Blogs Comment On Proposed HHS Conscience Rule, Evangelical Support For Obama, Midwife Care

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Abortion;  Nursing / Midwifery;  Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 19 Nov 2008 - 10:00 PST

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The following is a summary of selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "'You Have Failed Entirely,' Says Planned Parenthood and ACLU," Amie Newman, RH Reality Check: Newman's blog entry focuses on a letter sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights to criticize OIRA for failing to explain how the proposed HHS conscience rule meets the "extraordinary circumstances" laid out in the Bolton memorandum. The memo, issued by the Bush administration in May, said all proposed new regulations should be submitted by June 1 unless there were "extraordinary circumstances." Although the conscience rule was proposed after the June 1 deadline, Newman writes, "Unfortunately, as of today, there have been no explanations to the American public as to why these proposed regulations, seeking to reprioritize providers' opinions and belief systems as more important than patient care, address critical circumstances." According to Newman, while President Bush's administration "thought these proposed regulations would quietly become embedded in HHS policy, health care advocates, health care providers, women's advocates, health care consumers and others took notice." She adds that "more than 200,000 Americans registered their comments in the 30-day public commenting period -- most of them vehemently opposed to such a regulation" (Newman, RH Reality Check, 11/17).

~ "The Obamagelical Reformation," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: Citing exit poll data, Page writes that the "new and powerful wave of support" President-elect Barack Obama received from evangelical Christians "reflects stunning changes among voters who have traditionally voted for the most right-wing of Republicans." She says that "Democratic strategists should hear this message loud and clear: many morality voters have party-hopped," adding that voters may be putting "reason over rhetoric" for the first time. The Democratic party platform holds the greatest potential for progress on the "intransigent" issue of abortion, among others, Page continues. She notes that a "whopping 86% of Obamagelicals believe that instead the 'best way to reduce abortion is preventing unintended pregnancy (through education and birth control), or providing financial assistance to pregnant mothers.'" These voters have "re-prioritized what they consider the critical issues our nation must address," she writes, adding, the fact that 75% of women who have an abortion list financial reasons as the reason for their decision "doesn't click for McCain's evangelicals. For Obamagelicals it apparently does." She concludes, "Obamagelicals have moved beyond the righteous rhetoric and political hyperbole to focus [on] a wider array of issues that impact rates of abortion, like poverty, education and prevention. They may be the common ground movement pro-choice people have long been praying for" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 11/14).

~ "New Cochrane Publication on Midwife-Led vs. Other Models of Maternity Care," Rachel Walden, Our Bodies, Our Blog: Walden says a recently released publication from the Cochrane Collaboration that compares midwifery-led care for childbirth with other models left her with "questions about some of the outcomes and limitations of the paper." Additional "in-depth analysis of the methods of the original studies" may be required to address concerns about the studies, Walden writes. "Although it is not likely to be a defining paper on midwifery care and choice of birth providers, this Cochrane piece does suggest an interesting consideration -- that maternity care often happens via teams of providers working together, and women may want to be better informed about who is primarily in charge of those teams and how that control is negotiated in practice," she concludes (Walden, Our Bodies, Our Blog, 11/17).

~ "Read Them and Shake Your Head: 'A Giddy Sense of Boosterism' and Obama's Promise to Pro-Lifers,'" Dave Andrusko, National Right to Life blog: Andrusko in the blog entry examines a recent opinion piece in which Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne said Obama should work to find common ground with antiabortion advocates. According to Andrusko, Dionne's column includes inaccuracies that make an "unpersuasive argument ... that Obama really is serious about reducing the number of abortions." Andrusko also takes issue with Dionne's analysis of abortion rates during the Clinton and Bush administrations, adding, "Obama has no more interest in downshifting his overdrive promises to the Abortion Lobby than we do in standing idly by in neutral while he attempts to fulfill his promises to the Abortion Establishment" (Andrusko, National Right to Life blog, 11/17).

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