There’s news from Idaho, and it’s not good. The only hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, is terminating the provision of labor and delivery services. Sandpoint is the largest city in Bonner County, with just shy of 9,000 people. That may not sound like a lot, but in sparsely populated Idaho, it means that hundreds of women will be forced to deliver their babies at hospitals over an hour away, running the risk of out-of-hospital births and the higher mortality rates that accompany them. The hospital delivered
This post of yours touched me deeply. I have never commented before. I live in Texas (ugh) and I am not of child-bearing age, but my daughter is.
What is happening around me is infuriating. I love among many neighbors and friends that are very conservative and fly their Trump flags. I can only tolerate them for so long. I feel like it’s a breaking point for me personally and I can’t understand how the D party isn’t screaming from the rooftops. I get that they take the high road but if we don’t learn how to scream at the top of our lungs what is happening, I fear we are doomed. I turn on cable news and I see only a few elected officials speaking out. The WH had better find its voice and fast. Start dispelling all of the BS and lies and start screaming the truth with forcefulness and confidence. If not, no one takes the D’s serious. It’s got to come from the top with proof and force.... if we don’t fight for democracy, who will?
As a fellow Texan, I am also furious. However, I discovered a group of like-minded women trying to accomplish the goals you mentioned through various means. Working with this group was the one bright spot for me last fall. This "MAGA" group, "Mothers Against Greg Abbott," is still going strong even though Abbott won the race. You can check MAGA out on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Here's the link https://mothersagainstgregabbott.com.
That must be a painful reckoning you are facing, Kris -- that you appreciate your neighbors as decent individuals, but what they support is the opposite of love and compassion and kindness. Extremely difficult, I imagine, and something I don't have to deal with here in Boulder, Colorado.
How regular, everyday Germans behaved during the rise of Hitler led to the phrase about "being a Good German": Citizens who were friendly and apparently individuals of integrity, but their silence and inaction ended up being a catastrophic example of evil flourishing when good people did nothing.
Screaming at rabidly radicalized people is wasted breath. They love the drama and it just entrenches them deeper into their denial of reality.
Democrats are not sitting idly by. We are voting. We are doing hours of volunteer work to register new voters, particularly young people who have the most to lose with draconian roll-backs of established law. We write postcards and work call trees. We educate ourselves, reading Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, and Robert Reich, to better understand the history and consequences of decisions. We send donations to Democrats in tight races and support the Lincoln Project, an organization that creates powerful TV ads that excoriate Republican bs.
Sending you encouragement that you can resist feeling doomed. As discouraging as daily events sometimes seem, we cannot succumb to learned helplessness. We have power!
I truly believe the right's playbook is to throw the firehose of shit at us until we're just overwhelmed (per Steve Bannon). We're working our fannies off, but it's a relay race; one gets tired, another takes their place. We just need to keep pointing collectively in the right direction, because I also believe there are more of us than there are of them.
Cheryl, you are so right. I worked today at the clinic I've been at for the past 17 years. It is quite gratifying that women can still obtain abortion care when needed where I live. We really do work hard to counter the attacks on women. I've become a voter registration volunteer, and do some of the work you've described. Mostly though, I encourage people to vote and spread the word. If we regain healthy majorities in our Congress, I believe we can get laws protecting abortion rights, birth control rights, voting rights, and so many rights we assumed were guaranteed by our Constitution but are now under threat, passed.
We do not sit idly by, but it will certainly take a great effort by all of us. And it won't happen overnight. The key is not to let it defeat you, and not to stoop to the right wing level of insults, threats or violence. We are so much better than that.
I agree with you you Kris. The Maga crowd tries to create fear through intimidation, dirty rhetoric and lies hoping they will drown us all out and then we will give up. It’s a typical autocratic technique. It’s time to get solid against these bullies. That’s all they are. Time to focus. Get a list of what you can do this moment. Call the White House. Write Biden. Do anything to move the needle. We are the majority and will vote against all of them in 2024. Why do you think they are trying so hard to obliterate our voices. Their platform is hate snd ggreed. Time to get cookin’ 🇺🇸
I saw a horrifying article yesterday that detailed how many doctors and nurses are no longer delivering babies, and how many healthcare clinics, especially in rural areas, are closing because all the medical professionals are moving or quitting. All I can conclude is that Republicans think this'll kill off all the liberals and they'll have a conservative paradise somehow.
Dear Joyce This column made my blood run cold. I lived in pre-Roe times and they were not pretty. As a white, blonde from a very well off family it really didn’t affect me. Or so I thought. My friends went to England and Mexico and I personally went to Sweden when I required these services. A year later as a student at NYU it became very clear to me that I was the exception not the rule. I saw lives and careers destroyed and became an ardent supporter of women’s rights and 50 years later I will have to do it again. The same for voting rights. We thought that this was settled law. All it took was one narcissistic megalomaniac to giVe permission to the lowest common denominator to voice hatred against almost everyone. They saw him on tv and were told that he was a brilliant businessman. He was not. A little off track but Putin never said he was brilliant. What he said was “ just the latest shiny object”. Not quite the same. I hold hope in my heart that the younger generations like David Hogg will eventually pull us out of this dystopian abyss. Sorry for the verbosity but our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren depend on it.
I wasn't just one narcissistic megalomaniac. He is a symptom,, not a cause. It started with Reagan, The Federalist Society, the Kochs et al. They have been plotting for years. He was just their useful idiot.
and those you cite are also where the attack on public education began. I was in the classroom when NCLB came about and said openly that the real intent was to destroy public education and look at the mess teachers and professors are dealing with today.
Yes! The diabolical slide toward authoritarianism orchestrated by the far right greedy zealots began with destruction of education. Look where we are now.🥵
Observations from far away in the ‘Evergreen State’ it does appear that, the powers that be there, do not care to listen to their constituents, have no knowledge or interest in democracy, the health of communities, etc. I am not sure what a ‘Rethugs’ is, but that most likely would be the just beginning of many of the adjectives that I might come up with, if faced with the insanity slithering through your state and a number of others.
I know this is probably seems weird to say on this text string. Not sophisticate or legally expedient, HOWEVER, Whether it helps or not, I will continue to send constant vibes and donations when able. Cause, somedays, one has to rest and regroup before putting one’s chin up and fly back into the wind over and over, day after day.
Slow and steady. Change is on the horizon. The Texas ‘Rethugs’ are about to meet a ground swill of humanity reaching for … demanding … marching forward into a society based on values that meet the needs of the whole.
I d like to bring these legislative bills from New Mexico that passed and were signed -- HB 7 Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Healthcare, and SB 13 Reproductive Health Provider Protections.
We passed legislation to protect women seeking abortions and individuals seeking gender-affirming care and their health providers from harassment and threats. Given the race in many states to pass legislation to punish, even criminalize, women and their providers, it is refreshing to see NM demonstrated regional and national leadership on this issue. Rep. Andrea Romero did a stellar job on the House floor fending off GOP questions and amendments.
Hope-- this is hope. May other states, politicians find the courage to do the right thing.
This legislation was an answer to the legislation being passed in Texas. Texas wants to prosecute anyone coming to New Mexico for procedures they deem illegal.
This is the response to Texas and to Dobbs.
Does the SCOTUS originalists with their states rights political polarization intend war between the states over the right of women and people to opt for their healthcare? It appears to be the the case.
Beautiful piece, Joyce. Please write frequently about the impact on women and healthcare in general of these draconian laws. This is the key issue that will create a Blue Tsunami in the 2024 elections. I personally am holding the Republican Party accountable for our Dobbs world and taking away rights from women, LGBTQ people etc. and have vowed not to vote for any Republican at any level -- local, state or federal level. I hope everyone who cares about the rights and freedoms of democracy will join me. United we can change this! We, the People, all of us this time!
I greatly fear for the LGBTQ community. They are being banned every possible way and there is so much anti-LGBTQ hate, they are in grave danger. One person very dear to me has moved to Canada. Another lives in a very rural area on a large piece of land, and I think feels protected there. Have we not learned anything from the tragic history of Matthew Shepherd?
I agree with you Joanna. The LGBTQ people aren't hurting anyone. I do not understand why they are so vilified by the Christian nationalists other than this is a Fascist technique to take a vulnerable group and make them scapegoats and targets of hate. That's why we can't allow them to succeed in creating a theocratic autocracy!! Why can't we just live and let live? I feel every person deserves my respect just because they exist. And, all of us with rights need to protect the rights of all others.
I agree with you, Cathy. I think you make an excellent point that this is a Fascist technique to take a vulnerable group and make them scapegoats and targets of hate. It reminds me so much of Germany and the targeting of Jews. Any one of us. an become vulnerable at any point in time.
The road to fascism is paved with people saying you are overreacting. Same with the road to the Handmaid's Tale.
One sign at women's marches I've seen: "WE ARE NOT OVARY-REACTING." My sign at the first Women's March in January 2017 said "IMPEACHMENT OR APPEASEMENT": Having lived in Germany and studied history, I could see what was coming. The burden of this horrendous stripping of rights is on every person, in office and not, who did NOT actively oppose our country's going to hell in a handmaid's basket in service of male dominance and white supremacy.
I am encouraged by the millions and millions of people who are now politically active, compared to 2015. Civic engagement is necessary to fend off fascism, so there is still a chance for the struggles being waged by those of us who are dedicated to liberty and justice for all.
Medical decisions should be made by persons with professional competence, in conjunction with the patient. Legislators and judges are not qualified to do this. Certain women will suffer and die because of the arrogance of anti abortion fanatics.
Still wondering why government has any input into healthcare decisions at all? These are private matters between patient and physician.
See this as a slippery slope. Could Medicare/ Medicaid funded ICU care someday be withheld from the elderly? Dialysis care withheld from those who failed to manage their high blood pressure or diabetes? Emergency Department care be withheld from drunk drivers who have a car wreck?
Kathryn and Cheryl--- I agree with both of you and add that to me it seems like legislators are practicing medicine without a medical degree or license. If you or I (a retired teacher) were to prescribe anything we could be held accountable for that. I am hoping ACLU or some other organization will test these hurtful laws in court on that basis.
I'm a retired nurse and couldn't administer so much as an aspirin without a doctor's order. Yet, legislators can can make a drug approved by the FDA and in clinical use for decades illegal? Criminal penalties for docs who prescribe???
Their claims that it's dangerous are specious. A man taking Viagra is 6x more likely to die than a woman taking the abortion pill. The death rate for both these meds is negligible.
Consequences from Roberts’ Federalist Society bought court. I do not blame physicians for leaving the state. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and then adding in these draconian laws, healthcare workers are stressed. We already have a shortage of physicians and nurses, which will worsen.
Your timing is impeccable. Today I, in Oregon, just got a postcard in the mail from the "Greater Idaho" effort which is a politically run so called "grass roots" organization (spoiler, it's run by the GOP). In addition to having a few things wrong (if not just lying about them, the effort to add 2/3 of Oregon's area to Idaho is a rights grab. Think abortion rights restricted. Thinki marijuana re criminalized. Think anti LGBTQ laws just passed there. Think a sales tax, which is the one thing Oregonians tend to agree on as not something they want. Think of restrictions on other health care resources. Think of minimum wage restrictions. It's a calculated and possibly illegally funded effort that is causing some upset, the more because the GOP folks such as our county commissioners are making a run on local tax dollars to promote this sneak attack on rights.
Ugh. Good luck to us all. You're also dealing with Idaho wanting to annex rural ares of Oregon (which they won't be able to do) but it's insane. It's like land grabs to make their constituency larger?
Greater Idaho is an effort that appears to have some leadership in GOP of Oregon, (Grant County, where one Sheriff supported the Malheur Occupation and another arrested a prescribed burn boss working for the Forest Service). A similar effort took place to smear a young woman running for a non partisan town position - they spent thousands to get a guy who wasn't even running written in. These fake interest groups run by the GOP are not new.
Mini war going on there? Like p annexing Ukraine. The idea that some people think if I want it then it be so. Where is the respect for what is right vs wrong? Ugh.
Republicans have no choice but a nationwide ban to protect physician and medical access in their states as well as their economies. It is far worse than shrinking maternity medical care in hospitals. Women that end up in these states for any reason are at risk. Events like vacations, car wrecks when passing through a red state, students going to college in these states, anything that could put a person in an ER in these states- even a plane crash, sports events, and going home for Christmas are examples. Will ERs be shut down? This is why the nationwide push will be unrelenting. Also, what is going to happen to medical education in these states? Unintended consequences are relentless. Economic forces and science happen regardless of Republican proclamations and Republican heads stuck in the sand, just like ignoring vaccination and climate change science. Apologies for the length.
"Events like vacations, car wrecks when passing through a red state, ... anything that could put a person in an ER in these states- even ... going home for Christmas are examples." This precise gnawing thought is annoyingly aggravating a corner of my brain. I'd loove to drive LA to Austin to visit family - it's beautiful country all the way. But, especially at 70 years old, I rue the possibility of a medical emergency on those long stretches of road between the major cities. Obviously, not a childbirth emergency, but any health thing. Rural areas are being emptied of health professionals of all sorts and health centers are closing.
Our country is sliding into the mire of a religious autocracy. We might as well be an Iranian state. It is horrifically depressing and hard to believe that so much oppression has happened seemingly so quickly. The Federalist Society is like a virus that has turned into a
deadly nightmare with the aid of the Supreme Court. We should be screaming from the rooftops!! How can we stop this insidiously evil destruction of freedom and democracy?
Republicans seem bent on making their communities inhospitable for teachers, for doctors, for nurses, for librarians, for mental health professionals, for women overall -- seems like a whole lot of the people essential to the wellbeing of the children they claim to care so much about.
But but but - they're so pro-life. 🤮 Yes, the inhospitality for health professionals, especially, is reaching a critical point, to say nothing of the daily onslaught on teachers and librarians.
I am boiling at what book bans are doing to our teachers and librarians. Absolutely outrageous! Two young women in my family have changed their college majors. One wanted to be a school librarian and the other, an elementary school teacher. I know of 2 others who were in nursing school who opted out. We are in a world of hurt.
Yeah, it hurts, for sure. Quite honestly, I don't know if I'd go into teaching now or not. It was my second career, so I entered in 2002 at age 50. For younguns in their early 20s, I can only hope it's not tooo much of a nightmare to discourage them. Same for medical professionals.
I only had time to skim over this article this morning. (I have to get ready to go to work as an RN at an abortion clinic.)
I can't tell you how hard it is sometimes to look at the nightmare that is becoming the United States, a title which no longer fits. I remember fighting for the right to include abortion as an essential part of healthcare for women.
I keep wondering why the Amarillo judge hasn't pulled the trigger yet. What is his hesitation. Is he hoping the protestors will get tired and go away? Judges should be FREE to choose the right path, not the one their church tells them to take with people's rights. This just makes me mad, and just before I go read and then to bed. Not your fault, Joyce, I choose to read these now, and not in the morning. Republicans, or at least some of them, are pulling dastardly deeds these days, thinking they can do anything and everything that pops into their pointed little heads. Isn't there anything Biden can do with an executive order to save women from this crapola? It really is getting out of hand. Nuff said. Good night.
The logic is going to have to be explained to me why a state in this country would prevent a woman who WANTS TO HAVE A BABY!!!! from having a hospital local to their community..Am I understanding this correctly?
These legislators who are pushing these draconian measures must be called out..How difficult would it be for an investigative journalist to look into their conduct, that of their families be? If a double standard is found, expose them as the hypocrites that they are..
It is always those with the wherewithal to afford a workaround to benefit their families that push this kind of agenda forward..The Idaho (Or state of your choice) State Senator whose daughter or granddaughter turns up with an unwanted or medically challenged pregnancy, anyone really think that they will not ship that kid off to an abortion friendly state and tell that kid”Sorry honey your gong to be a mom”? I don’t think so..That kid will get everything they need to end that pregnancy, while the rest of the citizenry has to live under these conditions..
As I understand it, the far right is a minority voting bloc in this country..It seems to me that Democratic, Independent and critical thinking Republican women can turnout to vote these people out of office..perhaps run for office themselves..That achievement makes what these moronic people think immaterial..
I've said from the beginning that women, even those married to rabid MAGAs, will vote for their best interests in the privacy of the voting booth. Please let that be true!
Looking forward I hope you are right, however, those that are creating this backwards seeing legislation are in office..I am compelled to ask..where were those interest serving votes in 2022?
"The only moral abortion is my [or my kid's] abortion" has been the norm since Roe; there are myriad reports of women protesting outside of clinics, going in the back door for their own, then back out front protesting. There's no shame.
He was the opening act for the vulgar burlesque that now dominates the public stage. This has unleashed the frenzied jollification of those who show great pride in their least attractive attributes, while scantily dressed in Speedos and thongs. We are now witness to a daily parade of gleeful fools who glorify the unfortunate, but inevitable, devolution of human dignity.
I find it compelling that even dogs show shame when they've breached appropriate behavior. It's their innate sense of humility, and their earnest desire for our approval, that makes them so easy to love.
And this is why I have more respect for dogs than I have for most humans.
Sorry folks, I’ll be retiring in 2 years. Americans decided that there’s a majick doctor fountain. In my state the average age of docs is 55 years old. We’re on a collision course with Guatemala for rural health care. It’s going in opposite directions. Look at Gambia, 50 year’s worth of modernization in less than a decade. Shame.
A quote from a physician, a character in a novel by a controversial author who was in terrible need of a competent editor..
"Do you know what it takes to become an accomplished physician, what years of passionate concentration that go to acquire these skills? Should they be used at the men and women whose only qualification to rule is to lie most effectively, in their capacity to spout phony generalities that got them elected, that they don't even believe in. All they believe in is the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun."
It is inappropriate and mean spirited to blame Idaho women for their situation. There is a meaningful opposition to such laws. However, the men and women of Idaho, a very strong percentage of whom are Mormons, are to blame. They voted for this and they continue to support the very Republicans who are imposing these laws. Will they reject such leadership? Here in Wisconsin we are fighting a similar fight and working hard to swing the majority of our Supreme Court to the progressive side. Help us out if you can.
I was able to make a small contribution toward Judge Protasiewicz' campaign, and I wish everyone in Wisconsin good luck.
One of my fears is how many wonderful women have to suffer due to the beliefs of others. I doubt it would go very well if it were the other way around. When the laws they impose on women begin to hit closer to home, you can bet they'll be the first to complain.
Wisconsin is considered one of the worst gerrymandered states in the Union, thanks in part to Koch and Uihlein money buying our WI State GOP. We are a small state where big money has had disproportionate influence. Tell me, will Big Money always win?
We live in the Madison bubble but are desperately hoping this time will be different. The Dems and Progressives have done well in recent state wide elections. Tony Evers won by 3.5%, the Super of Schools won in a tight one and Jill Karofshy won handily in the Supreme Court race vs. the one and same Dan Kelley. We are hoping hand work and the TRUTH will win out.
This post of yours touched me deeply. I have never commented before. I live in Texas (ugh) and I am not of child-bearing age, but my daughter is.
What is happening around me is infuriating. I love among many neighbors and friends that are very conservative and fly their Trump flags. I can only tolerate them for so long. I feel like it’s a breaking point for me personally and I can’t understand how the D party isn’t screaming from the rooftops. I get that they take the high road but if we don’t learn how to scream at the top of our lungs what is happening, I fear we are doomed. I turn on cable news and I see only a few elected officials speaking out. The WH had better find its voice and fast. Start dispelling all of the BS and lies and start screaming the truth with forcefulness and confidence. If not, no one takes the D’s serious. It’s got to come from the top with proof and force.... if we don’t fight for democracy, who will?
As a fellow Texan, I am also furious. However, I discovered a group of like-minded women trying to accomplish the goals you mentioned through various means. Working with this group was the one bright spot for me last fall. This "MAGA" group, "Mothers Against Greg Abbott," is still going strong even though Abbott won the race. You can check MAGA out on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Here's the link https://mothersagainstgregabbott.com.
That must be a painful reckoning you are facing, Kris -- that you appreciate your neighbors as decent individuals, but what they support is the opposite of love and compassion and kindness. Extremely difficult, I imagine, and something I don't have to deal with here in Boulder, Colorado.
How regular, everyday Germans behaved during the rise of Hitler led to the phrase about "being a Good German": Citizens who were friendly and apparently individuals of integrity, but their silence and inaction ended up being a catastrophic example of evil flourishing when good people did nothing.
As for screaming with alarm from the rooftops or at least GETTING LOUDER: I highly recommend Simon Rosenberg, if you are not already familiar. One recent post is https://simonwdc.substack.com/p/come-watch-my-new-with-dems-things
I’m thinking she meant live not love
Yes, live..
Thank you for this link Eric.
Kris
Screaming at rabidly radicalized people is wasted breath. They love the drama and it just entrenches them deeper into their denial of reality.
Democrats are not sitting idly by. We are voting. We are doing hours of volunteer work to register new voters, particularly young people who have the most to lose with draconian roll-backs of established law. We write postcards and work call trees. We educate ourselves, reading Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, and Robert Reich, to better understand the history and consequences of decisions. We send donations to Democrats in tight races and support the Lincoln Project, an organization that creates powerful TV ads that excoriate Republican bs.
Sending you encouragement that you can resist feeling doomed. As discouraging as daily events sometimes seem, we cannot succumb to learned helplessness. We have power!
I truly believe the right's playbook is to throw the firehose of shit at us until we're just overwhelmed (per Steve Bannon). We're working our fannies off, but it's a relay race; one gets tired, another takes their place. We just need to keep pointing collectively in the right direction, because I also believe there are more of us than there are of them.
Susan
I have a houseful of Cairn Terriers. What I've learned from these fiercely independent little dogs is persistence and resilience.
We Democrats are terriers; we won't give up and when hit with a firehose of shit, will get right back up to keep fighting.
I am right there with you!
Cheryl, you are so right. I worked today at the clinic I've been at for the past 17 years. It is quite gratifying that women can still obtain abortion care when needed where I live. We really do work hard to counter the attacks on women. I've become a voter registration volunteer, and do some of the work you've described. Mostly though, I encourage people to vote and spread the word. If we regain healthy majorities in our Congress, I believe we can get laws protecting abortion rights, birth control rights, voting rights, and so many rights we assumed were guaranteed by our Constitution but are now under threat, passed.
We do not sit idly by, but it will certainly take a great effort by all of us. And it won't happen overnight. The key is not to let it defeat you, and not to stoop to the right wing level of insults, threats or violence. We are so much better than that.
I subscribe to the three you mentioned and greatly appreciate their contribution to my sanity! I will not succumb to despair.
I agree with you you Kris. The Maga crowd tries to create fear through intimidation, dirty rhetoric and lies hoping they will drown us all out and then we will give up. It’s a typical autocratic technique. It’s time to get solid against these bullies. That’s all they are. Time to focus. Get a list of what you can do this moment. Call the White House. Write Biden. Do anything to move the needle. We are the majority and will vote against all of them in 2024. Why do you think they are trying so hard to obliterate our voices. Their platform is hate snd ggreed. Time to get cookin’ 🇺🇸
Kris I agree.... I'm in Texas and I feel it too.
I saw a horrifying article yesterday that detailed how many doctors and nurses are no longer delivering babies, and how many healthcare clinics, especially in rural areas, are closing because all the medical professionals are moving or quitting. All I can conclude is that Republicans think this'll kill off all the liberals and they'll have a conservative paradise somehow.
Idaho isn't one of them. They voted overwhelmingly for Trump. There aren't enough liberals to bother killing off there.
Thank you Kris! I’m in liberal California, albeit a conservative town, and I share your valid concerns. Scream from the rooftops! 😱
Dear Joyce This column made my blood run cold. I lived in pre-Roe times and they were not pretty. As a white, blonde from a very well off family it really didn’t affect me. Or so I thought. My friends went to England and Mexico and I personally went to Sweden when I required these services. A year later as a student at NYU it became very clear to me that I was the exception not the rule. I saw lives and careers destroyed and became an ardent supporter of women’s rights and 50 years later I will have to do it again. The same for voting rights. We thought that this was settled law. All it took was one narcissistic megalomaniac to giVe permission to the lowest common denominator to voice hatred against almost everyone. They saw him on tv and were told that he was a brilliant businessman. He was not. A little off track but Putin never said he was brilliant. What he said was “ just the latest shiny object”. Not quite the same. I hold hope in my heart that the younger generations like David Hogg will eventually pull us out of this dystopian abyss. Sorry for the verbosity but our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren depend on it.
I wasn't just one narcissistic megalomaniac. He is a symptom,, not a cause. It started with Reagan, The Federalist Society, the Kochs et al. They have been plotting for years. He was just their useful idiot.
and those you cite are also where the attack on public education began. I was in the classroom when NCLB came about and said openly that the real intent was to destroy public education and look at the mess teachers and professors are dealing with today.
Yes! The diabolical slide toward authoritarianism orchestrated by the far right greedy zealots began with destruction of education. Look where we are now.🥵
If Jimmy Carter had had another term things could have been different.
Well Reagan and his hostage scenario sabotaged that.
Yes. I think about that a lot!
Yup
I hear your frustration!
Congressional folks need to hear from you. Find a way to channel your energy/voice in whatever way fits your skills and integrity.
We are all an important piece of this solution. Regards
Oh. They hear from me all the time. Unfortunately, here they are all Rethugs and don't care.
And I am so very, very sorry about that.
Observations from far away in the ‘Evergreen State’ it does appear that, the powers that be there, do not care to listen to their constituents, have no knowledge or interest in democracy, the health of communities, etc. I am not sure what a ‘Rethugs’ is, but that most likely would be the just beginning of many of the adjectives that I might come up with, if faced with the insanity slithering through your state and a number of others.
I know this is probably seems weird to say on this text string. Not sophisticate or legally expedient, HOWEVER, Whether it helps or not, I will continue to send constant vibes and donations when able. Cause, somedays, one has to rest and regroup before putting one’s chin up and fly back into the wind over and over, day after day.
Slow and steady. Change is on the horizon. The Texas ‘Rethugs’ are about to meet a ground swill of humanity reaching for … demanding … marching forward into a society based on values that meet the needs of the whole.
Amen ❤️
I d like to bring these legislative bills from New Mexico that passed and were signed -- HB 7 Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Healthcare, and SB 13 Reproductive Health Provider Protections.
We passed legislation to protect women seeking abortions and individuals seeking gender-affirming care and their health providers from harassment and threats. Given the race in many states to pass legislation to punish, even criminalize, women and their providers, it is refreshing to see NM demonstrated regional and national leadership on this issue. Rep. Andrea Romero did a stellar job on the House floor fending off GOP questions and amendments.
Hope-- this is hope. May other states, politicians find the courage to do the right thing.
We are in this together.
This legislation was an answer to the legislation being passed in Texas. Texas wants to prosecute anyone coming to New Mexico for procedures they deem illegal.
This is the response to Texas and to Dobbs.
Does the SCOTUS originalists with their states rights political polarization intend war between the states over the right of women and people to opt for their healthcare? It appears to be the the case.
The line is in the sand.
Don’t get me started on SCOTIS.
Beautiful piece, Joyce. Please write frequently about the impact on women and healthcare in general of these draconian laws. This is the key issue that will create a Blue Tsunami in the 2024 elections. I personally am holding the Republican Party accountable for our Dobbs world and taking away rights from women, LGBTQ people etc. and have vowed not to vote for any Republican at any level -- local, state or federal level. I hope everyone who cares about the rights and freedoms of democracy will join me. United we can change this! We, the People, all of us this time!
I greatly fear for the LGBTQ community. They are being banned every possible way and there is so much anti-LGBTQ hate, they are in grave danger. One person very dear to me has moved to Canada. Another lives in a very rural area on a large piece of land, and I think feels protected there. Have we not learned anything from the tragic history of Matthew Shepherd?
I agree with you Joanna. The LGBTQ people aren't hurting anyone. I do not understand why they are so vilified by the Christian nationalists other than this is a Fascist technique to take a vulnerable group and make them scapegoats and targets of hate. That's why we can't allow them to succeed in creating a theocratic autocracy!! Why can't we just live and let live? I feel every person deserves my respect just because they exist. And, all of us with rights need to protect the rights of all others.
I agree with you, Cathy. I think you make an excellent point that this is a Fascist technique to take a vulnerable group and make them scapegoats and targets of hate. It reminds me so much of Germany and the targeting of Jews. Any one of us. an become vulnerable at any point in time.
The road to fascism is paved with people saying you are overreacting. Same with the road to the Handmaid's Tale.
One sign at women's marches I've seen: "WE ARE NOT OVARY-REACTING." My sign at the first Women's March in January 2017 said "IMPEACHMENT OR APPEASEMENT": Having lived in Germany and studied history, I could see what was coming. The burden of this horrendous stripping of rights is on every person, in office and not, who did NOT actively oppose our country's going to hell in a handmaid's basket in service of male dominance and white supremacy.
I am encouraged by the millions and millions of people who are now politically active, compared to 2015. Civic engagement is necessary to fend off fascism, so there is still a chance for the struggles being waged by those of us who are dedicated to liberty and justice for all.
Medical decisions should be made by persons with professional competence, in conjunction with the patient. Legislators and judges are not qualified to do this. Certain women will suffer and die because of the arrogance of anti abortion fanatics.
Still wondering why government has any input into healthcare decisions at all? These are private matters between patient and physician.
See this as a slippery slope. Could Medicare/ Medicaid funded ICU care someday be withheld from the elderly? Dialysis care withheld from those who failed to manage their high blood pressure or diabetes? Emergency Department care be withheld from drunk drivers who have a car wreck?
Legislators need to stay in their own lane.
Kathryn and Cheryl--- I agree with both of you and add that to me it seems like legislators are practicing medicine without a medical degree or license. If you or I (a retired teacher) were to prescribe anything we could be held accountable for that. I am hoping ACLU or some other organization will test these hurtful laws in court on that basis.
I'm a retired nurse and couldn't administer so much as an aspirin without a doctor's order. Yet, legislators can can make a drug approved by the FDA and in clinical use for decades illegal? Criminal penalties for docs who prescribe???
Their claims that it's dangerous are specious. A man taking Viagra is 6x more likely to die than a woman taking the abortion pill. The death rate for both these meds is negligible.
😢
But sadly it is not about logic since the crazies have been on the rise.
Consequences from Roberts’ Federalist Society bought court. I do not blame physicians for leaving the state. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and then adding in these draconian laws, healthcare workers are stressed. We already have a shortage of physicians and nurses, which will worsen.
Your timing is impeccable. Today I, in Oregon, just got a postcard in the mail from the "Greater Idaho" effort which is a politically run so called "grass roots" organization (spoiler, it's run by the GOP). In addition to having a few things wrong (if not just lying about them, the effort to add 2/3 of Oregon's area to Idaho is a rights grab. Think abortion rights restricted. Thinki marijuana re criminalized. Think anti LGBTQ laws just passed there. Think a sales tax, which is the one thing Oregonians tend to agree on as not something they want. Think of restrictions on other health care resources. Think of minimum wage restrictions. It's a calculated and possibly illegally funded effort that is causing some upset, the more because the GOP folks such as our county commissioners are making a run on local tax dollars to promote this sneak attack on rights.
Ugh. Good luck to us all. You're also dealing with Idaho wanting to annex rural ares of Oregon (which they won't be able to do) but it's insane. It's like land grabs to make their constituency larger?
Greater Idaho is an effort that appears to have some leadership in GOP of Oregon, (Grant County, where one Sheriff supported the Malheur Occupation and another arrested a prescribed burn boss working for the Forest Service). A similar effort took place to smear a young woman running for a non partisan town position - they spent thousands to get a guy who wasn't even running written in. These fake interest groups run by the GOP are not new.
Mini war going on there? Like p annexing Ukraine. The idea that some people think if I want it then it be so. Where is the respect for what is right vs wrong? Ugh.
Wow. This is like annexing Crimea.
Republicans have no choice but a nationwide ban to protect physician and medical access in their states as well as their economies. It is far worse than shrinking maternity medical care in hospitals. Women that end up in these states for any reason are at risk. Events like vacations, car wrecks when passing through a red state, students going to college in these states, anything that could put a person in an ER in these states- even a plane crash, sports events, and going home for Christmas are examples. Will ERs be shut down? This is why the nationwide push will be unrelenting. Also, what is going to happen to medical education in these states? Unintended consequences are relentless. Economic forces and science happen regardless of Republican proclamations and Republican heads stuck in the sand, just like ignoring vaccination and climate change science. Apologies for the length.
"Events like vacations, car wrecks when passing through a red state, ... anything that could put a person in an ER in these states- even ... going home for Christmas are examples." This precise gnawing thought is annoyingly aggravating a corner of my brain. I'd loove to drive LA to Austin to visit family - it's beautiful country all the way. But, especially at 70 years old, I rue the possibility of a medical emergency on those long stretches of road between the major cities. Obviously, not a childbirth emergency, but any health thing. Rural areas are being emptied of health professionals of all sorts and health centers are closing.
Maybe mass exodus of Idahoians.
Parkin
Good points. I had not even considered the impact on medical education.
I had not either. Our country seems to be imploding.
Our country is sliding into the mire of a religious autocracy. We might as well be an Iranian state. It is horrifically depressing and hard to believe that so much oppression has happened seemingly so quickly. The Federalist Society is like a virus that has turned into a
deadly nightmare with the aid of the Supreme Court. We should be screaming from the rooftops!! How can we stop this insidiously evil destruction of freedom and democracy?
Republicans seem bent on making their communities inhospitable for teachers, for doctors, for nurses, for librarians, for mental health professionals, for women overall -- seems like a whole lot of the people essential to the wellbeing of the children they claim to care so much about.
But but but - they're so pro-life. 🤮 Yes, the inhospitality for health professionals, especially, is reaching a critical point, to say nothing of the daily onslaught on teachers and librarians.
Liz and Beth
I am boiling at what book bans are doing to our teachers and librarians. Absolutely outrageous! Two young women in my family have changed their college majors. One wanted to be a school librarian and the other, an elementary school teacher. I know of 2 others who were in nursing school who opted out. We are in a world of hurt.
Yeah, it hurts, for sure. Quite honestly, I don't know if I'd go into teaching now or not. It was my second career, so I entered in 2002 at age 50. For younguns in their early 20s, I can only hope it's not tooo much of a nightmare to discourage them. Same for medical professionals.
Homeschooling, leaches and in-house ministries.
I only had time to skim over this article this morning. (I have to get ready to go to work as an RN at an abortion clinic.)
I can't tell you how hard it is sometimes to look at the nightmare that is becoming the United States, a title which no longer fits. I remember fighting for the right to include abortion as an essential part of healthcare for women.
I'm off to work.
Thank you. Wishing you safety and continued employment in your chosen specialty.
Bless you celeste. Be safe, and please take care of yourself. We need you.
Thank you. Hoping for a good day for you!
I keep wondering why the Amarillo judge hasn't pulled the trigger yet. What is his hesitation. Is he hoping the protestors will get tired and go away? Judges should be FREE to choose the right path, not the one their church tells them to take with people's rights. This just makes me mad, and just before I go read and then to bed. Not your fault, Joyce, I choose to read these now, and not in the morning. Republicans, or at least some of them, are pulling dastardly deeds these days, thinking they can do anything and everything that pops into their pointed little heads. Isn't there anything Biden can do with an executive order to save women from this crapola? It really is getting out of hand. Nuff said. Good night.
I think he is waiting to announce on Good Friday . Have known from beginning what the “”judgement “will be
The logic is going to have to be explained to me why a state in this country would prevent a woman who WANTS TO HAVE A BABY!!!! from having a hospital local to their community..Am I understanding this correctly?
These legislators who are pushing these draconian measures must be called out..How difficult would it be for an investigative journalist to look into their conduct, that of their families be? If a double standard is found, expose them as the hypocrites that they are..
It is always those with the wherewithal to afford a workaround to benefit their families that push this kind of agenda forward..The Idaho (Or state of your choice) State Senator whose daughter or granddaughter turns up with an unwanted or medically challenged pregnancy, anyone really think that they will not ship that kid off to an abortion friendly state and tell that kid”Sorry honey your gong to be a mom”? I don’t think so..That kid will get everything they need to end that pregnancy, while the rest of the citizenry has to live under these conditions..
The far right doesn't give a you-know-what about double standards!!!
As I understand it, the far right is a minority voting bloc in this country..It seems to me that Democratic, Independent and critical thinking Republican women can turnout to vote these people out of office..perhaps run for office themselves..That achievement makes what these moronic people think immaterial..
I've said from the beginning that women, even those married to rabid MAGAs, will vote for their best interests in the privacy of the voting booth. Please let that be true!
Looking forward I hope you are right, however, those that are creating this backwards seeing legislation are in office..I am compelled to ask..where were those interest serving votes in 2022?
Depends on hwere you live. Not so much true in Alabama!!!
"The only moral abortion is my [or my kid's] abortion" has been the norm since Roe; there are myriad reports of women protesting outside of clinics, going in the back door for their own, then back out front protesting. There's no shame.
Donald Trump made shame redundant.
He was the opening act for the vulgar burlesque that now dominates the public stage. This has unleashed the frenzied jollification of those who show great pride in their least attractive attributes, while scantily dressed in Speedos and thongs. We are now witness to a daily parade of gleeful fools who glorify the unfortunate, but inevitable, devolution of human dignity.
I find it compelling that even dogs show shame when they've breached appropriate behavior. It's their innate sense of humility, and their earnest desire for our approval, that makes them so easy to love.
And this is why I have more respect for dogs than I have for most humans.
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Sorry folks, I’ll be retiring in 2 years. Americans decided that there’s a majick doctor fountain. In my state the average age of docs is 55 years old. We’re on a collision course with Guatemala for rural health care. It’s going in opposite directions. Look at Gambia, 50 year’s worth of modernization in less than a decade. Shame.
Beyond sad and also terrifying.
A quote from a physician, a character in a novel by a controversial author who was in terrible need of a competent editor..
"Do you know what it takes to become an accomplished physician, what years of passionate concentration that go to acquire these skills? Should they be used at the men and women whose only qualification to rule is to lie most effectively, in their capacity to spout phony generalities that got them elected, that they don't even believe in. All they believe in is the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun."
It is inappropriate and mean spirited to blame Idaho women for their situation. There is a meaningful opposition to such laws. However, the men and women of Idaho, a very strong percentage of whom are Mormons, are to blame. They voted for this and they continue to support the very Republicans who are imposing these laws. Will they reject such leadership? Here in Wisconsin we are fighting a similar fight and working hard to swing the majority of our Supreme Court to the progressive side. Help us out if you can.
Mailed a large stack of postcards yesterday; have a stack of letters to write in the next few days; texting whenever there's a slot open. Go WI! 💙
Me too!
I was able to make a small contribution toward Judge Protasiewicz' campaign, and I wish everyone in Wisconsin good luck.
One of my fears is how many wonderful women have to suffer due to the beliefs of others. I doubt it would go very well if it were the other way around. When the laws they impose on women begin to hit closer to home, you can bet they'll be the first to complain.
Just made my first donation! 👍
Thank you celeste. We need everyone's help and you are one of the esteemed group of helpers!
You're welcome.
Wisconsin is considered one of the worst gerrymandered states in the Union, thanks in part to Koch and Uihlein money buying our WI State GOP. We are a small state where big money has had disproportionate influence. Tell me, will Big Money always win?
We live in the Madison bubble but are desperately hoping this time will be different. The Dems and Progressives have done well in recent state wide elections. Tony Evers won by 3.5%, the Super of Schools won in a tight one and Jill Karofshy won handily in the Supreme Court race vs. the one and same Dan Kelley. We are hoping hand work and the TRUTH will win out.