"More Complex Than Anticipated"

D'ya think? (Highlights are my own)

(Indianapolis, Indiana) A proposed bill that would prohibit gays, lesbians and single people in Indiana from using medical science to assist them in having a child has been dropped by its legislative sponsor.

State Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, issued a one-sentence statement late Wednesday about her decision to drop the proposal.

"The issue has become more complex than anticipated and will be withdrawn from consideration by the Health Finance Commission," she said.

Miller said earlier this week that state law does not have regulations on assisted reproduction and should have similar requirements to adoption in Indiana. (story)

But Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana called it government intrusion.

"It feels pretty chilling," Cockrum said.

Miller acknowledged when she proposed it that the legislation would be "enormously controversial."

Miller is chairwoman of the Health Finance Commission, a panel of lawmakers that was to vote Oct. 20 on whether to recommend the legislation to the full General Assembly.

The bill defined assisted reproduction as causing pregnancy by means other than sexual intercourse, including intrauterine insemination, donation of an egg, donation of an embryo, in vitro fertilization and transfer of an embryo, and sperm injection.

It then required "intended parents" to be married to each other and says an unmarried person may not be an intended parent.

A doctor could not begin an assisted reproduction technology procedure that may result in a child being born until the intended parents have received a certificate of satisfactory completion of an assessment required under the bill. The assessment is similar to what is required for infant adoption and would be conducted by a licensed child placing agency in Indiana.

The required information includes the fertility history of the parents, education and employment information, personality descriptions, verification of marital status, child care plans and criminal history checks. Description of the family lifestyle of the intended parents also is required, including participation in faith-based or church activities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, let me see if I've got this straight. If I'm a married, heterosexual atheist, I would not be issued this certificate?

It's not just freedom OF religion, it's also freedom FROM religion, isn't it?

Sometimes Words Escape Me

If you heard a loud THUD this morning, that was my jaw hitting the floor when I read this news article:

(Indianapolis, Indiana) Legislation has been introduced in the Indiana legislature that would prohibit gays, lesbians and single people in Indiana from using medical science to assist them in having a child.

The bill has the support of Senator Patricia Miller, the chair of the Health Finance Commission where the legislation is currently being considered.

Miller says that assisted pregnancy is totally unregulated. The bill would bar any doctor from assisting in a pregnancy through intrauterine insemination, donation of an egg, donation of an embryo, in vitro fertilization and transfer of an embryo, and sperm injection without making a number of "determinations" about the "suitability of the candidate.

Women seeking treatment would have to provide a certificate of satisfactory completion of an assessment required under the bill.

Among the determining factors is a requirement that the women be married to a person of the opposite sex. The assessment would contain a description of the family lifestyle and automatically exclude lesbians. Women would also have to provide proof that they have participated in faith-based or church activities.

A judge could not establish parentage of a child born through assisted reproduction without the assessment certificate and a separate certificate from the physician involved.

Courts would be prohibited from granting a petition to establish parentage if the parents have been convicted of crimes such as murder, reckless homicide neglect of a dependent felony battery, or have a drug conviction.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana president Betty Cockrum calls it chilling and government intrusion on a person's private life.

The Health Finance Commission will vote October 20th on whether to recommend the legislation to the full General Assembly.

I think that chilling is an excellent word to describe this. Nazis like Senator Miller are dangerous people, not because they introduce stuff like this, but because they really
believe it's right. That's the danger.

Bush nomination

I seriously wonder what criteria Chimpy uses to appoint people to certain positions.

I mean, "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job," the director of FEMA had experience horse farming and, while horse shit COULD be considered a "natural disaster," it hardly qualifies on has having experience in directing the multiple interstate agencies that are always involved during times of disaster -- like Katrina and Rita. One only needs a shovel for horse shit (and Chimpy shit) but the man's lack of experience or ANY qualifications sure as hell came to light, brightly, during our most recent disaster.

Now Chimpy has nominated a woman to the Supreme Court that has NEVER been a judge. Oh sure, Miers was the first woman to serve as president of the Texas State Bar and the Dallas Bar Association and also served on the Dallas City Council. But so what? How does that qualify her to preside over the very future of civil rights in this country?

What's that you say? She was Bush's private attorney in Texas? Oh, well THAT qualifies her.

[major eyeroll]

Where Florida's Children Learn to Hate

And we wonder where children learn to hate and mock...

I'm amazed that they let this flamer stay in the classroom AFTER the incident. Anita Bryant is probably quite proud of this guy.

Teacher accused of mocking boys as gay for talking

By BRAD SCHMIDT, The Times-Union


The Clay County school system allowed a teacher to remain in the classroom nearly a week after he was accused of disciplining two sixth-graders by instructing the boys to hold hands as he told classmates they were gay.

Larry Eger, who resigned Thursday, told the Swimming Pen Creek Elementary students to sit knee-to-knee in the front of the class after they were caught Sept. 23 mouthing words to each other, said Jackie Fuller, a mother of one of the boys.

She said Eger told the boys to hold hands but they refused, and then Eger announced to the rest of the class that they were gay.

"They said the other kids were laughing," Fuller said.

Eger, 63, did not return calls Friday left by The Florida Times-Union.

Superintendent David Owens said officials learned of the incident Sept. 23 and received Eger's two-week notice Monday. Owens said the school district has the power to remove teachers from a classroom but wouldn't say why Eger was allowed to continue.

"I'm not going to make any comments on that," Owens said.

He said the district is doing an internal investigation on the incident but refused to disclose Eger's resignation letter or any details about the incident.

Fuller said her son and his friend went to the school principal immediately after the incident and explained what happened.

"Nobody called us. Nobody told us anything," Fuller said. "We had to find out from our children when we got home. It still blows my mind."

Fuller said she went to the school Monday morning to complain and was told the district would handle the situation. Fuller said she and the other boy's family asked that the students be placed in other classrooms because Eger was still teaching.

By Thursday, Fuller said she hadn't heard back from the district.

"I was mad that he was still there," she said. "I just thought the school was running me around. You just don't treat children like that."

Eger joined the district Aug. 2 and signed a one-year contract for $44,925. He resigned from his position during his 97-day probationary period, district spokeswoman Darlene Mahla said.

Eger has a bachelor's degree in elementary education and has been teaching at schools in Florida, Georgia and Texas since 1970, according to his personnel record.

The incident was the latest controversy in the Clay school system.

In August, a senior at Fleming Island High School wore a racist T-shirt to school under his regular clothing. A black student who saw the undershirt hit the student. Both were disciplined, although the district would not disclose details.

Then on Sept. 15, the School Board approved an out-of-court agreement to revise the district's policy regarding "sexual orientation." Fleming Island High School graduate Kelli Davis had threatened to sue the school system when her senior portrait was removed from the yearbook because she wore a tuxedo instead of the girl's traditional drape.

Karen Doering, who represented Davis in her dispute with the district, said she was outraged when she heard about the latest incident and the response by school officials.

"I think it's absolutely outrageous and is a clear indication as to why it was so important that this particular school district add sexual discrimination to it's policy and training," she said. "Short of using an anti-gay epithet, that is one of the most flagrant anti-gay biases by a teacher that I have ever heard."

Owens said the school district does not foster bigoted views.

"When you're dealing with people, it's just not a perfect world," he said. "It's something that's occurred, and we're dealing with it."