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News & ArtsMonday, January 30, 2012
Politics / Sex / The Ladies Virginia State Senator Janet Howell is an American Hero
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 5:18 PM
I'm in love with this woman:
Irked by abortion bill, Va. senator adds rectal exams for men
The state Senate this afternoon gave preliminary approval for legislation that would require pregnant women to undergo ultrasound imaging before an abortion, but not before rejecting a Democratic senator’s attempt to add what she described as “ a little gender equity” to the bill. Democrat Janet Howell of Fairfax County proposed requiring men to undergo a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before getting prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra. “This is a matter of basic fairness,” Howell said.... “It’s requiring [women] to have unnecessary medical procedures, it’s adding to the cost and it’s opening them up for emotional blackmail,” she said on the Senate floor today. “And I was upset because it’s disrespectful of doctors. It’s forcing them to perform procedures they don’t think is necessary.”
She said she was watching television in her hotel room that evening and saw an ad for an erectile dysfunction drug that included a recitation of “all the serious things that could happen to a man who was going to take this medication.... So, I said, it’s only fair, that if we’re going to subject women to unnecessary procedures, and we’re going to subject doctors to having to do things that they don’t think is medically advisory, well, Mr. President, I think we should just have a little gender equity here,” Howell said, explaining her amendment.
Send her an email, tell her she's awesome: SenHowell@gmail.com. (And, no, I haven't looked into her positions on other issues because, at least for right now, I don't want to know.)
3
...And if you have an erection for more than 4 hours, call your congressperson.
I don't generally high-5, but I would high-5 Senator Howell.
I don't generally high-5, but I would high-5 Senator Howell.
4
Am I the only one that thinks that getting fingered is a bonus?
This plan will backfire. Too many closeted homos in that State for this to work...
This plan will backfire. Too many closeted homos in that State for this to work...
5
@4
I've been reading Savage Love long enough to know that you don't have to be gay to enjoy a little digital stimulation.
I've been reading Savage Love long enough to know that you don't have to be gay to enjoy a little digital stimulation.
6
it is important to hide from women the truth
about their babies,
otherwise they may be reluctant to slaughter them.
a high baby slaughter rate
is one of the components of a skip-along to Gommorah,
after all.....
about their babies,
otherwise they may be reluctant to slaughter them.
a high baby slaughter rate
is one of the components of a skip-along to Gommorah,
after all.....
7
Slaughter is what you do to an animal you're about to eat. You like to eat fetuses, RedRum? I guess it might bear a passing resemblance to veal...
9
I sent her an email, and got this response:
"Thanks, Jaye! I was frankly fed up and wanted to use ridicule to express it."
which is just about perfect.
"Thanks, Jaye! I was frankly fed up and wanted to use ridicule to express it."
which is just about perfect.
10
@8..no..no it's much more like chicken..young chicken..like cornish game hens.. but yeah..they're like chicken.
13
Yipee! I love hearing a good story out of Virginia every once in a while. Although I'm not in her district I live close by. The state as a whole is still very backwards but here in Northern Virginia we tend to be a bit more open minded. I checked her website, and I promise you Dan she is on record as pretty liberal on many issues. She even has a whole page describing her stands on many LGTB issues. http://www.janethowell.com/
14
Danny,
like most infertile people,
is very sensitive about abortion.
He and Terry have tried for years to get pregnant.
Alas. Every day or so he has a tragic smelly brown miscarriage.
(sometimes green.)
The 'baby' looks just like Danny. every time.
He weeps bitterly.
Terry covers his face.
It would break your heart.....
he and Terry finally adopted.....
like most infertile people,
is very sensitive about abortion.
He and Terry have tried for years to get pregnant.
Alas. Every day or so he has a tragic smelly brown miscarriage.
(sometimes green.)
The 'baby' looks just like Danny. every time.
He weeps bitterly.
Terry covers his face.
It would break your heart.....
he and Terry finally adopted.....
15
That reminds me of something Golda Meir did. When there was an epidemic of rapes in Israel, someone in the cabinet suggested that women be put under curfew until the rapist(s) were caught. Meir said "Men are committing the rapes, let them be put under curfew!"
Fucking brilliant!
Fucking brilliant!
18
@ 13/tofudog, I live in Howell's district, just 20 min outside DC. Yay, another NoVA Slogger. I am not alone. ;)
Though I moved from a fairly liberal town in upstate NY to be here - & I miss it liek woah - this cheered me up immensely. You bet Senator Howell is getting a <3 note from me.
Though I moved from a fairly liberal town in upstate NY to be here - & I miss it liek woah - this cheered me up immensely. You bet Senator Howell is getting a <3 note from me.
19
Sad. Despite it's terrible policy on punctuation, there is a lot that the world can learn from Wikipedia. One rule, "Don't disrupt Wikipedia to prove a point," would apply here.
That being said, in a time of skyrocketing medical costs, imposing medically unnecessary tests on people for political reasons is just stupid. How about some good old fashioned, conservative thrift?
That being said, in a time of skyrocketing medical costs, imposing medically unnecessary tests on people for political reasons is just stupid. How about some good old fashioned, conservative thrift?
20
15
That reminds me of something somebody didn't do.
A million babies are killed a year because stupid lazy selfish sacks of shit can't manage to quit impregnating and getting pregnant.
"There's a Baybeeee in me and I don't want it there....Kill It!"
A Million Babies!
Somebody didn't say "Why are we killing the babies?
They didn't do anything wrong.
Let's kill the stupid lazy selfish sacks of shit can't manage to quit impregnating and getting pregnant!"
Fucking brilliant!
That reminds me of something somebody didn't do.
A million babies are killed a year because stupid lazy selfish sacks of shit can't manage to quit impregnating and getting pregnant.
"There's a Baybeeee in me and I don't want it there....Kill It!"
A Million Babies!
Somebody didn't say "Why are we killing the babies?
They didn't do anything wrong.
Let's kill the stupid lazy selfish sacks of shit can't manage to quit impregnating and getting pregnant!"
Fucking brilliant!
21
Yeah, somebody's got to tell those pretty little fools there's a fetus in there. Because the morning sickness, weight gain, cessation of periods, and blue lines on the pregnancy test didn't tip them off. If it weren't for geniuses like you, RedRum, women would just be lying around in lovely little puddles, batting our eyelashes at passers-by in hopes that someone might take us in out of the rain and maybe give us a salad.
22
@20: You'll never get anywhere so long as you insist that an embryo is a baby. Science is all fine and dandy, I guess, until it conflicts with your opinions.
23
22
Really?
Let's see....
Definition of BABY
1
a (1) : an extremely young child; especially : infant (2) : an extremely young animal
b : the youngest of a group
2
a : one that is like a baby (as in behavior)
b : something that is one's special responsibility, achievement, or interest
OK now......
"extremely young".... well, just a few hours old is certainly "extremely young"....
"the youngest of a group"; the newly conceived are certainly the youngest of the group, for sure.
"something that is one's special responsibility..." All moral people recognize the special responsibility a mother and father have toward their newly conceived offspring.
All moral people. for sure.
Sorry, Junior- 'baby' is a very apt term for the product of conception.
Really?
Let's see....
Definition of BABY
1
a (1) : an extremely young child; especially : infant (2) : an extremely young animal
b : the youngest of a group
2
a : one that is like a baby (as in behavior)
b : something that is one's special responsibility, achievement, or interest
OK now......
"extremely young".... well, just a few hours old is certainly "extremely young"....
"the youngest of a group"; the newly conceived are certainly the youngest of the group, for sure.
"something that is one's special responsibility..." All moral people recognize the special responsibility a mother and father have toward their newly conceived offspring.
All moral people. for sure.
Sorry, Junior- 'baby' is a very apt term for the product of conception.
24
23,"...just a few hours old is certainly "extremely young"
I believe the word you're looking for is embryo. An embryo can be frozen and thawed, and still be viable to later be implanted in a uterus. (Many viable frozen embryos are discarded everyday because the parents successfully had the children they wanted, and they no longer want to pay to store the extras.) Try freezing an actual baby.
I believe the word you're looking for is embryo. An embryo can be frozen and thawed, and still be viable to later be implanted in a uterus. (Many viable frozen embryos are discarded everyday because the parents successfully had the children they wanted, and they no longer want to pay to store the extras.) Try freezing an actual baby.
25
24
Oh Bob-
you faithless pissimistic humanist...
we can't freeze adults and thaw them either; yet.
Who knows what tomorrow brings?
And a few decades ago we could not freeze the newly conceived.
The ability to freeze and thaw is a function of the technology;
not the viability of the living organism.
Oh Bob-
you faithless pissimistic humanist...
we can't freeze adults and thaw them either; yet.
Who knows what tomorrow brings?
And a few decades ago we could not freeze the newly conceived.
The ability to freeze and thaw is a function of the technology;
not the viability of the living organism.
26
21
When women see their baby in an ultrasound they are less likely to kill it.
There is something about the delicate little fingers and beating heart touches the heart of human mothers.
At least the ones who have a heart.....
And the foundation of the baby genocide business is the lie that the newly conceived are not human life.
It is easier to slaughter what you dehumanize.
Just ask the Nazis.
Pretty little fools?
Hardly.
Try vicious heartless killers......
When women see their baby in an ultrasound they are less likely to kill it.
There is something about the delicate little fingers and beating heart touches the heart of human mothers.
At least the ones who have a heart.....
And the foundation of the baby genocide business is the lie that the newly conceived are not human life.
It is easier to slaughter what you dehumanize.
Just ask the Nazis.
Pretty little fools?
Hardly.
Try vicious heartless killers......
27
@13, @18, isn't it great when one of our state lawmakers makes us proud? I'm just outside Howell's district too, btw, so who knows how many NoVA Sloggers are in our midst.
28
25, Freezing a baby or an adult would cause too much damage to the tissues. It won't happen, but for the sake of argument, say it could. Why don't you rail against in vitro fertilization, and the discarding of excess frozen embryos? Should we ban fertility alternatives? Should we force the woman to carry the dozen or so of embryos to term?
29
Unregistered user de jour that makes all the other unregistered users like me look bad:
Don't you have anything BETTER to do with your time? Like, you know, a JOB or something?
Or is your cock just throbbing for Dan Savage, and you can't concentrate until you get enough jabs in to get yourself off?
Don't you have anything BETTER to do with your time? Like, you know, a JOB or something?
Or is your cock just throbbing for Dan Savage, and you can't concentrate until you get enough jabs in to get yourself off?
31
Hey, Fifty-Two-Eighty, do you think you can work a little of your troll-magic here, as it's beginning to get out of hand?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
32
I don't think so. They won't bother him as long as he stays unregistered. Just turn unregistered comments off like everyone else does.
34
Alas, the amendment didn't pass but she's up for re-election and she's an ally. http://www.janethowell.com/content/equal…
35
I'm pro life. Lots of women are. We don't hate ourselves or sex. We dislike prioritizing one's personal desires over all ethical behavior. Personally i am ethically, consistently opposed to many reproductive technologies, including the way that in vitro fertilization actually occurs. I'm not opposed to birth control methods that prevent implantation rather than conception. In a civil society we should be able to at the least discuss the differences politely, without blanket accusations and random shouts of hypocrite! As though hypocrisy were the greatest of all flaws. I'll admit, embryos aren't babies if you'll admit that embryos aren't tumors. Many women believe because they are told so by scientists / doctors that an early gestation embryo is little more than a clump of cells. I am an educated an independent woman. I know I was surprised to see and hear my sons' heartbeats at 8 weeks gestation. Good for this politician for framing this debate openly and it appears civilly. I would hope the commentators could do the same.
36
@33, except you've already been defeated, of course.
Embryos, babies, sperm cells, what's the difference? You've killed more babies than Hitler ever killed Jews already... Why worry about a few hundred thousand, when your personal slaughter bill runs in the billions by now...?
Embryos, babies, sperm cells, what's the difference? You've killed more babies than Hitler ever killed Jews already... Why worry about a few hundred thousand, when your personal slaughter bill runs in the billions by now...?
40
GUYS don't feed the troll.
redrum/anon/whateverthefuck is not sincere in his arguments; if he were, he's wouldn't bother trolling online comment boards of liberal sex columnists, he'd be too busy doing something constructive to stop the massacre he allegedly believes is taking place.
Arguing against him is just giving him the intellectual handjob he really wants.
redrum/anon/whateverthefuck is not sincere in his arguments; if he were, he's wouldn't bother trolling online comment boards of liberal sex columnists, he'd be too busy doing something constructive to stop the massacre he allegedly believes is taking place.
Arguing against him is just giving him the intellectual handjob he really wants.
42
32
ah come on gramps
if you pucker up and plant a big one on Danny's ass can't you get him to delete the troll's unregistered account?
.
(@31 you are a pathetic worm beneath The Troll's contempt.
What exactly is getting Out of Hand! ?
The Truth?
It's raining all around you and you are salt, melting away....
Don't Fear The Truth.
Don't Delete The Truth, you pathetic pussy.
The Truth will set you Free......
ah come on gramps
if you pucker up and plant a big one on Danny's ass can't you get him to delete the troll's unregistered account?
.
(@31 you are a pathetic worm beneath The Troll's contempt.
What exactly is getting Out of Hand! ?
The Truth?
It's raining all around you and you are salt, melting away....
Don't Fear The Truth.
Don't Delete The Truth, you pathetic pussy.
The Truth will set you Free......
44
@35 Beezus,
I'm pro-life as well, but I'm not anti-choice either. I want all pregnancies to go to term with healthy babies, wanted and loved by their parents. In my perfect world everyone would have access to birth control, and use it flawlessly. But of course, it isn't a perfect world since humans are imperfect beings with imperfect bodies.
I know intimately the awe of hearing a heartbeat at ~8 weeks, from 2 children. I would hope that every parent would know that thrill, but I understand that for other people that isn't the case. Or worse, it is the case but nature creates situations that make birth impossible, like miscarriage.
Sometimes abortion is the least worst option. It isn't something that is wanted, as much as something that is needed.
Peace.
I'm pro-life as well, but I'm not anti-choice either. I want all pregnancies to go to term with healthy babies, wanted and loved by their parents. In my perfect world everyone would have access to birth control, and use it flawlessly. But of course, it isn't a perfect world since humans are imperfect beings with imperfect bodies.
I know intimately the awe of hearing a heartbeat at ~8 weeks, from 2 children. I would hope that every parent would know that thrill, but I understand that for other people that isn't the case. Or worse, it is the case but nature creates situations that make birth impossible, like miscarriage.
Sometimes abortion is the least worst option. It isn't something that is wanted, as much as something that is needed.
Peace.
47
@45: Aborting an embryo is a much least worse action than murdering a child.
"child" may not mean what you imagine it does....
"child" may not mean what you imagine it does....
48
47
Is an embryo alive?
Is it homo sapiens?
Aborting an embryo is killing a child.
Murder goes to motive.
No doubt it was in self defense......
Is an embryo alive?
Is it homo sapiens?
Aborting an embryo is killing a child.
Murder goes to motive.
No doubt it was in self defense......
50
45- fuck you, adoption is NOT the least worst option when the adopting parents are infertile assholes who wanted a pet showpiece not really a child- who abuse and neglect their adopted child and cast it out when it starts to express an individual personality. Adoption isn't the least worst option when the child is twice abandoned- first by the womb-donor (I refuse to call any slut who would throw away her own child like garbage a "mother") then by the adopted "parents".
How is abortion less cruel than a lifetime of misery and multiple suicide attempts?
How is abortion less cruel than a lifetime of misery and multiple suicide attempts?
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