Has the national debate about abortion changed? Is there a middle ground between the two sides that have been polarized for years? Sarah Stoesz, CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, will answer questions about that today here on BodyTalk.  She and other groups in South Dakota defeated two proposed laws in South Dakota that would have outlawed abortion in almost all cases. Now, much of what they learned about voters attitudes in South Dakota is reflected in a new, and, some would say, less divisive debate nationally.

In 2006 and 2008 their coalition, The Campaign for Healthy Families, adopted a campaign strategy that appealed to voters who were ambivalent about the decision to end a pregnancy. Most South Dakotans say they are anti-abortion, but the campaign convinced a majority of voters that banning abortion altogether could have unforeseen consequences on families. You can read about it here. .

Do you have ideas on how to resolve the political debate about abortion? Is there room to compromise? What messages do you think the public wants to hear on this? Post your questions here and Sarah Stoesz will answer as many of them as she can on Monday.

Sarah Stoesz, CEO, Planned Parenthood

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota

Some readers have raised some questions about the proposed federal rule that would redefine abortion, and which could override a state law that requires hospitals to offer rape victims emergency contraception.

Here is some clarity: The rule has not been officially made public, but a draft was leaked to the New York Times two weeks ago. The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which manages federal health care dollars, has declined to respond to questions about it from reporters, including this one. The agency will not say who proposed the changes or why.

If enacted, the rule would not forbid Minnesota hospitals from providing emergency contraception, also known as Plan B. But a hospital or hospital employee could refuse to do so for moral or religious reasons. Hospitals and clinics that require employees to put patient care above their beliefs would be denied federal money from Medicare or Medicaid, or Title 10 funds, which pay for family planning services to low income women.

Doctors offices and family planning clinics like Planned Parenthood would have to accept as employees anyone who believed providing birth control was tantamount to an abortion. They, too, would risk losing federal reimbursements if they “discriminated” against employees on the basis of their moral and religious beliefs.

The process to make this rule official is not clear. HHS said that there is not timetable. But it would work something like this: HHS would publish a proposed rule — which could be the same or be different than the draft version — in the Federal Register, a federal publication. The agency would invite comments from the public and interested parties. After 30 days HHS or President Bush would convene a panel to consider it.  HHS could then implement a new rule — or not.

To read more about it you can go here, here and here. For the original New York Times piece, go here.

A staffer at the University of St. Thomas sent over this list of names gleaned from yesterday’s posts on BodyTalk about the flap at the law school. For those who haven’t read it, the story was about the law school dean’s decision not to allow a student to volunteer at Planned Parenthood for her public service requirement.

It inspired quite a discussion, not all of it complimentary, and some of the best creative name calling I’ve seen since Lenny Bruce.

• Ignorant
• Bleeding heart
• STFU (I had to get some help with this one.)
• Gullible
• Whacked out
• Fascist
• Nazi
• Swastika-wearing, KKK, gun-toting, fascist
• Inbred
• ACLU wannabe
• Waterhead
• Leftist pinko
• Racist
• White trash
• Anarchist piece of filth
• Crackhead liberal
• Welfare boy
• Worthless troll
• Hippocrates (not sure about that one.)
• Whack job
• Nazi mick pothead
• Sick, twisted fruit cakes
• Worthless scums
• Liberal trash
• Leftist law student
• One of the oozes that survived
• Pinko Liberals
• Intolerant hypocrites
• Ultra-liberals
• Bimbo
• Hitlery Clinton
• Libtards
• Bible-banging zealots
• Low life
• Dickhead
• Right-wing fascists
• Liberal pinkoes
• tarABORTon
• Raping liberal God hating scumbag

   

  The exercise of free speech is not always pretty.

Someone pointed out, correctly, that the photo on top of the post is of the St. Thomas St. Paul campus and the law school is in Minneapolis. Noted. The correct building is pictured here.

University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis

Roger said in his post that “the media is liberal and the Strib is actively liberal. This article is more of the variety of ‘See look at this. Can you believe they think this way?’ Its a hit job.”

I wrote the story on the blog because the situation had clearly incited controversy among the students, yet another in a series of controversies at St. Thomas that have all made headlines. It wasn’t a hit job, it was inherently interesting. Clearly, I’m not the only one who thought so.

Maybe now I’ll move onto something less inherently interesting like vitamins.

University of St. Thomas St. Paul campus

Tara Borton, a first year law student at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, thought Planned Parenthood was a fine place to fulfill the public service requirement for graduation. She was set to start there on May 12.

But then she ran smack into abortion politics and Catholic doctrine. She’s also ignited a bit of firestorm at St. Thomas.

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