We don’t need no stinkin’ gag rule

I finally cleaned up my email in box after my stint offline, and discovered that NARAL has been bombarding me with email for a good cause — overturning the president’s global gag rule that limits money for women’s health care in other countries if he doesn’t like the providers. The problem? Some medical providers give women options like condoms.

That’s right, if a health care provider wants to offer women a full range of reproductive choices, then apparently, the way this administration thinks, we should not give them money. Instead we should give the money to someone who will give women fewer options. Or, even better, we can just not give anyone money for health care for poor women in other countries and instead use the money to invade countries and kill women and children.

Hmmmn… I wonder if I’m feeling a little cynical maybe. But, if you have a moment, they want you to write a letter to the editor. I would do it, but I just had one printed about living in one of Portland’s exclusion zones (see my last post). The Oregonian has reached the limit on letters, but there’s still our neighbor to the north, the Columbian.
One piece of good news about this: for a change, Senator Gordon Smith is voting based on what Oregon wants instead of what his political party expects. When the Senate voted in September, on a bill to end the gag rule Senator Smith voted to lift the gag rule. This is now on the list of things that we’re going to see can override a presidential veto.

So, what are you waiting for? Write a letter and tell Congress, “we don’t need no stinkin’ gag rule.”