Blogs Comment On Vice Presidential Debate; International Women's Health; Religion And Election; Roe

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Abortion
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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The following summarizes recent women's health-related blog entries.

~ "The Palin-Biden Debate: Betting on Resurgent Social Issues," Scott Swenson, RH Reality Check: Social issues, such as abortion and sex education, are "certain to come up" during Thursday's vice presidential debate between Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), Swenson writes in a blog entry. He adds that it "would be refreshing if social conservatives would stop focusing on imposing one narrow religious interpretation on the entire country and start working on common-sense policies supporting proven medical science and public health strategies to educate people with facts and prevent unwanted pregnancies" and sexually transmitted infections. According to Swenson, when social issues come up during the debate, Palin will "use her moment in the spotlight to jump on them in dramatic fashion as this week's ... gamble to shake up the race" by Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Palin's "goal" would be to "demonstrate conviction and to make it harder for certain blocs of voters to abandon McCain" rather than "persuade people about the issue," Swenson writes, adding that the tactic would target voters in swing states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. The McCain-Palin campaign "must hold onto Culture War voters who, because of real concerns about the economy, may consider voting for" Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Biden, Swenson writes, adding that the "gamble" is that "moderates will be made uncomfortable by a continuation of Culture War politics." Swenson concludes that a "real debate between two national leaders thinking big thoughts about the problems that face us, and how each ticket plans to lift all Americans up" can be hoped for by viewers, "[o]r we can have the next battle of the social conservative Culture War. Which bet do you think McCain is making?" (Swenson, RH Reality Check, 9/30).

~ "International Women's Health? Who's President Makes the Difference," Craig Lasher, RH Reality Check: The next president's ability to maintain or rescind the Mexico City Policy, also known as the 'Global Gag Rule,' as well as to determine the country's contribution to the United Nations Population Fund, reflects how greatly the person who occupies the White House can affect "what policies govern international family planning and reproductive health programs and how much money is spent on these critical health activities," Lasher writes in a blog entry. For instance, the Mexico City Policy "has been a ping pong ball that has bounced back and forth depending on who was in the White House," according to Lasher. In addition, although President Bush for the last seven years has used "an overly broad interpretation of the so-called Kemp-Kasten amendment, which prohibits funding to any organization that 'supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization,'" President Clinton's administration "employed a different and more narrow and proper interpretation of the statute to allow U.S. funds to flow to UNFPA during his tenure." Lasher concludes, "Bottom line, whether it is policymaking or funding for U.S. involvement in family planning and reproductive health programs around the world, the president matters -- and matters greatly" (Lasher, RH Reality Check, 9/29).

~ "Obama Talks Faith, McCain Claims 'Values'," George McHendry, Jr., Huffington Post: In the blog entry, McHendry examines the way in which both Obama and McCain discuss religion. McHendry writes that although McCain's positions, such as his opposition to abortion rights, "line up with conservative evangelical issues," they "lack connections to faith." McHendry adds, "McCain fails to talk about faith in a coherent way beyond the marquee issue of abortion and lip service to the mailable 'family values.'" On the other hand, according to McHendry, Obama disagrees with conservative evangelicals on abortion, but he "demonstrates clear connections to the faith community," particularly because he "does not shy away from direct appeals to believers," is "comfortable talking about faith," and "does so in a way that allows Christian values to govern individuals, but not be canonized into law" (McHendry, Huffington Post, 9/29).

~ "Hyperbole Times Five," Jacki Ragan, National Right to Life Committee: During every presidential election year a "squadron of 'horror stories' flies in, dropping warnings about what allegedly would happen should Roe v. Wade be overturned," Ragan writes in a blog entry in reaction to a recent interview given by Washington Post writer Linda Hirshman. "It's the usual hyperbole times five -- one for every week until the American public decides between" McCain and Obama, Ragan writes. Ragan writes that she has "no quarrel with pro-abortionists making their 'best case' for why it is acceptable -- indeed to them, a good thing -- that thousands of babies are slaughtered each and every day." She adds, "But why not at least take a pass at understanding why there is even more resistance today to abortion on demand" than when Roe was decided. Ragan concludes that it would be "fair to ask whether Betty Friedan herself may have eventually worried whether the modern feminist movement had gone overboard in putting abortion advocacy at the top of its priority list" (Ragan, National Right to Life Committee, 9/29).

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