Last Call for Comments on Fucking Evil HHS Rule
I've written about this six times before.
The comment period for the proposed Health and Human Services rule closes on the 25th, so if you haven't written in yet, you need to do so now. No, I don't give a fuck how tired of politics you are. It's an email. It won't break your legs or render you impotent.
Here's how to do it, taken directly from the proposal itself:
Electronically. You may submit electronic comments on this regulation to http://www.Regulations.gov or via e-mail to consciencecomment@hhs.gov. To submit electronic comments to www.Regulations.gov, go to the Web site and click on the link “Comment or Submission” and enter the keywords “provider conscience”. (Attachments should be in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or Excel; however, we prefer Microsoft Word.)
By regular mail. You may mail written comments (one original and two copies) to the following address only: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Brenda Destro, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 728E, Washington, DC, 20201.
By express or overnight mail. You may send written comments (one original and two copies) to the following address only: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Brenda Destro, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 728E, Washington, DC, 20201.
By hand or courier. If you prefer, you may deliver (by hand or courier) your written comments (one original and two copies) before the close of the comment period to the following address: Room 728E, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201. (Because access to the interior of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building is not readily available to persons without Federal Government Identification, commenters are encouraged to leave their comments in the mail drop slots located in the main lobby of the building. A stamp-in clock is available for persons wishing to retain proof of filing by stamping in and retaining and extra copy of the documents being filed.)
Submitting Comments: We welcome comments from the public on all issues set forth in this proposed rule to assist us in fully considering issues and developing policies. For all comments submitted, you should specify the subject as “Provider Conscience Regulation”.
Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the close of the comment period are available for viewing by the public, including any personally identifiable or confidential business information that is included in a comment. We post all comments received before the close of the comment period on the following Web site as soon as possible after they have been received: http://www.Regulations.gov. Click on the link “Comment or Submission” on that Web site to view public comments.
Why should you bother?
From Planned Parenthood, an adequate summary:
The proposed regulation jeopardizes a patient’s right to know her options. This rule would completely disrupt the nation’s health care delivery system at a time when more and more families are uninsured and under economic assault. Here’s why:
• The HHS proposed regulation is intentionally vague. By leaving the term “abortion” undefined, the regulation creates a dangerous space for ideology and political views to be inserted into medical practices, emergency rooms, and clinics all across the country, and when that happens, women suffer.
• The proposed regulation complicates the law instead of clarifying the law. The new regulation lets health care providers define abortion, which could threaten broader reproductive health care, including contraception.
• The fact that HHS took out the definition of abortion that was included in an earlier draft is a red herring because this proposed regulation - even more than the previous leaked version - leaves health care services and information open to personal interpretation and political agendas.
• This rule will allow anti-choice extremists to receive federal funds for so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" - anti-choice facilities whose purpose is to deceive and dissuade women from accessing birth control and abortion information and services.
There you have it.
Don't know what to say? Go to the entries linked at the top of this one and peruse them; there are lots of good letters in the comments. Feel free to take inspiration from those.
Feel free to link to this, copy from it, whatever. Get the word out.
And, for the record, I am not interested in debating any aspect of this in any way, shape, or form. If you want to play devil's advocate, vomit your anti-choice rhetoric, or simply sling shit, go do it in your own journal. That's what it's for. This isn't the place for it.
Edit: Probably the best letter I've seen yet. Made me laugh, anyway.
The comment period for the proposed Health and Human Services rule closes on the 25th, so if you haven't written in yet, you need to do so now. No, I don't give a fuck how tired of politics you are. It's an email. It won't break your legs or render you impotent.
Here's how to do it, taken directly from the proposal itself:
Electronically. You may submit electronic comments on this regulation to http://www.Regulations.gov or via e-mail to consciencecomment@hhs.gov. To submit electronic comments to www.Regulations.gov, go to the Web site and click on the link “Comment or Submission” and enter the keywords “provider conscience”. (Attachments should be in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or Excel; however, we prefer Microsoft Word.)
By regular mail. You may mail written comments (one original and two copies) to the following address only: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Brenda Destro, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 728E, Washington, DC, 20201.
By express or overnight mail. You may send written comments (one original and two copies) to the following address only: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Brenda Destro, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 728E, Washington, DC, 20201.
By hand or courier. If you prefer, you may deliver (by hand or courier) your written comments (one original and two copies) before the close of the comment period to the following address: Room 728E, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201. (Because access to the interior of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building is not readily available to persons without Federal Government Identification, commenters are encouraged to leave their comments in the mail drop slots located in the main lobby of the building. A stamp-in clock is available for persons wishing to retain proof of filing by stamping in and retaining and extra copy of the documents being filed.)
Submitting Comments: We welcome comments from the public on all issues set forth in this proposed rule to assist us in fully considering issues and developing policies. For all comments submitted, you should specify the subject as “Provider Conscience Regulation”.
Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the close of the comment period are available for viewing by the public, including any personally identifiable or confidential business information that is included in a comment. We post all comments received before the close of the comment period on the following Web site as soon as possible after they have been received: http://www.Regulations.gov. Click on the link “Comment or Submission” on that Web site to view public comments.
Why should you bother?
From Planned Parenthood, an adequate summary:
The proposed regulation jeopardizes a patient’s right to know her options. This rule would completely disrupt the nation’s health care delivery system at a time when more and more families are uninsured and under economic assault. Here’s why:
• The HHS proposed regulation is intentionally vague. By leaving the term “abortion” undefined, the regulation creates a dangerous space for ideology and political views to be inserted into medical practices, emergency rooms, and clinics all across the country, and when that happens, women suffer.
• The proposed regulation complicates the law instead of clarifying the law. The new regulation lets health care providers define abortion, which could threaten broader reproductive health care, including contraception.
• The fact that HHS took out the definition of abortion that was included in an earlier draft is a red herring because this proposed regulation - even more than the previous leaked version - leaves health care services and information open to personal interpretation and political agendas.
• This rule will allow anti-choice extremists to receive federal funds for so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" - anti-choice facilities whose purpose is to deceive and dissuade women from accessing birth control and abortion information and services.
There you have it.
Don't know what to say? Go to the entries linked at the top of this one and peruse them; there are lots of good letters in the comments. Feel free to take inspiration from those.
Feel free to link to this, copy from it, whatever. Get the word out.
And, for the record, I am not interested in debating any aspect of this in any way, shape, or form. If you want to play devil's advocate, vomit your anti-choice rhetoric, or simply sling shit, go do it in your own journal. That's what it's for. This isn't the place for it.
Edit: Probably the best letter I've seen yet. Made me laugh, anyway.