- Another
side of the coin.
When, in the
course of a Society, the element of change is introduced, there seems to be an
appropriate, opposite, and equal knee-jerk reaction from one, or another, group
in that Society. So it has been with our Nation’s struggle on the issue of
abortion, and it may be interesting to note that modern society in the United
States has wrestled with the question since its inception.
If we were
living in Church-State, all this would have been settled long ago, but we don’t.
Our style of democracy has been crafted in such a manner as to dictate a
“separation of Church and State”. The founding Fathers of this Country wrote a
Constitution that greatly reflected the reasons for rebelling and forming a
sovereign Nation which were exactly that; a true separation of two strong
entities that mix about as well as oil and water: Church and State.
The best of
my research points to the fact that the U.S. Government has never actually paid
for a woman to have an abortion with exceptions under three very precise
conditions. Being criminally involved, or medically compromised are the only
areas our government has a constitutional mandate to step in and protect women.
This, from
“factcheck.org.”
Q: Will all legal abortions be
covered by federally subsidized health insurance policies in state
"high-risk pools"?
A: No. The Department of Health
and Human Services says the only abortions covered will be those in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is
endangered.
Statement
of HHS Spokeswoman Jenny Backus on the Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan
Policy
As is the
case with FEHB plans currently, and with the Affordable Care Act and the
President’s related Executive Order more generally, in Pennsylvania and in all
other states abortions will not be covered in the Preexisting Condition
Insurance Plan (PCIP) except in the cases of rape or incest, or where the life of the woman would be
endangered.
Our policy
is the same for both state and federally-run PCIP programs. We will reiterate
this policy in guidance to those running the Preexisting Condition Insurance
Plan at both the state and federal levels. The contracts to operate the
Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan include a requirement to follow all
federal laws and guidance.
The U.S. Constitution does stipulate that the
Government is responsible for protecting its citizens form enemies both foreign
and domestic. Domestic law enforcement enables our Government to protect us
inside our borders.
**Footnote: Seeing Though the Smoke
It would be easy to miss the fact that Pennsylvania’s
official solicitation called for coverage of all state-legal abortions. The press release issued
by the state insurance department on June 28, announcing the new program, made
no mention of abortion at all. Intrepid readers could click through to find
the official solicitation
document describing the program more fully, but it contained
phrasing the casual reader could interpret as restricting abortion coverage
rather than permitting it.
At one point the document states: "Elective abortions are not
covered" (page 14). But the term "elective" isn’t
defined, and so isn’t very meaningful.
The operative language starts on page 12, where it says:
"The benefit package will include the following core of specific services
…" followed by a long list that includes, on page 14, "only abortions
and contraceptives that satisfy the requirements of 18 Pa.C.S. § 3204-3206 and
35 P.S. §§10101, 10103-10105." Those are the sections of Pennsylvania law
that cover abortion. So — when all the verbal smoke is cleared away — the
solicitation states that the program "will" cover "only"
abortions that are legal. That doesn’t leave out much.
The first section cited, for instance (Section 3204),
allows abortions that a physician deems "necessary … in the light of all
factors (physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman’s age)
relevant to the well-being of the woman." The only abortions that the
state law forbids a doctor from finding "necessary" are those
"sought solely because of the sex of the unborn child." [1]
We asked the state insurance department how that official
document can be squared with its July 15 press release saying women would have
to pay for abortions out of their own pocket. Department spokeswoman Melissa
Fox told us this, in a July 21 e-mail message:
Pennsylvania
Insurance Department’s Fox: Due
to the aggressive time-frame to submit proposals Pennsylvania, as well as other
states, I’m sure, needed to insert "placeholder" language absent
specific guidance from the federal government on the benefit package. That was
the case not just for the abortion issue, but also mental health benefits. Once
the clarifying guidelines are issued, the language in the proposal will be
adjusted accordingly.
So the story now is that in the haste to meet a deadline,
"placeholder" language was inserted, to be adjusted later. But
whatever Pennsylvania officials intended, the stated federal policy is now
clear: No abortions will be covered by the temporary risk pools except for
those in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother.
– Brooks Jackson
Source:
Via other
means, the Government has made it safer and more readily available for those
women who make the choice of aborting an unborn fetus/child. Making the
abortion process safer and more available, a long standing problem of
“collateral” medical damage has been avoided. In the same way we don’t condemn
men for getting vasectomies, or using condoms, a women’s right to choose should
run as true to our National Heritage of democratic rule. If indeed any religion
or church should feel that women must regard a fertilized egg in the womb to be
the point at which life begins, then that postulate is their Constitutional
right within the confines of their congregation. That, then, becomes an issue
between the woman and her church.
The one
guarantee that our Constitution does afford is the right to practice religion
as one sees fit. The question of allowing women their right to choose on this
issue boils down to a moral and religious question. The United States Government
is not in the business of legislating morality or religion, and that is as it
should be in a democratic system of governance.
In
conclusion, I would ask that the Federal and State governments get on the same
page and revisit any and all “laws” regarding abortion, so the public has an
absolutely clear definition of a woman’s protection under the law. [1] I
would also make one small suggestion that law regarding abortion should, most
definitely, be written by women, not men. I am, obviously, taking the position
that a woman has every right to make her own decision about abortion and any
other uniquely female issue.
[1]: Rewriting vague and obtuse
laws to be exacting in their intent and content.
It
is long past the time for all the idiots and ignoramuses’ in this Country to cease
and desist “cherry-picking” short phrases out of our Constitution and offering
them up as the sole entirety of said Amendment. It is also past the time that
all the rest of the idiots and ignoramuses’ in this Country stop blindly nodding
their tiny little pea-brain heads in acceptance of such abortion.
Every
time the Second Amendment of our Constitution is brought up in conversation of
any sort, the “cherry-picking” comes out; “the right to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed”. That’s it? That’s all they have to offer up in explanation
of why they prefer to keep a virtual arsenal of weapons in their houses and on
their person?
“A well regulated Militia,” ; in
lieu of a formal standing Army, which was not a possibility at the time. When, in
the twenty first century, you are trying to make sense out of this document and
how it may apply to modern-day life, paying attention to the original intent
and environment of the document is paramount.
