Hoosiers Ate My Brain

I Want My Reproductive Rights

I'm going to come clean and say I haven't done a ton of research on this. And I'm not going to rant about angry right wingers or old white men running my life. However, based on legislation proposed to the Indiana Assembly's Health Finance Committee, I'm only going to ask why the hell are they wasting valuable time on this obvious political posturing. Upon first look, the draft legislation in question would prevent the state from providing any reproductive assistance to lesbians, gays, or single people. To the extent that the state provides reproductive assistance to couples now (they don't), and to the extent that it's any of their business should I, a single woman, should decide to have a child, the bill would have no teeth. However, this bill wants to prevent me from getting any reproductive assistance at all. From the bill: Gays, lesbians and single Hoosiers would be prohibited from using medical science to help have a child.

The concept that no one but a married woman could get fertility help in the entire state is so over-the-top crazy that it's clearly a move for political visibility, which is ironic since I've seen no pointers or direct references to the bill's author. Most irksome is that the committee which has until Oct 20 to recommend the bill for the floor, will spend valuable time wrangling over this press whore bill instead of focusing on legislation that could help Hoosiers today. As Doug notes: "I think Betty Cockrum of Indiana Planned Parenthood puts it very well, 'If we're going to try to put Indiana on the map, I wouldn't go this route.'" Maybe we need to lobby for a child license bill. With such a huge problem in the news about Child Protective Services' case load, it seems a license to have a child would make just as much sense. Doug Masson has more.

posted by braingirl @ 8:28 AM