I just made my first citizen's lobbyist appointment with a CT assembly rep!!!

[lindysalsagal]

Sooo Cooool!!!

I won't discuss the politician, although he has lots of great bills he's proposed.

I'm working with Amanda Kneif from American Atheists to sponsor a bill called "The Patient's Right To Know Act."

Basically, it forces doctors and other health care providers to disclose in writing when they're denying information or treatments to patients because of the healthcare worker's religion. That's right: Not the patient's religion, the doctor's religion.

In other words, like the nutjob in kentucky who decided she wouldn't write marriage licenses for gay couples, healthcare providers cannot limit your access because of their religion: I.E.: contraception, tubal ligation, finishing miscarriages , ending ectopic pregnancies, or any procedure that renders the patient infertile, including men!

1 in 6 hospital beds in america is now catholic, and they have lots of procedures they won't do, and won't even tell you exist. And there is no law punishing them for witholding information or care.

It's hobby lobby, only you could bleed out and die. Or, die of an infection: sepsis. Or, they'd rather you keep your cancer tumor near your reproductive organs so that you stay fertile a little longer....until it kills you! Even 70 year old men! Hey- you never know! He might impregnate someone next year!

The ACLU is all over this issue, and there are lawsuits starting. Now, I'm going to try to get it passed in CT! If we get it, hopefully the national media will run with it as the push-back to the other states that are deliberately reducing access to healthcare.

Woo Hooo! I'm gonna get my say! This is the 21st effing century, and no ancient dead pope is gonna tell me what my healthcare should be!!!

Here's an ACLU article. Long but eye-opening!
https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/healthcaredenied.pdf

[mopinko]

1. even tho i am long past the age where the catholic church is interested

in my uterus, i despise catholic hospitals. my nearest is catholic, and for that reason i would never call 911, cuz that is where they would take me.

my main provider is contemplating a merger w a catholic system, and i am beyond pissed off about this.

[lindysalsagal]

2. This is a very serious problem. Add to it the fact that these religious

hospitals take in billions of taxpayer dollars, and yet, they still think they can play god.

I heard a story of a woman who discovered that her pregnancy was putting her at risk. She decided to take the chance and continue it and have her tubes tied while open for the section.

She had an emergency, and they took her to the wrong hospital, where they closed her knowing she wanted her tubes tied for her own survival, and they didn't!

So, then, she's still at risk of getting pregnant, which might kill her, and she has to have another surgery to get the tubes tied.

It's not about "life," it's about control. Period.

Mergerwatch is detailing the access people are losing to catholic mergers. www.mergerwatch.org

[mopinko]

3. and honestly, i am not beyond them messing w me.

my children have had it drilled into their heads that i do not want any heroic measure when my time comes, or small measures, either. once my mind goes, they have orders to treat absolutely nothing that might arise, even treatable infections.

but if i end up having a stroke or heart attack, and end up at that hospital, my kids might have to fight to pull my plug.
my ex had to do that after his father had a massive heart attack but was somehow resuscitated. he had to wait for the hospital committee of some sort to pull the plug. it was one veeeeerrrrrryyy long week.
this wasnt even a catholic hospital. they would be happy to make any of us the next terry schaivo.

[lindysalsagal]

4. Yup. My group is also lobbying for death with dignity for all of those reasons.

They kept my aunt alive for weeks for nothing.

I already have a cousin who's a nurse who's the designated plug-puller for my mother. Every time I see her, I tell her, "I'm not gonna argue!"

When I get older, I'll find someone for me so it doesn't have to be my daughter.

No reason why someone else's religion should have any impact on these decisions in my life. No way!