Forcing Women to Have Pregnancies, China? No! State of Virginia
Recovering: Theresa Tapia rests at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond just after surger in pregnancies to full term
West Virginia
A West Virginia physician who has claimed that he sees complications from abortions “probably at least weekly,” is under tight scrutiny, and it could have professional implications. Dr. Bryon Calhoun provided his assessment of the dangerous nature of abortions and the lack of clinic regulation in the state as part of his testimony earlier this year, when the state’s Attorney General sought comment on whether or not to pass new regulations. However, a report from RH Reality Check proved that despite his claims, no abortion complications were reported to the board of health.
Now, West Virginia legislators are asking for further investigation into Dr. Calhoun, demanding that he be held responsible for either not reporting the numerous complications he saw, as he was obligated to do, or for having not reported them because they simply did not exist. “If upon your review you find Dr. Calhoun made knowingly false statements, I respectfully request the Board of Medicine to take swift action,” State Delegate Nancy Peoples Guthrie (D-Kanawha) said in a formal complaint she filed with the West Virginia Board of Medicine. “Given Dr. Calhoun’s position in teaching future physicians at West Virginia University and the impact his statements have made on matters of significant public importance in our state, your review is critical.”
A censure of any sort on Dr. Calhoun may be difficult, however. The doctor was already formally reprimanded by his own university this summer, after his extensive involvement in a lawsuit against one of the state’s clinics. Liberty Institute became involved on Dr. Calhoun’s behalf, saying that the school was infringing on his religious beliefs by attempting to limit his volunteer activities, and the reprimand was withdrawn.
Whether a judgment from the medical board would meet with the same fate remains to be seen.
New Abortion Restrictions Across Several States
While Michigan residents are still trying to understand what the new “abortion rider” on their insurance plans will mean, a new article reports that part of the reason the governor may have opposed the idea himself was the influence of his own wife and daughters. Ohio also has an abortion rider that they passed, but theirs could potentially endanger birth control coverage, too.
North Dakota is performing fewer abortions than ever, but that may be because so many of the residents of the state think abortion was actually made illegal. That’s just fine with the state, who said in court that there is no constitutional right to an abortion. They must really believe that, too, since they’ve spent almost $160,000 defending their ban on medication abortion.
Alabama clinics and the state are hoping to avoid trial over admitting privileges being required for doctors, although the clinics believe the answer is to keep the injunction on the law in place, and the state believes it is to let it become law. North Carolina is still waiting on new rules for their clinics, which have been months in drafting and still no closer to be made public. Ohio is seeing more clinics close on a one off basis, showing that the anti-choice model of incremental approach to cutting off access is unfortunately working. On the other hand, a Republican National Committee Chairman is apparently impatient, and claims America wants a ban on all abortion after four months.
Protesters, Anti-Abortion Signs and Killers
Anti-abortion protesters are angry at a South Carolina university that they are accusing of “using taxpayer funds” to train doctors to perform abortions. The University’s response: it’s a medical school, and if we don’t, we’d lose accreditation. Churchgoers and parents in Canada are angry with a local church’s anti-abortion sign, but many are afraid to speak out publicly out of fear of “retaliation” from the church or its associated school.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who was found guilty of murder in the deaths of infants born during illegally performed abortions, has received an additional 30 years in jail for crimes relating to drug charges.
Forcing Women to Have Children
Forcing Women to Have Children
Two fantastic stories look into reproductive coercion, with the Daily Beast asking about birth control sabotage as a potential crime, and the Seattle Times running an editorial on domestic abuse and how abusers can try to control their partners via cutting them off from ending a pregnancy.
Finally, guess who is providing a “triple match” donation to the anti-choice, anti-birth control political group Susan B. Anthony List? Why yes, it’s Foster “she should put an aspirin between her knees if she doesn’t want to get pregnant” Friess!
- by Robin Marty
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