregnancy indicated. In addition, being uninsured, she could only afford a few self-paying office visits. Her blood pressure medication was probably expensive as well - her husband said she was only taking half doses. A middle-class White woman who had similar health issues, living in a "richer" area would have probably been able to get the necessary advice about the inadvisability of her pregnancy in "coded" language and would have had the resources to get an abortion out of state.
So keep in mind that obscene entities like the Ascension system are not pro-life but pro-death. That the only things they want to grow and flourish are their executives' salaries and their corporate bottom line so that they can keep swallowing up hospital after hospital, aided and abetted by the U.S. government's total disregard of the health of its citizens. This will continue until we all rise up and demand truly universal healthcare as a right.
You should read that report that Jessica provided. It's a real eye-opener.
Guess I'll get off my soapbox now.
She also took half doses because the side effects of hypertension meds for some people are downright crippling. I have pretty extreme hypertension and I went through about 6 different prescriptions over the course of a year until I just fucking couldn't with that shit anymore. Losartan, the most effective one of the bunch, made me feel dead tired and nauseous all the time. It also caused nasty episodes that happened at random where I got so dizzy and sick that I had to lay down wherever I was or lose consciousness. Yeni's side effects sounded a lot like mine from the Losartan and the fact that she was able to work and go to all those appointments means she was putting such a Herculean effort into staying alive and supporting her family.
I know it's pointless and arrogant to speculate what she might have wanted had the healthcare system not robbed her and then failed her, but there's really two aspects to choosing a serious risk to your life for your fetus. 1.) Am I willing to sacrifice my life? A ton of people don't think past this one, both pregnant people and especially anti-abortion people. But there's an equally important second aspect. 2.) Are the people who love me willing to sacrifice me? This is a tricky one if the answer is yes (gag), but in Yeni's case it really seems like the answer would have been a resounding "no". Christofascists never think twice about mothers who *have kids already* either!
Exactly right. Well said.
Again, Jessica what your voice is doing for women is priceless. Finally these ageless issues are seeing the light of day.
Pro republica did a very in depth series in 2017(ish) about maternal health and pointed out then that 1 out of 8 hospital beds is controlled by religious groups. i am sure it is higher now. I live in CA and was very surprised in preparation for my third child as a possible c section that in order to add on a tubal ligation at the same time I would have to have my “case” presented to a hospital committee for approval. Like wtf
Last I read, that number is 1 in 7 hospitals is Catholic.
This is why I get so angry when Republicans (usually men) say someone is being "anti-Catholic". People wouldn't be if they weren't forcing their religion on other people. There is supposed to be separation between church and state in this country. One of the founding principles. Not upholding it is unjust and dangerous.
I was so disgusted by the freakout when the FBI was looking into extremist Catholic churches and Wray shut it down immediately and apologized. What the fuck? Did they learn nothing from the large-scale child molestation?
I suspect they all dabble, or have been compromised to leave it alone.
Jessica, I have read about Catholic or religious hospitals denying care to women for a few years.
I know the LA Times has some stories and I remember reading a story on the nightmare in AZ
and what some women had to endure. Maybe you can find more information for your research there.
I think they represent 23% of our population. They shouldn’t have this much control. And they probably wouldn’t without Leonard Leo, Opus Dei and the Federalist Society. We have to expand the Supreme Court.
News alert: The grand jury declined to indict Brittanny Watts; charges immediately dismissed. Score one for the good guys!
Yay!!! That is the best news. Thank the lord.