Sep 28
Check out the Banned Books Meme here^.
Aug 14
Most people would never confuse the two; after all, that’s why we have TWO DIFFERENT WORDS for them.
But SOME PEOPLE – not mentioning any names – *cough* Dubya *cough* – seem to think the terms are interchangeable and one the same as the other.
In case you are as easily confused as certain Oval Office oafs, let me explain the difference to you: “contraception” is a method – INCLUDING ABSTINENCE – that prevents pregnancy. Abortion is a method, medical or biological, that ends pregnancy.
Some idiots in high places, having solved all of the world’s other problems, want to make it illegal for people – primarily women – to have access to contraceptive devices and drugs.
That’s right. Condoms would be illegal.
Not only that, basically what the idea there is, having sex for any reason other than procreation would be illegal. You know, a sin.
Because, after all, this country is by, for, and of the Christian Bible, and a woman’s worth lies in her ability to reproduce healthy offspring.
No matter what your stance on abortion – and I understand, I really do, the argument against (though I don’t agree) – what person in hir right mind can look at the state of the world and say, “hey, yeah, let’s outlaw contraception”?
Oh, I guess I answered it there, didn’t I? No person in hir *right* mind would. It takes an idiot, a mental defective, or a religious nut (all of which *are* fairly interchangeable terms and conditions) to think that.
“WTF” doesn’t even begin to cover this one.
MoveOn.org clued me in on this latest moronic move by our “elected” officials (more info under the cut). I encourage everyone – no, I beg, demand, plead and insist! – to sign the petition they set up to stop this nonsense before it gets any further.
You can sign the petition here. Already 200,000 people have signed, and MoveOn is hoping for a quarter million signatures before sending it on to the Health and Human Services Secretary, Mike Leavitt.
Aug 10
Jul 16
HIGH
with a 95% chance of idiocy.
What this means:
Jul 12
It’s a small step, but a step in the right direction:
Finally, before the Feds are forced to take action, the pharmaceutical industry agreed to regulate itself regarding gifts from its sales reps to physicians.
Also, some physicians had the same idea, pledging to refuse all logo-emblazoned giveaways including pens and tissue boxes, in an effort to reduce the perception (rightly acquired) that the pharmaceutical companies have an unhealthy influence on American healthcare practices.
Walk into almost any doctor’s office, and chances are you’ll see clocks, mousepads, tissue boxes, pens, notepads, and a plethora of other “giveaways” scattered about, each with the logo of a manufacturer or the latest drug they’re pushing. Some doctors insist these items have no effect on their prescribing habits, but my own experience quietly calls “bullshiat” on that.
New pharma ethics rules eliminate gifts and meals
By MARLEY SEAMAN, AP Business Writer Fri Jul 11, 5:28 AM ET
NEW YORK – Drug company sales representatives will have to stop doling out coffee mugs and pens that push their products when they visit doctor’s offices. But they can still sneak in the occasional free lunch.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Thursday that it has revised its conduct code for interacting with health care professionals. The updated guidelines ban the knicknacks bearing company and product logos.
Sales representatives are prohibited from providing restaurant meals and entertainment or recreation. But they can still provide the occasional, modest meal in a healthcare professional’s office “in conjunction with informational presentations,” according to a statement from PhRMA.
The updated code also emphasizes that drug companies should separate any funding they provide for continuing medical education from their sales and marketing departments. It notes that the funding should support education “on a full range of treatment options and not to promote a particular medicine.”
PhRMA said meetings between sales representatives and doctors should be focused on informing health care professionals about products, sharing scientific and educational information and supporting research and education.
The new rules take effect Jan. 1.
The association represents pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and is made up of executives from companies in the industry. Its CEO, Billy Tauzin, said he hopes the code additions will create “more credible” standards for doctor-sales rep interactions.
“I don’t think you’ll find a physician who will acknowledge that the gift of a pen or a cup with a company’s name on it influences their prescribing patterns,” he said. “But there are people who believe that, and as long as that’s a perception out there we felt we ought to end that.
Tauzin said his association got conflicting reactions from doctors about whether to eliminate the free lunches, but he noted doctors are free to stop the meals themselves.
The trade association said in January that it was considering revisions to its 2002 code. Its executives said then that they’ve seen a backlash over sales and marketing practices.
Critics of these sales practices have included the nonprofit organization No Free Lunch, which is run by a New York-based internist. It urges medical school students to pledge that they’ll shun free gifts or meals from the drug industry.
No Free Lunch also promotes a pen amnesty program on its Web site, where it offers to replace with “no questions asked” drug company pens that doctors receive. It states that the pens will be “donated to a worthwhile cause.”
Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wisc., said in a statement that he was “encouraged by the industry’s attempt to clean up its act.” Kohl co-sponsored the Physician Payments Sunshine Act to create a national registry for payments doctors take from companies.
Dr. Brian Hurley, president of the American Medical Student Association, said the new rules are an improvement but they don’t go far enough. He said gifts given to doctors as educational materials or occasional meals are still gifts. “Aggressive” marketing practices have made drug companies a lot of money, he said, and they have little incentive to stop those tactics.
“Educational gifts or educational programming that pharma’s member companies put together are marketing in disguise,” he said.
Members of PhRMA are required to state their intention to comply with the code, and Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly & Co. AstraZeneca PLC and EMD Serono were among the companies that did so Thursday.
AstraZeneca said its U.S. representatives will not give doctors items including pens, pads of paper, hand soap and tissues as part of sales visits. The company said its sales representatives will still be able to offer educational items like teaching models if they “are not of substantial value.”
AstraZeneca said it will still support medical events for health care professionals through grants to independent providers, and the British company says it will not give any guidance about the content or faculty of those events and will provide no direct support for meals.
Lilly said in a separate statement that it will comply with or exceed the new guidelines. It said the revised code will help ensure “the information exchange with healthcare providers continues to be appropriate and ethical.”
Author, energy worker, mother, possible lunatic, linguistical artist, template tamperer, free thinker, mad genius.
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Can you imagine living in a place where birth control is considered an “abortion” and health insurers won’t cover it? Where even rape victims are denied emergency contraception?
It seems unbelievable, but the Bush Administration is quietly trying to redefine “abortion” to include birth control. The Houston Chronicle says this could wipe out dozens of state laws that protect women’s reproductive freedom and protect rape victims.[1] Access to basic health care for millions of women would be jeopardized. And it’s being pushed as a “rule change”—meaning, it doesn’t need congressional approval.
Can you sign an emergency message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose department is considering this rule change right now? Tell him: “Contraception is NOT abortion. The Bush Administration’s proposal to change the definition of abortion and reduce women’s access to birth control must be stopped.”
The best way to beat back this proposal is to show Secretary Leavitt massive public outrage—that’s why today we’re launching this petition jointly with Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Together, we’ll deliver every signature to Leavitt. You can help add to our momentum by forwarding this message to friends.
Here’s what some others are saying about this proposal:
The draft regulation would define birth control as abortion…it could deny access to critical family planning for women across the country.—Letter signed by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and 26 other senators.[2]
The draft rule could void laws in 27 states that require insurance companies to provide birth control coverage for women requesting it [and] laws in 14 states requiring that rape victims receive counseling and access to emergency, day-after contraceptives.—Houston Chronicle editorial[3]
The administration needs to stop playing word games with women’s health and state clearly they will reject any regulations that will undermine women’s access to basic health care.—Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.[4]
[It's] a spectacular act of complicity with the religious right… —RH Reality Check, Information and Analysis for Reproductive Health[5]
The birth control pill, the IUD, and emergency contraception might all become unavailable—illegal—as a result.—Brigid Riley, executive director of a Minnesota teen pregnancy prevention organization[6]
Can you help send a loud message to Secretary Leavitt that birth control is NOT abortion?
Thanks for all you do.
–Nita, Laura, Patrick S., Adam G., and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. “Redefining abortion; Federal officials considering a rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide contraceptives,” Houston Chronicle, August 10, 2008
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5935532.html
2. Letter to Secretary Mike Leavitt from Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and 26 other senators, July 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4042&id=13468-2980773-SO9Qp5x&t=6
3. “Redefining abortion; Federal officials considering a rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide contraceptives,” Houston Chronicle editorial, August 10, 2008
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5935532.html
4. “Birth control: is administration backing down—or not?” Los Angeles Times blog, August 8, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4043&id=13468-2980773-SO9Qp5x&t=7
5. “HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion,” RH Reality Check, July 15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4041&id=13468-2980773-SO9Qp5x&t=8
6. “White House Considering Contraception Restrictions,” Public News Service, August 11, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4040&id=13468-2980773-SO9Qp5x&t=9
Email 2:
Wow. In less than 24 hours, over 200,000 people have signed a message to the Bush Administration saying contraception is NOT abortion. Every signature will be delivered next week to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, and the media will be notified of our final signature count.
The more folks who sign, the stronger our impact together will be—can you help us break a quarter-million signatures? To do that, just think of 10 friends who care about reproductive rights and forward them the message below.
Thanks for all you do.
–Nita