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Senate rejects contraception bill
... which would limit access to contraception and other preventive heath care to 20M women because of "moral" objection. Vote was 51-48:
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who announced Tuesday she would retire at the end of the Senate term, was the only Republican to vote in favor of tabling the amendment.
Three Democrats voted with Republicans to table the amendment: Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Bob Casey (Pa.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.). Casey and Manchin are both up for reelection in 2012.
It would possibly limit more than contraception. There are so many things someone could claim a "moral" objection to:
Blood transfusions, vaccinations, HIV care, mental health care, and treatment of diseases secondary to so-called "sinful" lifestyles could all be at risk.
Now Obama won't have to use his veto pen on it.
Ben Nelson is retiring from the Senate. Even though both Casey (son of a former PA governor) and Manchin are up for re-election this fall, neither has much to worry about as far as being defeated is concerned.
I hate to even attempt to correct Misty, as her facts are always impeccable.! But I think those three voted with Republicans against tabling the amendment. One R (Snowe) voted with the Democrats to table it.
You are correct. Snowe voted with most Dems to table the amendment (which would have limited contraception among other items), and Dems Casey. Manchen, and Ben Nelson from Nebraska (not Bill Nelson from florida) voted to PASS the legislation. Since the bill failed, it will not go to the president's desk. Obama, as we know, had threatened to veto it had it passed.
Thanks for the correction, Suzi. This election season got me coming and going
This is very disheartening but I think things like this will "awake a sleeping giant" when women see how threatening such legislation is. Men AND women should be very afraid that an employer would have so much power over necessary health care services for you and your family, all they would have to do if something seems too expensive is say "I morally object." Shame on all the men-especially the 3 Democrats-who voted for this nonsense and greater shame on women like Collins and Murkowski who ought to know better! I really don't know how McConnell can keep those R's united even on crap like this but I wish the D's would be unified when it comes to voting down such garbage legislation! And the polls show people don't like the Blunt Amendment so the Democrats voted for this really baffles me!
Scary Stuff:
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THAT IS SO TRUE. BUT DON'T FORGET THAT SHE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE RELIGOUS AND STILL A CHRISTIAN AND CATHOLIC VIEW IS GOING TO AFFECT HER RIGHTS!! "MORAL" OBJECTION!! MAKES ME WANT TO LAUGH MY HEINY OFF!! LIKE THEIRS ARE THE ONLY MORALS WORTH UPHOLDING!!! HAHAHAHAH!!
WHAT A BUNCH OF MORONS!!! "MORALLY" OFFENSIVE!!! REALLY!!! HOW BACKWARDS OF THEM TO GO AND TRY TO REFUSE PUBLIC SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE, SUCH AS FOOD STAMPS, HOUSING ASSISTANCE, CASH ASSISTANCE, AND JOB OBTAINING ASSISTANCE, THAT BY LOGIC KEEPS POORER PEOPLE FED AND IN A PLACE TO LIVE, SOMETHING THAT HELPS PEOPLE!!! THEY'LL TRY TO RID OUR COUNTRY OF LIBERAL EDUCATION IN BOTH CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS!!! THEY'LL TAKE AWAY OUR FREEDOM ONE PIECE AT A TIME AND STILL BE SUCH HYPOCRITS TO THINK THAT WE BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE MORALS!!! THAT IS LAUGHABLE COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO PROBABLY KNOCKED UP A WOMAN OTHER THAN HIS WIFE AND THEN RAGGED AT HER FOR NOT BEING ON THE PILL,THEN PAYED HER TO 1: KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT ABOUT IT AND 2:TO GO GET AN ABORTION. JUST TO TURN AND PEDDLE HOW HE'S FOR "FAMILY" "VALUES" AND SOOO AGAINST BIRTH CONTROL AND ABORTION!!! OR EVEN MAYBE SLEPT WITH A MAN TO TURN AROUND AND BE AGAINST HOMO-SEXUAL MARRIAGES!!! WHAT!! MORALS!! REALLY!! I AM "MORALLY OFFENDED" THAT SUCH CREEPS ARE EVEN IN OFFICE. LOOK AT AFRICA AND INDIA YOU A**HOLES!! BOTH ARE OVER POPULATED PLACES FILLED WITH UNDEPRIVALEGED CHILDREN LIVING IN SQUALLER AND STARVING TO DEATH!! WHY? BECAUSE OF SOME D***S WHO WERE "MORALLY" OFFENDED BY THE IDEA OF BIRTH CONTROL!! BUT, THEY WERE ALSO IDIOTIC IN REFUSING TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF THOSE PLACES OVER RUN WITH POVERTY!! NOW YOU HAVE MILLIONS OF CHILDREN IN THOSE PLACES WHO AREN'T BEING PROPERLY FED!! CHILDREN WHO ARE BEING SOLD AS SLAVES BECAUSE THEIR FAMILIES CAN'T FEED THEM OR THEIR SIBLINGS. CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WHO ARE HOMELESS. ABANDONNED AND WAYWARD CHILDREN THAT BECOME EITHER FERAL, CRIMINAL OR PROSTITUTE!! WAKE UP PEOPLE THIS IS WHERE OUR COUNTRY IS HEADED!!!
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is supposed to be a RELIGOUSLY AND POLITICALY FREE COUNTRY!! I have said this in another post so people please forgive me but it bears repeating. CHRISTIANITY IS NOT THE ONLY RELLIGION IN THIS COUNTRY!!! Nor is it the only group of people that should be shown such respect as to always avoid offending their "moral beliefs". EVERY time laws to allow Homo-sexual marriages are made they never last long due to being overturned because it offended "CHRISTIAN MORALITY" which OUR goverment was supposedly founded on. WRONG!!! OUR COUNTRY was founded on FREEDOM!!! Freedom to live without persecution due to beliefs and lifestyles as long as those beliefs and lifestyles do not lead to breaking of laws such as murder, assault, rape, molestation, vandalism, forgery, theft etc... And to deny basic marital rights to Homo-sexual people is to deliberatly persecuit them due to a lifestyle that is only "moraly" wrong for SOME and does not break laws or hurt anyone. Also on a side note The Christian Bible speaks of FREEDOM for all people to CHOOSE!!! Meaning we do not all have to abide by some Christian moral nor the moral of Muslim, Islamic, Hindu, Jewish, Kabalasism, Scientology or any other religion!!! WE ARE IN AMERICA PEOPLE!!! A citizen who says they are Christian can commit every sin and break every law here in this country and at the end of the day still call themselves both a Christian and an American. A person can be gay or Lesbian and still call themselves Christian. And so on!! OUR freedom in this country says that we are free and that we can do as we please, but, if we get caught doing something bad and against the law we'll suffer the consequences!!! The FREEDOM of the CHRISTIAN religion is to CHOOSE whether or not to actually practice your religion or just say "your religous", be a complete hypocrite and not do anything the Bible talks about in fact you can do exactly opposite of what the Bible says and at the end of the week still go to a Christian church. Being honest I've been to several denominations of "CHRISTIAN" churches and in some of the most powerful people in them are the bigest sinners but yet they behave like they can still cry "moral fowl" when issues of Homo-sexuality, abortion etc... are discussed in anything but a negative tone. This country is so bacwards. We'll cry about the rights of a child rapist, a child murderer and a terrorist. We'll fight to see that their "rights" are upheld. If they are sentenced to death we ensure they get a last meal, a last request, and to make one final statement before dying. Yet as a country we allow an unborn child to be mangled with no care for their rights. I'm not saying abortion should be illegal. I'm only pointing out how backwards our laws are. Putting the shoe on the other foot. Some religious people would call a mother who has an abortion a murderer with no care of why she chose to do it then turn around and complain when a woman chooses birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies because it is religously offensive. Those people would gladly sit and watch while our population grows and our economy suffers then whine about how many homeless peolple there are and how many people need assistanc We sit and listen to how Catholic priests and bishops and male Christian preachers, ministers, coaches, counselors and so on.. molested underaged boys. We hear how a female Sunday school teacher molested and murdered a little girl. Then we jump to ban Homo-sexual marriages because it offends Catholisism and Christianity and do not care how it offends or discriminates against Homo-sexuals. We make a political stand due to what we are told is "religously" right and throw our country down the toilet because what is SUPPOSEDLY "religously" right turns out to be detrimental to our economy. Some Christians who act all high and mightier than thou hord their wealth and resources, spread lies and gossip, put down people in classes beneath them, maybe even abuse their spouses and children, yet they become ministers, preachers, doctors and even politicians because they could afford the schooling and we trust them simply because they claim themselves Christian. It seems most politicians pull out religion only when it suits them and in turn most religions pull out politics only when it suits them. It's a never ending cycle of excuses of denying the American people their rights and allowing religously powered politics to continue their horrible reign. I believe true Christianity is about UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE, RESPECT AND HUMANITY for EVERYONE. I believe to be truly a Christian person should have an open mind and open heart and should never judge anyone or think it their place to judge someone. Religion does not give anyone a right to try and control someone else through politics or any other means. Laws are what matters and we should not make our laws based on what religous leaders find acceptable or what they are willing to allow and abide. We should make our laws based on the FREEDOM this country was founded upon.
Actually a person's beliefs shouldn't allow them to disciminate. They should have to follow the laws of the country just like everyone else.
"Actually a person's beliefs shouldn't allow them to disciminate. They should have to follow the laws of the country just like everyone else."
I think most people of all political persuasions would agree with that statement. But the point is should the federal government be making laws that force religious groups to spend their money in a way that goes against their beliefs.
Do you believe Thomas Jefferson who wrote in 1777, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. " would be in favor of Obama's policy on contraception insurance coverage?
So, let's assumea gay man is employed by a Catholic hospital. This gay man has Erectile Disfunction. He goes to the doctor and the doctor prescribes Viagra for him. The gay man is now enabled to have sex with his partner.
I'm assuming that the Catholic church is perfectly fine with this scenario and believes that it is morally acceptable because I haven't heard about them having any issues with it.
I hope and pray you are correct, Kelly. A GOP victory in November would be a crushing defeat for those who would like to advance beyond the 19th century. It would also be a slap in the face to the Catholic bishops and, in my mind, a deserved one.
I don't think the Republicans get it yet. Pissing off 54% of the electorate is not the way to win friends (read:votes) and influence people. The furor over this issue will reverberate, I think, far beyond 2012.
It angers me but I was not shocked that the men in Congress-especially the ultra conservative men-voted for the Blunt Amendment. However, the big slap in the face was seeing women in Congress vote for this amendment. I've always thought our female representatives-no matter what party-would protect the issues close to women in this country. So it was a real disappointment to see Collins and Murkowski join the men in voting for this train-wreck of a bill. Well, it looks like Murkowski really faced a hurricane of anger from her female constituents and now she says she regrets her vote. Pretty powerful to see the strength of women in numbers in terms of a bill like this and the Rush Limbaugh uproar. We DO have a voice and women of all political stripes and backgrounds need to-collectively-be even more involved so our issues progress forward, not backwards.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has some misgivings about her recent vote for the Blunt amendment, a measure that would have allowed any employer to opt out of providing birth control or other health insurance coverage required by President Obama's health care law for moral reasons, reports the News Tribune.
"I have never had a vote I've taken where I have felt that I let down more people," she said.
I guess Murkowski forgot about the 2010 election, where she actually was defeated in the GOP primary, only to squeak by in a 3-way general race. Being the daughter of a former governor only gets you so much play in elections.
I wonder if she regrets now after the Rush fiasco? TPM Lifewire has quotes from her stating she was "stunned" by his incendiary comments, and disappointed that Congressional leadership (including GOP) didn't condemn them more.
She should've voted along with Olympia.