43 Comments

When they show up at wastewater treatment plants with tiny nets to rescue the tiny blastocysts crying out, “Help me! Help me!” Then I’ll know they really believe this nonsense.

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founding

This is just like the stupid MOMS act. It starts off talking about fertility being so low, so there is their basic impetus for the Act. It doesn't require women to register with "pregnancy.gov," but how many women will register thinking they are getting real resources and services from the government and then get funneled to anti-abortion fake clinics for the information that Katie Britt wants them to have. The bill specifically says it won't give funds to clinics that provide abortion, never mind that those are the clinics that actually provide real health care. It is just a way to give money to anti-abortion centers. I attended a briefing on the hill where she spoke. She looks around the room and makes contact with every person she can. I'm sure she took a special class on this. When she looked at me, I tried to channel that Homelander guy from The Boys and use my laser beams from my eyes. It didn't work. Sorry.

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Well damn!! You gave it your best shot.

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The profit margin on Crisis pregnancy centers is huge, they are getting millions of dollars from red states and stealing TANF funds, when they can, instead of the money going to feed and help actual needy children as it was designed to do.They don't employ any actual medical professionals and as I understand staff with volunteers who know nothing about science or medical facts. They lie and tell anti-abortion propaganda and harass anyy person unlucky enough to seek care from them. They should be outlawed as practitioners of medicine without a license or training.

Thank you for trying to go Homelander on Katie Britt though!

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Ted Cruz tries to hide the GOP IVF ban in a load of BS. Can your BS-Meter spot it? Take this interactive quiz.

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/05/22/ted-cruz-hides-gop-ivf-ban-test-your-bs-meter/

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“Embryonic nascent human beings of blastula age (3-5 days post-fertilization) are living human beings, who merit the same respect and care as human beings at later ages of their development and lives.”

These anti-abortion groups are so delusional. They downgrade women to incubators by claiming fertized eggs are PEOPLE. Not to mention this is a pathway for fetal personhood. It's all so outrageous. Where is OUR body autonomy?? You know.....us women who are BORN and ALIVE walking, talking, working, thinking, cooking, driving, etc.

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I wonder if a frozen blastocyst can inherit.

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Great question!! At least one southern state, are trying to pass or have already passed a law requiring child support to be paid for that blastula, so not such a reach to think that blastula could also inherit wealth & property in the event of the death of one or both parents.

The next question becomes who then assumes guardianship over the blastula AND it’s wealth???!!!

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You can bet it will be a republican guardian who will sue first over it!

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May 22·edited May 22

They're such slime balls. I wouldn't cross the street to spit on them if they were on fire. What is their beef with IVF? Are they actually insane?

Completely off topic, but I got a notice from the 19th about a letter signed by 6,000 doctors pretty much begging to be allowed to save women's health, and I keep thinking about the arguments over EMTALA. I don't understand the problem. If Idaho doesn't want to adhere to the rules of EMTALA and allow doctors to save the health of a pregnant patient, but only her life, then all they will lose is federal funding of Medicare. Surely, their "principles" can afford to lose federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. It looks like they just have to choose...save women's health and comply or lose some money. To quote so many snarky forced-birthers..."Easy peasy". Or they could just put an aspirin between their knees.

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I love to imagine that taking away Medicare funding would be seen as a big loss by these legislators. I don’t think they see it that way so it’s not an effective negotiating chip.

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Oh, they still want that money, that is why they are fighting the case. You are right in that if they had to, they would give it up rather than comply.

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Nah, can't take government benefits away from the people who hate the government. It's 'persecuting' them for their 'beliefs' 🙄

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In New York, the Supreme Court is a lower court (go figure) but the top court in the state is the Court of Appeals. On May 21, the Court of Appeals decided Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v. Vullo, No. 45. It says that a New York Department of Financial Services regulation, which requires health insurance policies that cover hospital, surgical, or medical expenses to cover medically necessary abortions. The rule exempts religious employers, defined as nonprofits, whose purpose is communicating religious values, and that employ and serve mostly people who share their religious beliefs. The plaintiffs in this case, including two Catholic dioceses, a general contracted, and several church and charity organizations, said that the grounds for exemption were too narrow. The plaintiffs relied on Fulton v. Philadelphia, a 2021 US Supreme Court decision which they said made the requirement of covering abortions illegal. But the Court of Appeals said that Fulton didn't apply--the ongoing legal principle is that neutral rules are enforceable if they are broadly applicable and uniformly applied to parties of all religious beliefs and practices. The court said that the plaintiffs did not identify any non-religious employers who are exempt from the requirement, so they can't show that New York applied the coverage mandate unfairly. New York state Attorney General Leticia James issued a press release approving the decision, saying that requiring aboriton coverage in insurance plans is "a win for all New Yorkers and for our most basic right to make decisions about our own bodies." The Diocese of Albany announced that it would apply for US Supreme Court certiorari.

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Unfortunately that last sentence is the only one that matters.

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It's like World War Fucking I: you take five yards of mud, get pushed back, take the same five yards repeatedly.

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Good analogy. Very good analogy, sadly.

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Yep, because we know that those 6 arrogant assholes will grant certiorari!

They will not be able to resist grabbing that & reversing the lower court. 🤬

After all, that is the very reason they were put on that court.

I finally got around to watching the 4 episode series “Shiny Happy People”

Everyone who is eligible to vote really needs to watch it before they vote. It is not just about the Duggars, it’s about the entire Extreme Christian movement to infiltrate all of government. That is why they promote having huge numbers of children.

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They are soldiers for jesus! The Joshua generation. Fucking scary shit. Raise a bunch of tortured, brainwashed, indoctrinated, lemmings and turn them into weapons against democracy.

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The quote from the Charlotte Lozier Institute:

“Embryonic nascent human beings of blastula age (3-5 days post-fertilization) are living human beings, who merit the same respect and care as human beings at later ages of their development and lives.”

And AED,

"That’s because they don’t want Americans to realize that the issue at the heart of that ruling, fetal personhood, is one we’re going to see a lot more of—and one that will change not just women’s healthcare, but our legal personhood."

Yes, to the point. But to be excruciatingly precise, this is not just something we are going to see a lot more of, it's all it has ever been about. Fetal, gestational personhood. They are not even talking about fetuses, the are talking directly about the blastula that are involved in IVF. They said, "blastula", which is progress. They are not saying "babies", but what's the difference? They say, directly, that blastulas merit the same respect and care as human beings at later ages … which includes, of course the women who are carrying them in a pregnancy.

Yes, this effects the legal personhood of women and women alone. As soon as she is carrying a blastula, according to these people, she is liable for the life of another human being and if she wants to abort its gestation, this is murder.

And that is crazy. It is the law applied to weird fantasies about life itself. They and the religious authorities who author their beliefs are a dangerous threat to human existence.

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Yes and since blastulas can’t advocate for themselves and pregnant people can they think we should ignore the pregnant person’s bodily autonomy to favor *whatever they imagine the blastula wants*. But only until it’s born after that. …

It’s an insane dangerous policy masquerading as good intentions and concerns about life. Brought to you by the same people who advocate for “limited government.”

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I agree. They are insane.

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Yes. Religious fanaticism is insanity.

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Pretty sure my blood pressure went up a few notches reading this. And I hate Cruz. I’m so hoping we can give him the boot in November.

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Please do, he has had it coming, ever since he shut down the gov't to read "Green Eggs and Ham." as a freshman Senator.

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Please, if you are on SM, please share this article, speak out about what they are planning to do, warn your friends not to believe the lies of Britt & Cruz in that op ed; especially if you live in Texas.

Three anti abortion justices on the TX Supreme Court are up for re-election in Roevember, it would be so great if they did not win. The pro choice people in TX are working hard to get the message out to voters since people tend not to pay much attention to judges on the ballot. The ad they’ve made is great. findoutpac.com

You can watch it on YouTube

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The GOP -- the Party of Personal Responsibility and Small Government -- strikes again.

Of course this proposed legislation is a smokescreen, an incremental advancement on the path to rightwing destruction of privacy rights. I liken it to Trump's comment the other day, when he said his team was working on a policy position on birth control. If you stop to think for one second, you ask why does he, or anyone, need a "policy position" on birth control, something that has been legal for adults to access for the past 50 years? You only need such a policy position when you are poised to restrict and/or monitor that access.

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That is such an excellent point that I never thought about. It would be ridiculous to hear government officials talking about “their policy“ on chemotherapy for prostate cancer or on condom distribution. Why do we allow this for birth control as if it’s different from any other health care or personal decision?

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Actually the GOP does have a policy position on chemo and most all other medical treatment. With their platform of repealing the ACA, if you can't afford insurance and aren't old enough for Medicare, then you are may well be denied care. Looks and quacks like a policy position to me.

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Good point

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Bingo. Next thing we know, we’ll need a husband’s permission to access BC and they will outright ban sterilization and LARCs.

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That is the future the Theocrats desire.

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I need to make an amendment- they will ban sterilization for white middle/upper class women and bring back coerced/forced sterilization for others.

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I’m a current IVF patient. I would not try to have children again if I couldn’t do IVF for genetic screening (I’m a carrier). These goons have no idea what IVF is like. Limiting the number of embryos created?!?! That’s not how it works. Sometimes none of the fertilized eggs grow. Sometimes all of them are abnormal. Sometimes you do get a healthy one, but then the transfer fails. I’m livid that people who have never stepped foot in the world of fertility treatments think it’s that easy and simple. But what else is new…

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But they don't know, and they don't care, it is about control of women. I',m a retired surgical assistant, and it drives me bonkers, that they are allowed to put any restrictions on medical care. I went to school for many years just to assist in surgeries, and they are totally ignorant.

Best of luck and love for a sucessful result for you.

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See, this is the fundamental problem with the GOP anymore. They make everything sound so simple, so black and white. They refuse to acknowledge complications, complexities, or nuance, but in reality that’s the way the world works. The world doesn’t function on belief; it functions in a reality which may not be 100% compatible with one’s beliefs and values. Life is complicated and people are complex and nuanced human beings. But I get that their supporters don’t want to (or can’t, or won’t) think critically or deal with complexities ; they want easy solutions to complex issues. That’s why it’s easier for them to throw their support behind “the unborn” than to acknowledge the very real complexities of women’s reproductive health/pregnancy, and women in general. Good luck accomplishing anything by denying reality. Life is messy. Solutions are not by nature easy. We have to have conversations about how to deal with these issues instead of inflammatory rhetoric or dumbing down issues into simplified “solutions” that fail to address other interconnected issues.

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How do we reach them though, if they only watch Fox (so-called) news propaganda channel? Unless it happens to them, they don't care, the selfish pricks that they are.

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The fundamental problem of the GOP is that they are FUNDAMENTALISTS. So much of their hatred, delusion and ideology is rooted in religion.

I personally think they fully know and understand IVF......and they absolutely hate it, they disagree with it, they think it's against God's will. Jessica's right.....this bill is total fakery propaganda..... it's optics to the voters only, the voters that do not pay attention or actually read the guts of the bill.

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Wishing you every success. I have two friends who conceived via IVF -- and their experiences regarding fertilized eggs suitable for implantation mirror your experience. These GOP goons are so clueless they are about two weeks away from erupting into song about every sperm being sacred.

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Sending you all the good energy that you have success.

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Thanks ❤️, I hate calling it a journey because that feels so cliche, but it really is the best way to describe it. It’s ups and downs with an unknown out come. You just go where it takes you.

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