Don't Wait Until the Morning After
Emergency Contraception*
July 13, 2022


Emergency contraception is a safe way to prevent pregnancy soon after unprotected sex. It blocks ovulation so sperm never meets an egg. (It will not abort a pregnancy.)
Emergency Contraception: Copper-bearing intrauterine devices
The most effective emergency contraception is a copper IUD (copper-bearing intrauterine device). When inserted within 120 hours (5 days) of unprotected intercourse, a copper-bearing IUD is more than 99% effective in preventing pregnancy. Once inserted, women can continue to use the IUD as an ongoing method of contraception, or may choose to change to another contraceptive method. (WHO)

A copper IUD gives effective birth control for up to 7 years and costs anywhere between $0-$1,300. IUDs are free or low cost with many health insurance plans, Medicaid, and some other government programs. (Planned Parenthood)
Emergency Contraception: Levonorgestrel 1.5 mg
Plan B One-Step and other levonorgestrel 1.5mg single-dose pills are labeled to use within 72 hours of unprotected sex but is best used as soon as possible. Plan B is about $47 and expires after 4 years. Other brands (Take Action, My Way, Option 2, Preventeza, AfterPill, My Choice, Aftera, & Econtra) of the levonorgestrel 1.5mg single-dose pills are about $12-$45. These pills do not work well for women weighing more than 165 pounds.

Levonorgestrel pills can lower the chances of pregnancy by 75-89% and are available without a prescription at most drugstores, pharmacies, Target, Walmart, and through some of the “other brands” links above.
Emergency Contraception: Ulipristal acetate (ella) 30 mg
The emergency contraception pill with ulipristal acetate is called ella and requires a prescription. The single-dose pill must be taken as soon as possible within 120 hours after unprotected sex, is more effective than levonorgestrel pills, and costs $50 or more. It expires at about 3 years.


Why Emergency Contraception?
Contraception and emergency contraception become more significant with abortion threatened in the U.S. by the U.S. Supreme Court and their Federalist Hypocrite Society overlords and their Opus Dei overlords (see previous post).

About 45% of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended or about 2.8 million. Emergency contraception offers women a last chance to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse. (Emergency Contraception - A Last Chance to Prevent Unintended Pregnancy, Princeton 2019)

Three studies that evaluated women who were sexually assaulted and received care at emergency departments indicated that only 21-50% of eligible women received emergency contraception. (American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists 152, 9-2015)

It is estimated that 734,630 people were raped (including threatened, attempted, or completed rape) in the U.S. in 2018. Nationwide, 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime. One out of every five women in the U.S. has experienced rape or attempted rape during their lifetime. (National Sexual Violence Resource Center)

If someone is raped or sexually assaulted, go to the nearest hospital emergency room as soon as possible. The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) can help you find a hospital able to collect evidence of rape or sexual assault. You can get medicine to prevent HIV and other STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and get emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy.

For more information (and after July 2022, more recent information) visit:  the Planned Parenthood website, World Health Organization website, the links above, or your doctor.

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Music Association: Maureen McGovern - The Morning After
* I'm not a doctor.











Secret Government
Anti-Choice Lawyers
July 1, 2022


Back in 1982, some law students who didn't know enough about law started the Federalist Society. They are the dark-money group that gave the previous president a list of Federalist Society member lawyers to be appointed as federal judges, in some cases without having any trial experience. Trump followed the list like it was his master.

The Federalist Society used the name Federalist, like Hamilton and Madison's Federalist Papers, except they're:

• Not federalists
• Not constitutionalists
• Hardly Christians
  
• Not even conservatives

They are hypocrites. The U.S. Constitution says nothing about abortion or handguns, but they point to the Constitution anyway. The Federalist Hypocrite Society says states can't make gun laws but can make abortion laws. They say certain presidents cannot nominate a justice to the Supreme Court in an election year, but other presidents can. They ignore the teachings of Christ and have ties to the secret society Opus Dei. They lie.

They are not even conservatives. Conservatives want less government. The Hypocrite Society wants to interfere in women's reproductive decisions. They want to keep immigrants out. They want to control others based on Hypocrite Society decisions not the rule of law, with annual funding from Google and Facebook. The recent New York handgun decision might have the signature of Justice Thomas, but its wording and lack of case references smelled like something dreamed up by the Hypocrite Society.

That's not how the Supreme Court used to function. That's not how the decision on Roe v. Wade was made. When the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on December 13, 1971, it was messy and out in the open court. The prosecution didn't know they were supposed to be making arguments for jurisdiction. The defendant's attorney Jay Floyd started with a sexist joke — the worst joke in legal history. It was not well received. The case was re-argued on October 11, 1972. Sarah Weddington continued to represent the pseudonymous Jane Roe, and Texas assistant attorney general Robert C. Flowers replaced Jay Floyd for Texas.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger assigned the task of writing the Court's opinions to conservative Justice Harry Blackmun. Justices Blackmun and Burger were friends since church school and throughout grade school at Van Buren elementary in St. Paul, Minnesota. They lived five blocks from each other in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, played sports together, and Blackmun was best man at Burger's wedding.

Justice Blackmun wrote the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973 that state laws banning abortion violate a pregnant woman’s right to privacy protected by the 14th Amendment. “This right of privacy... is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy,” Blackmun wrote in the 7-2 decision.

Justice Blackmun subsequently had mixed feelings about his role in the case. In a 1983 newspaper interview, he said, “People misunderstand. I am not for abortion. I hope my family never has to face such a decision.” He described Roe as “a no-win case” and predicted that, “fifty years from now, abortion probably will not be as great a legal issue. I think it will continue to be a moral issue.”

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Music Association: The Beatles - Do You Want To Know A Secret?







Supreme Mistake
Roe v. Wade Overturned
June 24, 2022

This morning the U.S. Supreme Court announced a 6-3 decision to overturn the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113) which legalized abortion. Abortion is no longer a federal right.

Since the 1990s, many states have been chipping away at the 1973 decision, and anti-choice groups have made the work of abortion clinics difficult or impossible. The driving force in the nomination of Supreme Court justices has been whether they will support or overturn Roe. In the Senate hearing for their nominations, the conservative justices swore under oath (video) to protect the rights established in 1973. They swear all the time. That's just the way they &@(<!^% talk.

The case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (19-1392) centered on a Mississippi law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, even in cases of rape or incest. Under the direction of Mississippi attorney general Lynn Fitch, the state of Mississippi asked the Supreme Court to uphold the law and slash the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in the process. Speaking on Catholic TV program Pro-Life Weekly, attorney general Fitch gloated, “Fifty years ago, for professional women, they wanted you to make a choice. Now you don't have to. You have the option in life to really achieve your dreams, your goals, and you can have those beautiful children as well.” Options? Poverty gives you options?!? Ectopic pregnancies give you options?!? Rape gives you options?!?

And Catholic TV talks about how much they love children?!? That's not what the legal settlements say.

So... what does the Book of Books — the Good Book — the Holy Bible say about abortion?

The fourth book of the Bible, Numbers 5:11-31 gives a drink recipe for a wife who has been unfaithful to her husband, you know, “when your body swells.”

Scour the Bible for the drink recipe for the unfaithful husband. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Past Daniel but before Joel, the Book of Hosea 9:14 has God threatening “a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.” 

The songbook of the Bible, Psalms has a song whose tune has been lost in time but the words to Psalm 137:9 go something like this: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” When reading the “Good Book,” it is important to not just know a verse but also the context. The context of Psalm 137 is the Hebrews in exile in Babylon and not particularly happy with their Babylonian masters and would not actually follow through on such a threat. It's like Pro-Choice supporters saying, “Vasectomies are still legal.”

It's not that anti-choicers care what the Bible says about abortion. The Bible is a deflection. History is full of abortifacients and abortion methodologies, none as safe and effective as 21st century options.

Another anti-choice deflection is a heartbeat. Two things about a heartbeat.

When family members decide to end the life-sustaining medical procedures of a patient who is brain dead, the heart is still beating. Life isn't defined by a heartbeat. Jellyfish don't have hearts. Starfish and flatworms don't have hearts. Octopi have three hearts. Hagfish have four hearts. Earthworms have five hearts. A fairyfly is .006 inches long and has a long, tiny heart which can only be seen through a microscope. And hearts don't even need a body.

A petri dish can have a heartbeat. In 2014, researchers took skin cells, turned them into stem cells, and then into heart cells (cardiomyocytes). To their surprise, the heart cells started beating.
The abortion argument is meant to maintain generations of poor people to attend to the wealthy. “A substantial majority of women seeking abortions are low income, with half living below the federal poverty level and another quarter living between 100% and 199% of the poverty level. Three in five abortion patients are women of color.”* Abortion restrictions are class warfare. It's an extension of slavery.

And abortion is a political distraction from mitigating climate change.

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Music Association: Blondie - Heart Of Glass
* David Cohen and Carole Joffe, Obstacle Course - The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America, p13.













Poverty & Discrimination
Abortion Economics
June 19, 2022


The Atlantic recently reported on “The Turnaway Study” — a comparison of women who had abortions with those who had been turned away from abortion clinics. “The two groups were economically the same when they sought an abortion,” Diana Foster said. “One became poorer.”

Researchers found that women who were denied abortions were more likely to end up living in poverty. They had worse credit scores and, even years later, were more likely to not have enough money for the basics, such as food and gas. In addition, those denied a termination were more likely to be with a partner who abused them. They were more likely to end up as a single parent. Their bodies were different too. The ones denied an abortion were in worse health, experiencing more hypertension and chronic pain. None of the women who had an abortion died from it. This is unsurprising; other research shows that the procedure has extremely low complication rates, as well as no known negative health or fertility effects. Yet in the Turnaway sample, pregnancy ended up killing two of the women who wanted a termination and did not get one. Most of the women seeking an abortion were already mothers. In the years after they terminated a pregnancy, their kids were better off; they were more likely to hit their developmental milestones and less likely to live in poverty. Many women who had an abortion went on to have more children. Those pregnancies were much more likely to be planned, and those kids had better outcomes. The interviews made clear that women, far from taking a casual view of abortion, took the decision seriously. Most reported using contraception when they got pregnant. Afterward, nearly all said that termination had been the right decision. At five years, only 14 percent felt any sadness about having an abortion; two in three ended up having no or very few emotions about it at all. “Relief” was the most common feeling, and an abiding one.

The human gestation period is ten months — ten months (40 weeks) for the body to make something that looks nearly human.

This week's Newsweek magazine has a cover story titled, “What Science Says About Abortion.”  The article attempts to differentiate the survival of premature births in the U.S., saying:
  •  “The cost of caring for a single very-premature baby typically runs to more than $100,000, with a typical NICU handling 20 or more babies at once. Such advanced NICUs are beyond the reach of most hospitals.” (page 29)
  •  In the U.S., 17% of babies delivered at 22 weeks (5 1/2 months) survive. About 9 of 10 extreme preemies will run into serious complications, including blindness and deafness, lung and bowel problems, and various types of motor impairment and brain damage — problems which could take decades to overcome. (pages 29-30)
  •  Black newborns die at the hospital at three times the rate at which white newborns die, but the high Black newborn mortality rate is cut in half for Black newborns who are treated by Black doctors. (page 32)
  •  Black expectant women are more likely than white women to end up at an under-resourced "safety-net" hospital, where premature survival rates are generally much lower because such hospitals... don't even try to save extremely premature babies. (page 33)

A few days ago, MinnPost announced the results of a survey commissioned by MinnPost and conducted by Change Research, of 1,551 Minnesota voters from June 3-8. It found 67% of Minnesota voters oppose a ban on abortions in all circumstances.

Women (75%) were far more likely to oppose an abortion ban than men (58%). College-educated people (74%) were more likely to oppose an abortion ban than non-college-educated people (61%). The opposition to a ban on abortion was stronger in the Twin Cities (75%) and the metro (69%) than in the rest of Minnesota (61%). The online poll used targeted social media ads and text messages to recruit respondents.

The survey did not ask if the respondents were doctors or nurses.

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Music Association: Paul McCartney - Live and Let Die









Horses Don't Run
Abortion Survey
June 2, 2022


Gallup took a survey. It's what they do. Last month they called 1,007 U.S. adults and asked them about abortion.

Today, Gallup reported that 55% of people now identify as pro-choice, the highest percentage since 1995. Meanwhile, 39% of people identify as what could be called anti-choice, the lowest since 1996.

Interestingly, Gallup started the survey on May 2nd, just hours before the draft of the Supreme Court's opinion on abortion was leaked to Politico.

Gallup says, “The latest data show Americans are less likely than a year ago to say abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, falling six points to 13%, the lowest Gallup has recorded for this position since 1995. At the same time, the 35% wanting it legal under any circumstances is the highest in Gallup's trend by one point, after increasing slightly each of the past three years. Currently, support for legal abortion in the first trimester runs more than 2-to-1 in favor (67% vs. 27%). A majority of Americans (55%) are generally against abortion in the second three months, while 36% think it should be legal. Americans are most unified in their views on the third trimester, with 71% saying abortion should not be legal at this stage and 20% saying it should be.”

Gallup did not ask how many of those surveyed were doctors or nurses.

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Music Associations: America - Horse With No Name
& ELO - Telephone Line








Not a Doctor
Abortion Rights
June 1, 2022


As a man and not a doctor, my view on abortion has been that it is none of my business.

It hasn't mattered who is considering an abortion or how close they are to me — none of my business.

Before the leak (leak?!?) by the Supreme Court of a draft ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, I knew very little about abortion. I knew an old joke about some U.S. politician being so stupid as to think Roe v. Wade were two ways to cross the Potomac River. I knew that before Roe, people would sometimes die by attempting a surgical abortion at home, sometimes involving a non-surgical implement found in most closets. And that abortion was none of my business.

I have always had enough issues to deal with personally to not go around telling others what to do or how to live their lives. It takes some big issues (climate change, covid-19, George Floyd, Ukraine-Russia war, ...) for me to haul out the soapbox and even then, I'm not telling you what to do. Except vote. And get vaccinated. Fine. Well, this is the first time I've said anything about abortion or looked into it.

Now that I've read about abortion, my position has changed.

Reading about the long - long history of abortion and all the ways to do an abortion (abortifacients!) and all the ramifications, I have taken what was a teenaged view of abortion and morphed it into something that more fully represents my values and my faith. I've come to realize it is so very none of my business and all the arguments to outright ban abortion defy logic, understanding, and compassion.

I previously made the mistake of calling the two sides: pro-choice and pro-life. That's so wrong. The two sides are: pro-choice and anti-choice. The anti-choice group takes the side of a dependent organ against the health and wellbeing of women and trans-men, and against the wellbeing of existing children who also need support. They can't be pro-life and be against re-banning assault weapons used for mass murder. They can't be pro-life and pro-war. They can't be pro-life and against basic healthcare for all and against a living wage. The anti-choicers want protection for them and what is theirs and restrictions on you.

“When properly done, abortion is one of the safest procedures in medicine, but unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal death, especially in the developing world, while making safe abortion legal and accessible reduces maternal deaths. Around 56 million abortions are performed each year in the world, with about 45% done unsafely.” - Wikipedia 

I had known about miscarriages. The mother of a friend listed a miscarriage as one of her children. Miscarriages end 30 to 40% of pregnancies. I knew certain pregnancies could kill the mother and the child. I just learned the word, ectopic. Did I say I'm not a doctor?!? Well, I'm not a doctor, and page 202 of the 1378 page Mayo Clinic book beside me says, “Ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg implants itself anywhere other than in the uterus. The fertilized egg may become implanted on the ovary or in the abdominal cavity, but in 95 percent of all ectopic pregnancies the egg is implanted in the fallopian tube. Thus an ectopic pregnancy is sometimes called a tubal pregnancy. This is an extremely dangerous condition that, when not detected early, can have dire consequences. It is a leading cause of pregnancy-related death.” Ectopic pregnancy is one reason abortion can be doctor recommended. 

I learned about the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol pills that, when used as directed, are 97% effective for abortions during the first 63 days of pregnancy. I learned of Aid Access, which has sent these pills to more than 30,000 Americans over the last four years. [July 3, 2022 update: Demand for abortion pills at Aid Access has increased from 600 emails per day to 4,000 emails per day since the Supreme Court ruling.] Other information about abortion pills:
 •  Plan C
 •  Safe2Choose
 •  Women Help Women  (get Abortion Pills) (get contraceptives) 
 •  How To Use Abortion Pills (video) (pdf)
 •  Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline
 •  Reprocare Hotline

I already knew about Planned Parenthood (1-800-230-PLAN). As the largest provider of birth control in the United States, Planned Parenthood does more than anyone else to prevent abortions. They say, “There are two ways of ending a pregnancy: in-clinic abortion and the abortion pill. Both are safe and very common. If you’re pregnant and thinking about abortion, you may have lots of questions. We’re here to help. You Can Come to Us, No Matter What. Pregnant and not sure what to do? That can be scary, but you’re not alone. The professional, caring staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center will give you all the straight-up information you need to help you make the right decision for you. No pressure, no judgment. Just support.”

Another resource is I need an abortion (www.ineedana.com) which gives simple, current, and localized information about abortions. They say, “With 3 non-personally-identifiable pieces of information (that we don’t collect or store), we’re able to give people seeking abortions the information most relevant to their individual circumstances. This means there are a ton of different experiences you could get on ineedana.com. We show everyone their closest clinics, but if you enter that you’re a minor in a state with parental consent laws, we show you that information too. If you click a button asking “How am I going to afford this?,” we show you your state’s Abortion Funds and Practical Support Networks. If you’re under 10-weeks and in a state that allows telemedicine and abortion pills by mail, we show that as an option.”

Pre-Abortion Decision Help
 •  Planned Parenthood - Considering Abortion Guide
 •  All-Options pregnancy talk line
 •  Pregnancy Options Workbook
 •  Privacy Tips
 •  The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
 •  Men and Abortion

Where to get an Abortion in the United States
 •  I Need an Abortion
 •  Abortion Finder
 •  National Abortion Federation
 •  Abortion Funding - National Hotline
 •  Abortion Funding - By State
 •  U.S. State-by-State Laws (ABC News)
 •  If you are a minor and need help getting an abortion or obtaining Judicial Bypass (a judge waives the requirement of parental consent/notification), contact the Repro Legal Helpline by calling 844-868-2812 or filling out this form.
 
Post-Abortion Support Resources
 •  All-Options pregnancy talk line
 •  Connect and Breathe post-abortion talk line
 •  Exhale Pro-Voice post-abortion text line
 •  A Guide to Emotional and Spiritual Resolution After an Abortion

Plus, More Resources
+  Safe2Choose
+  Women on Web - online abortion service
+  r/Abortion resource links on Reddit

I still don't know nearly enough to be any use to you. You need caring professionals to ask you questions about your situation and offer some help. You don't need me or the United States Supreme Court interfering with your health. The Supremes are expected to overturn Roe v. Wade later this month. 

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Music Association: Supremes - Fetus Love
 


















Climate Change Shell Game
Bangity, Bangity, You're Dead!
Memorial Day • May 30, 2022


No one needs an AR-15 or any other assault weapon designed to massacre people. The ten year ban on assault weapons (1994-2004) saw mass shootings drop 43%. Since the ban expired, mass shootings have tripled. The Buffalo NY shooting at the Tops grocery store on May 14th should not have been possible. The Robb elementary school shooting on May 27th in Uvalde TX should not have been possible. Re-ban assault weapons.

To make this understandable to the assault weapons people, the bangity-bangity guns should be banned again. (It's really more of a ripping sound, like burrrrrraaaaaap.)

Gun ownership should require a background check, safe storage, and should be subject to red flag laws or extreme risk protection orders.

Texas suffered 4,164 gun deaths in 2020, the most recent year for which the CDC has published data. That's a rate of 14.2 deaths per 100,000 Texans. California, by comparison, saw 3,449 deaths, a gun death rate of 8.5 deaths per 100,000 Californians. Texas does not have the highest gun death rate, however. They aren't that stupid. The top states by gun death rates are:


Those states with the highest gun death rates are among the ones with the highest gun ownership rates.


Where there are fewer guns, there are fewer gun deaths. The states with the lowest gun death rates in 2020, per the CDC (alongside the percentage of homes with a gun in 2007-2016, per RAND) were:


Parents and media firebrands that empower the mass shooters should also be held accountable. The police who not only did not enter the school but actively prevented others from stepping in should also be held accountable.

And what should really dominate the news and politics is climate change mitigation.

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Music Association: Chris Cross - The Best That You Can Do?











Abortion




Russia - Ukraine War






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