Blocking Care for Women

I received a link to this article recently, and regardless of what side of the fence you sit on regarding abortion, this is serious business.  Once again, the Bush Administration has decided to use legislation to force religious politics on the People.

LAST month, the Bush administration launched the latest salvo in its eight-year campaign to undermine women’s rights and women’s health by placing ideology ahead of science: a proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that would govern family planning. It would require that any health care entity that receives federal financing — whether it’s a physician in private practice, a hospital or a state government — certify in writing that none of its employees are required to assist in any way with medical services they find objectionable.

Laws that have been on the books for some 30 years already allow doctors to refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further, ensuring that all employees and volunteers for health care entities can refuse to aid in providing any treatment they object to, which could include not only abortion and sterilization but also contraception.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Republicans and Democrats alike should be angry.  This is not about pro-life/pro-choice, this is about taking medical responsibility and replacing it with personal bias.

Bush Officials Condoned Regional Iraqi Oil Deal

And the plot thickens.  Check out this article by Steven Mufson from the Washington Post:

Contract Contradicted State Dept.’s Public Stance

Bush administration officials told Hunt Oil last summer that they did not object to its efforts to reach an oil deal with the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, even while the State Department was publicly expressing concern that such contracts could undermine a national Iraqi petroleum law, according to documents obtained by a House committee.

Last fall, after the deal was announced, the State Department said that it had tried to dissuade Hunt Oil from signing the contract with Kurdish regional authorities but that the company had proceeded “regardless of our advice.” Although Hunt Oil’s chief executive has been a major fundraiser for President Bush, the president said he knew nothing about the deal.

Read the full article:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203322_pf.html

I guess oil is thicker than blood these days.