MaxedOutMama
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Blastocystic Terrorism From The Bush Fascists
Florida Cracker has link to the Washington Post story that started it all, and the technorati link to feminists, wailing and running through the streets because of some CDC health recommendations about folic acid for women of childbearing age. (Folic acid can prevent some severe birth defects, but the problem is that the damage may be done early on before a woman ever gets to a doctor.)
I had always thought the point of preventive medicine was to offer us knowledge about mitigating risks and therefore more control of our lives?.Does any woman really not want this knowledge? Apparently so. It's some sort of attack to give a woman good health advice if you include any reference to swimming upriver and spawning within the advice:
Granted, an unexpected pregnancy may be a shock, but millions of women would vastly prefer a healthy unplanned pregnancy rather than an unhealthy one. There are cases in which a women does not greet such a discovery by joyously embracing the sacrament of abortion and chasing the demon blastocyst from her body, you know? Remember - it's about choice! Or, well, maybe not....
Hollywood Progressive (you know what's coming, don't you?) weighs in:
What, by the way, is classical about spin?
Ilona of True Grit is showing clairvoyant tendencies, so I quote her for the second time today:
I had always thought the point of preventive medicine was to offer us knowledge about mitigating risks and therefore more control of our lives?.Does any woman really not want this knowledge? Apparently so. It's some sort of attack to give a woman good health advice if you include any reference to swimming upriver and spawning within the advice:
i guess we're only worthy of good health if there's a chance we have a baby.No, it's because you can be perfectly healthy as an adult female but have a level of vitamin deficiency that would put you at an increased risk of having a complicated pregnancy or a baby with spina bifida or an even more severe defect. Pregnancy puts your body under extra stresses.
the guidelines for "pre-pregnancy" are actually really good, common-sense things that all women should do anyway: take supplements, don't smoke (oops), maintain a healthy weight, etc, etc. doing these things would reduce health care costs, if you're being practical, and help to create a nation of healthy people, if you're being idealistic.
so why do we have to tie good health guidelines to pregnancy? because apparently that's the only thing we're good for. having those babies.
Granted, an unexpected pregnancy may be a shock, but millions of women would vastly prefer a healthy unplanned pregnancy rather than an unhealthy one. There are cases in which a women does not greet such a discovery by joyously embracing the sacrament of abortion and chasing the demon blastocyst from her body, you know? Remember - it's about choice! Or, well, maybe not....
Hollywood Progressive (you know what's coming, don't you?) weighs in:
Good news Women-Citizens! Your Government is concerned about the health of your as-yet-to-be-conceived as we now move into the "life begins when a woman/incubator is of childbearing years" years with the concept of "Pre-Pregnancy"...Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a vast right-wing conspiracy originated by God or evolution, whichever you prefer. I reached my limit of astonishment at Classical Spin's take on the matter:
So if you see a healthy young woman without a child and she's drinking, smoking, doing drugs, not eating right, taking medications, mountain climbing, not wearing a helmet while riding her bike, dying her hair, or anything else that could cause harm to her or her pre-conceived child (eggs?) be sure to tell someone in authority!
I grant that some of the guidelines are just good ideas. Don't smoke, eat well, don't get fat, don't play with cat feces (uh, okay). But the reasoning here is completely idiotic. Do this so your precious little collection of stem-cells thrives as it incubates in you! Encourage that parasitical relationship!Yeeees, the pregnancy-as-parasite meme leaps to its feet and strikes at the blasphemous Beast of Bush as it slouches toward the lean, mean and pristine uterus of the Ur-Female in all of her Urrish Splendor.
What, by the way, is classical about spin?
Ilona of True Grit is showing clairvoyant tendencies, so I quote her for the second time today:
...we, as a culture, are encouraged to ignore the realities of the female body. Feminism has become more a force of suppression than of freedom of expression in this case. We can’t admit to our needs or weaknesses because of how that impacts the party line. And that is a great shame and loss for women. They can talk all they want about vaginas, but when it comes to the uterus…. they are suddenly at loss except to empty it.PS: If you want to get pregnant and are having difficulty, follow the recommendations in the article, drink lots of water, get enough sleep and take decongestants. But first follow the advice about supplements in the WaPo article for several months before taking those decongestants.
