Bush Pushes Anti-Choice Agenda
The regulations Pres. Bush proposed to the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week have gotten some attention, though not enough to effectively communicate just how serious these regulations are.
As Christina Page explains, the regulations would effectively redefine when pregnancy began, leaving behind the bona-fide, AMA-approved definition that pregnancy starts at implantation, and allow the vision that pregnancy starts at conception—when the egg is fertilized, a moment impossible to pinpoint. The regulations read:
There are two commonly held views on the question of when a pregnancy begins. Some consider a pregnancy to begin at conception (that is, the fertilization of the egg by the sperm), while others consider it to begin with implantation (when the embryo implants in the lining of the uterus). A 2001 Zogby International American Values poll revealed that 49% of Americans believe that human life begins at conception. Presumably many who hold this belief think that any action that destroys human life after conception is the termination of a pregnancy, and so would be included in their definition of the term “abortion.” Those who believe pregnancy begins at implantation believe the term “abortion” only includes the destruction of a human being after it has implanted in the lining of the uterus.
This proposal begs the question, since when is medical science determined by popular referendum?
So under these regs, any heath care professional, from a doctor to an orderly, would be able to refuse to assist with any procedure or service that prevents pregnancy. That’s a big deal. Low-income women would be at a special disadvantage, since they are more likely to rely on federally funded pregnancy prevention services, like Medicaid and Title IX, which would lose their funding if the new regulations weren’t followed.
Just two weeks ago, on the eve of World Population day, the World Bank suggested that developing countries desperately need contraception in order for women to escape poverty. Our own government, however, is deliberately trying to deprive women of much-needed contraception. Ironic. And scary too.
By Tara Sweeney