Bush has appointed a birth control opponent Susan Orr to head our nation's family planning office. And she requires no Senate confirmation, so get used to this woman as the leading government voice on "a wide range of reproductive health topics, including adolescent pregnancy, family planning, and sterilization, as well as other population issues."
This is a woman who "cheered" the Global Gag Rule and considers birth control "not a medical necessity." As RH Reality Check notes:
In 2001, when President Bush proposed eliminating the requirement that federal employees' health insurance offer a range of options for birth control coverage, Dr. Orr, then the senior director for marriage and families at the Family Research Council, told the Washington Post, "We're quite pleased because fertility is not a disease. It's not a medical necessity that you have [contraception]."
I'm sorry, I (and most women I know) certainly consider contraception a medical necessity. And it's frightening to me that this is the person who will "oversee $283 million in annual grants that are intended to provide contraceptive services to low-income families, the office's abstinence program aimed at teens, and the all of the funding for birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling, and screenings for sexually transmitted disease and HIV administered by the Office of Population Affairs."
Orr also has typically outdated views on what women's roles and goals should be:
Orr authored a paper in 2000 titled, “Real Women Stay Married.� In it she wrote that women should “think about focusing our eyes, not upon ourselves, but upon the families we form through marriage.�
With anti-contraception officials rising through federal ranks, I suppose it should come as no surprise that Bush appointed a Family Research Council hack to this position. When HHS spokesman Kevin Schweers says that Orr has a "breadth of programmatic and managerial experience," he clearly means a breadth of experience in pushing extremely far-right views on reproductive health.
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WaPo: Bush puts birth control opponent in charge of family planning office: Susan Orr, most recently an associate commissioner in the Administration for Children and Families, was appointed Monday to be acting deputy assistant secretary for population ... Read More
I very well may cry. And I may not stop. What. The. Hell?
For real. Is there anything at all that can be done about this? Or should we just wait until the next administration comes along and she hopefully gets booted out?
I second that Kimmy :(
And I already felt like crap today.
Well, FWIW Planned Parenthood has a Take Action page.
Well, FWIW Planned Parenthood has a Take Action page.
"Fertility is not a disease."
Uh, no, it's not, but it's certainly not a BLESSING at this point in my life. God, how frickin condescending.
Depressing, but I've spent so much outrage on this administration that it's just more of the same. What really made me depressed, though, was reading Mrs. Orr's take on sticking out your marriage no matter what kind of pain and abuse comes with it. Because, you know, nothing like 18 years of watching mommy and daddy scream and fight to make a kid want to jump into a lifetime of holy matrimony.
Except maybe getting knocked up due to a lack of available contraception and proper sex education.
Seriously, how is Bush still in office? I knew when he was "Elected" that the next 8 years would be bad. I sat on my bed sobbing and sobbing, just knowing that our rights would be stripped away one by one.
I didn't think it would get this bad. And it seems like no matter what Bush does, he gets away with it. He's broken the law, changed the Constitution, and um, yeah, broken the law about a million times. Where are the checks and balances?
I think of my fertility as a disease, sort of. I know this woman who is having twins, and whenever I tell someone about her, I think in my head "she got diagnosed with twins." Hee.
Man, the US seems to be moving regressing more and more each day. I take it for granted that contraception is so easy to get here in Canada because to me (and everyone else I know) it's a basic human need for everyday life.
Wow, it's just hard to grasp. I mean, I have to pay for my birth control, but if I was really hard up, I could go to a clinic and get a year supply for free no problem. like wow...
I think i was reading on here, how many cities don't even have sexual awareness centers where you can get free condoms.. eep.
I think of my fertility as a gift--but not one I need to be constantly using. Birth control made it possible for my husband and I to reach a point where we had a house and financial stability before getting pregnant--two goals we considered extremely important for how we want to raise our child. Although I suppose we just could have remained abstinent for the four and half years of marriage it took us to reach those goals (not to mention the five and a half years of sinful premarital sex prior to the wedding).
Oh dear God. How long until men get outraged about this too? How far up to our ears in unwanted babies do we have to be before Regular Joe, whose wife probably uses some form of hormonal birth control, says "Enough"? Lack of access to birth control isn't just a women's issue- it's an everybody issue. Sheesh.
*Clinging to my NuvaRing for dear life*
Sorry for the double post.
I am so thankful for my IUD. Part of the reason I got it when I did is because I was afraid I might not be able to get an abortion when I needed one.
Let's see if I've got this straight:
1. People (especially women) shouldn't have sex before marriage.
2. Once a couple is married, they should never use birth control.
3. If a couple doesn't have health care (bye-bye S-CHIP) or can't afford a child, then they shouldn't have any - even if they're married.
4. So, it follows then that married couples without the means to maintain 10 - 15 children (on average) should remain celibate after they've had all the children they can afford.
5. And, let's not forget, masturbation is a sin.
What fucking planet are these people from? I mean. Really.
The Title X family planning program, which Susan Orr will now be overseeing, is a critical part of our country’s health care safety net for low-income women, providing contraceptive care and other preventive health services to more than 5 million women each year. We’ll be watching to see what happens next with this appointment…
Steph Sterling here at the National Women’s Law Center has more details on this in her blog post from yesterday.
Signed the petition (even though I don't have to worry about this myself) and forwarded it to all my American friends. I do have to wonder, though, how much impact such a petition will actually have. Won't the Bush Administration just automatically tune out any feedback coming from Planned Parenthood's direction anyway?
Actually, in my case, the hormonal contraceptives are pretty much a medical necessity.
Before getting on "birth control," I was taking four ibuprofens twice a day just to be able to function, thanks to severe dysmenorrhea (there was still notable pain with the medication). Nothing besides the hormones have been able to help in any significant way, and I'm especially functional now that I'm on the continuous cycle with NuvaRing.
It's bad enough that I've been paying $20 a month while unemployed just to have the "luxury" of painless days. It truly terrifies me to think of it being more difficult than this to continue using this medication.
Actually, in my case, the hormonal contraceptives are pretty much a medical necessity.
Before getting on "birth control," I was taking four ibuprofens twice a day just to be able to function, thanks to severe dysmenorrhea (there was still notable pain with the medication). Nothing besides the hormones have been able to help in any significant way, and I'm especially functional now that I'm on the continuous cycle with NuvaRing.
It's bad enough that I've been paying $20 a month while unemployed just to have the "luxury" of painless days. It truly terrifies me to think of it being more difficult than this to continue using this medication.
We'd be happy to have you in Canada.
Hopefully when Bush goes bye-bye you can reclaim your rights.
My fingers are crossed for some true democracy in the next U.S. election.
Even considering our Conservative government, never am I so glad to be Canadian as when I read this growing litany of Handmaid's Tale-esque shit happening in your country.
The Canadian posts are cracking me up today! :) Dude, Canadians, if it weren't so freaking cold up there, I'd probably be there already.
This birth control nonsense is insane. Like Aletha, I have to take the pill just to be "normal" (PCOS). My ovaries could get cysts and rupture without it. I guess Bush's admins think that I'm immoral since I am not trusting God to take care of my ovaries. Not to mention the fact that even if I was "only" taking the pill to keep from getting pregnant, it is still a necessity. Not getting pregnant is such a necessity to many women just to keep their lives (and their potential children's) from going to hell. But what do I know; I’m not a rich, white, male Republican. /snark
I totally agree with Cajn, though, Canada does sound better and better. This reminds me of this site that was made after Bush was elected the first time,
Marry an American . Any Canadians want to help us BC pill deprived feminists get a green card? I’m better than a cat, promise. ;-)
Note also how it's women's responsibility to stay married--not men's. It's almost as if marriage is something we do all by ourselves.
Like Alethea and Jacqueline, I've been on the pill for 10 years for reasons having little to do with birth control. Really, the most I could wish for would be that Orr had *one day's* worth of the pain I felt when I got cramps. But, it's not like she doesn't know about this. It just shows that these people are liars who don't care about the Hippocratic Oath.
I love this bit, from one of the links:
In a 2000 Weekly Standard article, Orr railed against requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. “It’s not about choice,� said Orr. “It’s not about health care. It’s about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death.�
Yes, by using contraceptives, you're apparently killing...someone, though I'm not sure who.
I have to disagree with the crazy lady and point out that health care is about birth control pills. If a doctor has to prescribe it, it's health care!
Wasn't there some similarly anti-contraception man put in charge if something similar recently-is this a different department, or is she replacing him?
I wonder how this is going to affect America in the future? This is revolting. I wish the media would cover more of this anti-contraceptive blitzkrieg.
I mean, this is a great weakness to exploit. Most women would be completetly against a political party that was anti-contraceptive. Republicans are like the American Taliban. They are completely off the marker with future challenges the world will have to tackle, such as the environmental problems, womens issues and the way they perceive womens identities and roles.
In general, I think it's wrong to bring political figures' individual sexual decisions or families into the public debate. But I think we need to make an exception here.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins has four children. Ok, that's kind of a lot. Most of that organization's Vice Presidents, though, have two children. One has four, one has only one--the only one with more than four is the sole woman, who has five. If you look at other leaders in this movement, you'll see similar results. Either there's a high correlation between the right wing "family values" ideology and lower than average fertility (Maybe God really is preventing them from conceiving more children than they can support?) or a lot of these people aren't following the very views they're trying to foist on the general population. I'd also be curious to see what type of fertility benefits are in the health insurance plan FRC provides its employees. Most people don't have two kids unless they're using some form of birth control more reliable than the rythym method.
I can't find any biographical information on Orr. But I'd be damned curious to see it.
I wonder how this is going to affect America in the future? This is revolting. I wish the media would cover more of this anti-contraceptive blitzkrieg.
I mean, this is a great weakness to exploit. Most women would be completetly against a political party that was anti-contraceptive. Republicans are like the American Taliban. They are completely off the marker with future challenges the world will have to tackle, such as the environmental problems, womens issues and the way they perceive womens identities and roles.
Maybe we should just do away with all preventative medicine. Maybe we shouldn't have antidepressant and antipsychotic medications that prevent attempted or completed suicide. Maybe we shouldn't have vitamin C either.
Pregnancy will be a disease to me until I'm actually ready to start having children, and the more people like this get appointed to positions of authority the more I want to just say screw it and sterilize myself. I'm not putting any babies in the world while these nutfucks are in office. Hell fucking no.
It's getting really sad that I see these headlines and it's almost like it's no surprise at all. First Keroac now this dumbass.
WAIT! Doesn't Congress have to allow this crazy bitch (surprise, surprise...really, these people are nothing but scum, expect nothing but shit from them) through? Confirm her?
This all makes my blood boil....f*cking moral hypocrites...THEY represent the culture of life? They represent "honor" in the White House and in Congress? "American Taliban" is right.
And I am one step closer to getting myself sterilized...I've got the motivation, all I need now is the money.
See a tongue-in-cheek list of the top ten reasons George Bush appointed Susan Orr...here:
www.thoughttheater.com
See a tongue-in-cheek list of the top ten reasons George Bush appointed Susan Orr...here:
www.thoughttheater.com
Seems like another example of Bush pandering to his so-called base. And are they ever BASE. How low can you go.
A hi-tech, post modern society led by a yahoo and his friends from the worst pages of the old testament. GEEEZ!
"1. People (especially women) shouldn't have sex before marriage.
"2. Once a couple is married, they should never use birth control.
"3. If a couple doesn't have health care (bye-bye S-CHIP) or can't afford a child, then they shouldn't have any - even if they're married.
"4. So, it follows then that married couples without the means to maintain 10 - 15 children (on average) should remain celibate after they've had all the children they can afford.
"What fucking planet are these people from? I mean. Really."
It seems as though "what fucking ant colony...?" might be more appropriate. You know how they think only those who can stand to constantly have kids should have sex at all and the rest of us should stay celibate? That reminds me of the way an ant queen will constantly lay eggs while the drones support her and have far fewer offspring themselves...
"Not getting pregnant is such a necessity to many women just to keep their lives (and their potential children's) from going to hell."
In many cases it's also a necessity to keep the lives of the children they already have from going to hell.
Like several above commenters, I take birth control medically. (PCOS as well.) Without it and a couple other choice medications, I would be in pretty rough shape. Ovarian cysts, acne, extra facial hair, extra weight, etc. And I know a lot of women who are on BC primarily for their health. This is just such willful ignorance, it's really frustrating.
Well, as Anderson Cooper 360 pointed out about Mukasey, "it's only a temp job at this point."
...hopefully.
I just want to point out that acne isn't a disease either, and yet most insurance programs will cover various medications intended to treat it.
I think I'm going to have to nominate this woman for fstdt.
Seriously, at what point does giving birth to a child not constitute a medical matter? Because if a person doesn't have access to contraceptives, and doesn't have access to abortion (which, of course, is itself a medical matter), that's what's going to happen. Maybe she missed a memo, but childbirth isn't like removing a splinter.
Ugh. Buck Fush.
Jack Cafferty just asked a question about anti-choice hacks heading health departments.
In a 2000 Weekly Standard article, Orr railed against requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. “It’s not about choice,� said Orr. “It’s not about health care. It’s about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death.�
Um, OK. If preventing pregnancy is part of the "culture of death", couldn't the same be said of sexual abstinence? After all, both substantially reduce the likelihood of a sperm fertilising an egg. Clearly, then, sexual abstinence is snuffing out even the remote possibility of millions of lives.
Ugh. Counting down to January 2009 and crossing my fingers that we get someone in there who will appoint competent people...until then, I think I'll stay up here at school in Canada as much as possible, with my mandatory Blue Cross where I'm completely reimbursed for my birth control.