Category Archives: Ethics

Texas Loses Entire Women’s Health Program Over Planned Parenthood Law

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Texas Loses Entire Women’s Health Program Over Planned Parenthood Law.

Rick Perry Womens Health

The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday that it will cut off all Medicaid funding for family planning to the state of Texas, following Gov. Rick Perry‘s (R) decision to implement a new law that excludes Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid Women’s Health Program.

Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMSO), wrote Texas health officials a letter on Thursday explaining that the state broke federal Medicaid rules by discriminating against qualified family planning providers and thus would be losing the entire program, which provides cancer screenings, contraceptives and basic health care to 130,000 low-income women each year.

“We very much regret the state’s decision to implement this rule, which will prevent women enrolled in the program from receiving services from the trusted health care providers they have chosen and relied upon for their care,” she wrote. “In light of Texas’ actions, CMS is not in a position to extend or renew the current [Medicaid contract].”

The federal government pays for nearly 90 percent of Texas’ $40 million Women’s Health Program, and nearly half of the program’s providers in Texas are Planned Parenthood clinics. But the new law that went into effect earlier this month disqualified Planned Parenthood from participating in the program because some of its clinics provide abortions, even though no state or federal money can be used to pay for those abortions.

According to Medicaid law, Mann said, a state cannot restrict women’s ability to choose a provider simply because that provider offers separate services — in this case, abortion — that aren’t even paid for by the Medicaid program.

Perry wrote a letter to President Obama earlier this month accusing his administration of “mandating which health providers the state of Texas must use” in order to “continue to support abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.” He vowed to continue the Women’s Health Program in Texas without Planned Parenthood and without federal money, although he has yet to outline how his state will come up with money.

But an HHS spokesperson told reporters on Thursday that this was not Obama’s decision and that the administration’s hands are tied on the issue. “Medicaid law is very clear; a state may not restrict patients’ choice of providers of services like mammograms and other cancer screenings, if those providers are qualified to deliver care covered by Medicaid. Patients, not state government officials, should be able to choose the doctors and other health care providers that are best for them and their families. In 2005, Texas requested this same authority to restrict patients’ choices, and the Bush Administration did not grant it to them either.”

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Time running out for Korean ‘comfort women’ – CNN.com

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Time running out for Korean ‘comfort women’ – CNN.com.

Waiting more than 60 years for an official apology has taken its toll on Kim Bok-dong.

The 87-year old says she is tired and her health is failing but she continues to fight for recognition from the Japanese government for being used as a sex slave by their military during World War II.

There were believed to be around 200,000 so-called “comfort women,” mostly Korean. Many have since passed away, but those still alive want individual compensation for their treatment.

“When I started, the Japanese military would often beat me because I wasn’t submissive,” Kim says.

‘Comfort women’ mark 1,000th rally

“Every Sunday, soldiers came to the brothel from 8am until 5pm, on Saturday from noon until 5pm, plus weekdays. It was very hard to handle. I couldn’t stand at the end of the weekend. Since I had to deal with too many soldiers, I was physically broken.”

Kim has tears in her eyes as she talks of her ordeal — an ordeal that lasted every single day for eight years.

Kim describes being moved around half a dozen Asian countries from the age of 14. “I was born as a woman but have never had a woman’s life. I was dragged to the foreign army’s battles, and my entire life was ruined.”

Remembering China’s ‘comfort women’

Kim’s first marriage broke down when she couldn’t have children, which she assumes due to her mistreatment. When her second husband and her mother died, she had to work in the fields to earn a living.

Kim is part of an NGO called the “Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan,” which is fighting for an apology.

A weekly protest has been held outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul for the past 20 years. The embassy keeps its blinds shut during the protests and does not comment.

Some Japanese prime ministers have personally apologized in the past, but the NGO director believes that it’s not nearly enough.

“Anyone can verbally apologize. But this is not an issue that can be resolved by saying sorry,” says Yoon Mee-Hyang. “This is a crime that was institutionalized by a country, they forced women into sexual slavery over a long period of time. They need to adopt a resolution at the official level and we need to see legal reparations.”

Yoon is planning to travel to Japan to meet with government officials. Tokyo maintains its legal liability for the wrongdoing was cleared by a bilateral claims treaty signed in 1965 between the two countries.

The South Korean government has stepped up diplomatic pressure recently, but only after a Korean court ruled in August that it was unconstitutional for the government not to help. Attempts by President Lee Myung-bak to discuss the issue with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda have so far yielded no results.

The issue of comfort women continues to haunt relations between the two countries. But for the few comfort women still alive — only 63 are now registered in South Korea — it’s an urgent issue that they can’t afford to wait for.

There are a couple of videos at the link.  I can’t place them on the post. 

 

Tell General Motors: Stop Funding Climate Change Denial – The Petition Site

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Tell General Motors: Stop Funding Climate Change Denial – The Petition Site.

Recently leaked documents reveal that General Motors is funding the Heartland Institute, a major climate change-denying “think tank.” GM has been bailed out by American taxpayers, and the company says it wants to “proactively address the concerns posed by climate change.” So it’s outrageous to learn that our tax dollars are ending up in the hands of a group like Heartland.

The leaked documents also reveal Heartland’s intention to affect public education by positioning climate change as “a major scientific controversy.” This is business as usual for a group that made its name denying the links between second-hand smoke and cancer.

GM listens to its customers. So if you own a GM car or have ever thought of buying one, please sign this petition today to ask GM to immediately pull all funding from the Heartland Institute.