So the world has continued spinning and as far as we know it will continue for some time now. That is unless you are a 2012er as some of my friends are. You know thinking that the Mayans calendar predicts that the world will end on December 21st, 2012. I am an huge supporter of the 2012 myth and I kind of hope that the world does end because I would much rather travel a desolate wasteland fighting mutant animals and scavenger bands of raiders ala Fallout style instead of going to work and making money to pay my bills so I can have a family with kids that I raise to get jobs and make money to pay their bills and raise a family and so on and so forth. Don't get me wrong I am all for having a family, I wouldn't be getting married and planning a life with my soon to be wife if I didn't want a family, but who doesn't think it would be awesome to live like they did in the Old West. Very few laws and even fewer lawmen to hold you to them. Only having to answer for yourself with your guile and guns.
I would walk the destroyed streets of Tacoma looking for the last vestiges of society. Two six-shooters strapped to my hip and a fancy hat to protect me from the UV rays coming through the non-existent ozone layer. Fighting mutated dogs and cats for scraps of food. Not trusting anyone for fear that they would some day turn on me just to get a better spot to sleep in... Now that I think about it this might not be as much fun as I thought it would be. I mean I like having a refrigerator and heating and air conditioning and a nice warm comfy bed to sleep in. Not having to fight my dog for food every day. As well as being able to trust people to not kill me just so they can sleep in my nice warm comfy bed.
In other news the Susan G. Komen foundation has pulled their funding from Planned Parenthood to do free, or really inexpensive, breast exams for women. They say it is because Planned Parenthood is being investigated by Congress and that they do not give funds to questionable organizations. I think it is pure poppycock. I support Susan G. Komen for the cure and I have for a very long time. The most important people in my life are women and some of them have been affected by breast cancer and I want an organization that does so much good to be there if it should ever happen to any of the other women in my life. The thing is people are mad at SGK for this move because they are taking away funding that was specifically earmarked fro breast exams for something that is only being done because we can't just let people have private lives.
I could go into the debate about abortion and get you all fired up but I just can't muster up the right gusto for it. I believe that everyone, man or woman, has the right to decide how they are treated by a doctor and that a doctor should abide by those wishes. I don't think doctors should have carte blanche to do whatever they want but whatever is in their power to help their patient. Primum non nocere* is the key phrase in medicine and as long as the treatment the patient is asking for follows that rule then all should be good. Back to Planned Parenthood.
Abortions aside 97% of what Planned Parenthood does involves things that have nothing to do whatsoever with abortions. In 2009, Planned Parenthood provided 4,009,549 contraceptive services (that means condoms and birth control to stop unwanted pregnancies that could lead to abortions and was only 35% of their total services), 3,955,926 sexually transmitted disease services (also 35% of their total services, which also has nothing to do with abortion and actually helps people stay healthy), 1,830,811 cancer related services (only 16% of total but a lot if you ask me I don't have anywhere near that rate of cancer assistance and I check women's breasts all the time for cancer), 1,178,369 pregnancy/prenatal/midlife services (10% of their services is helping women having a healthy and problem free pregnancy, definitely not abortions), 332,278 abortion services (3% and this says services so that could mean a check up before or after an abortion as well as the abortion itself), and 76,977 other services (the remaining 1%). That is over 11 million services that organization provides.
I will continue to support SGK in it's efforts to find a cure but I won't be happy about it because I think that SGK and Planned Parenthood is a partnership made in gold. As some have said, "if you don't want to support an organization like Planned Parenthood then SGK should start their own organization that has clinics all over the country and does free or inexpensive cancer checks and other women's health care minus the abortions. Yet don't make it one of those crazy Christian pro-life organizations that protest Planned Parenthood.
Where did I start this post and how did I get to where I am. What I am saying is that I have been thinking a lot about things and I wanted to ease you into the topic of abortion and cancer. I hope you can understand why I am upset and I hope that Planned parenthood and Susan G. Komen make it through this firestorm okay. We can't lose either organization and I don't care what you say.
*First, do no harm.
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