At 10%, Florida has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Rather than deal with the difficult issues, one Florida lawmaker chose to attack the real villains in today’s world, doctors. By flinging red meat to the state’s rabid religious right (and presumably the for-profit prison industry), Florida State Rep. Charles Van Zant (R) hoped that he could distract people from their dollar menu diets and untreated illnesses.
Van Zant introduced a bill which would make providing abortions a felony, even in cases of rape and incest. The only exceptions would be when the woman’s life is in danger. The Bill, called the Florida for Life Act, says (from Think Progress):
A termination of pregnancy may not be performed unless:
(a) Two physicians certify in writing to the fact that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the termination of pregnancy is necessary to prevent the death of the patient;
(b) Two physicians certify in writing to the fact that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the termination of pregnancy is necessary because to continue the pregnancy would unreasonably reduce the likelihood of successful treatment of a life-threatening disease of the patient; or
(c) A physician certifies in writing that a medical emergency existed and another physician was not available for consultation prior to the time necessary to perform the termination of pregnancy. The physician’s written certification must clearly describe the medical emergency.
The maximum penalty for the doctor would be life in prison.
Let’s just hope that pregnant women in Florida don’t need medical care. Let’s hope that fetuses don’t need quality nutrition. Let’s hope the babies don’t need homes, medical care or food. Let’s hope they don’t grow up to need jobs. Because even before they exit the womb, Florida’s attention has moved on to the next unborn fetus.
Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be doctors.
Here we go again, another right-wing ignoranus who sees votes in hate and fear. The GOP really feels it OWNS women, just like their poorly-written, badly mistranslated 2000-year old book demands (doesn’t ANYBODY have a Reader’s Digest Condensed version? There’s so much irrelevant CRAP in that one – and what these fundie assholes are telling you is a lie anyway, they simply spin the words to mean whatever they decide will bring the most power and control…)
Religion is the biggest true problem that exists. It is the species-killer, our Achilles heel, the source of the absolute insanity that informs our thinking and overwhelms rational answers, the cause of overpopulation, hate, war and class warfare. Religion teaches us to be arrogant (the Lord is on MY side,) insular (you’re not one of US,) hateful (God hates gays, atheists and members of other ‘faiths’,) paranoid (the Muslims are coming! The Muslims are coming!) and ignorant (all you need to know is in this book…)
The vast majority of “believers” will fight to the death to support this belief, even when confronted with overwhelming evidence that they are wrong. (i am referring to Science, for you fundies that don’t know what could POSSIBLY show the untruth of your sick old book. Knowledge always triumphs over belief, as fact always shatters dream. “God” tells you to jump off the building, you can fly. “God” watches you fall and die – and laughs at your ignorance) Sorry, idiot, read a science book sometime – what killed you wasn’t “God,” it was just gravity…
TAX THE CHURCHES! MAKE RELIGION ILLEGAL! There’s an easy fix. Let’s pass universal zoning laws that make it illegal for any church, especially a fundie one, to be located at least 40 miles from the nearest habitation. You want to meet “Jesus,” you gots to walk the walk. Or take the bus…
It’s power politicians like Van Zant, who use religious belief as a crutch because they have NOTHING else to offer but fear and hate, that need to be nullified, removed from the political process. They are dangerous, sociopathic, uneducated corporate morons who care nothing for life, humanity or rational thought, only what will get them elected by their equally ignorant voter base.
Women, abortion rights are really up to YOU. Demonstrate, call, write, sue, boycott, ostracize – whatever you can do to minimize this stupid misogynist. Men aren’t going to change this attitude or political posturing. Only women voting as a bloc can put enough fear into the pols (fear they will lose the re-election) to cause them to re-think their position.
IF A POL KNOWS HE HAS LOST 50% OF HIS VOTE, HE WILL CHANGE HIS MIND VERY QUICKLY! If he thinks he has enough men behind him, he will continue to denigrate and marginalize women. After all, HE has the penis (even if it doesn’t work so well anymore without some Big Pharma support…)
Abortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.
We need to hold these religious nut jobs to their beliefs…according to their book, adultery is something their cloud god really hates. He hates it so much that most of the ten commandments are written against it, and the bible itself say adulterers should be stoned to death in the public square. Being how adultery always destroys the family, one would think this biblical law would be their first priority in relation to family values. I guess god didn’t really mean that one, cuz if he did, 50% of these hypocrites would be stoned to death by now. But lets not talk about that, instead they want you to look the other way and hate other religions, abortion, gays…and everything else.
Lobby for a new law, practicing Christians that commit adultery shall be put to death…that should thin out their crowd.
I’ve been saying, since the whole abortion clinic protests and bombings, that protesters should sign up to adopt the babies of the moms that are walking into the clinics. They tell them to not get an abortion…well give them another alternative.
I say the same to those trying to enact this law. If they want to prevent abortions, they should personally contribute to taking care of the babies they supposedly want to save.
After all, with 10% unemployment, what Florida needs is more children, right?
I’m so glad that these repugs have nothing to do but worry about a womans reproductive system, and what they should do with it or not. Unemployment is at an all time high (despite all the Micky D’s jobs), gas is almost $4.00 a gallon and they worry about abortion. I wonder how long it will be until Van Zant is caught at a rest stop with his drawers around his knees. It is a typical scenario for thes pigs!
Am hoping those corporate welfare suckers who crashed our economy don’t make gas $4.00 again like in 2008!!!! Mainly because we’ll have the idiot wingnuts out there who will try and pin it on PBO…..
Anyways, yeah, what about these idiots working for jobs and reducing spending!! What they ran on instead of wasting tax dollars on this horseshit… Just proves the right knows nothing about the economy and FL voters need to vote every single one of these clowns out of office come the next election and their unpopular teabagging and crook governor in 2014!!!! Isn’t this the same state that refused federal funds to make public transportation?!?!?!?!
See you in SCOTUS, fetus freak. Last I checked, Roe v. Wade is still in effect.
The bad news is Nino “The Fixer” Scalia will probably green-light the new law anyway. He green-lighted G.W. Bush’s presidency in 2000, so what’s to stop him?
Let out John Hinkley?
Huh. So to conservatives, health care reform will cause thousands of doctors to stop practicing medicine, but the possibility of being jailed for life for performing a medical procedure will not?