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February 10, 2012
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Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
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Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
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Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
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Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
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January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
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January 27, 2012
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
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Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
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January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
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Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
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January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 21, 2006
/ 23 Shevat, 5766
Something criminal about Legal
By
Kathryn Lopez
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Those hoping to be entertained with Valentine's Day-themed programming on ABC tuned into the wrong channel, at least if they flipped to it during "Boston Legal." For those 60 minutes, you were treated to a political lecture, more like C-SPAN's late-night fare, only with prettier people. It was a prime-time hour to celebrate emergency contraception and demonize Catholic hospitals.
The Emmy-award winning show that night included the fictional story of an 18-year-old girl named Amelia who was raped and brought to a local hospital while unconscious. The writers made the hospital "Saint Mary's," which is where the political party began.
Among those watching the show were "reproductive rights" supporters throughout the country, organized into "Boston Legal Viewing Part(ies)" by the likes of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and the Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Union. Party favors were viewing guides packed with bullet points of statistics on sexual assaults and laws.
The heart of the Valentine's Day show was what is popularly known as the "morning-after pill," also referred to as "emergency contraception" (EC). Emergency contraception is meant to be used, as the name suggests, in an emergency — marketed as a last-line of defense against pregnancy.
Currently, in eight states, hospitals are required to make EC available to rape victims. But the Catholic hospital where Amelia was taken did not provide her with EC or even inform her of the existence of the option. (Massachusetts, by the way, is one of the eight.)
Cue to "Murphy Brown" with a Bible in the courtroom. Remember when the title character on the 1980s sitcom "Murphy Brown" wound up the topic of a national debate when then-Vice President Dan Quayle used the show to make a point about marriage and families when Candace Bergen's character had a child out of wedlock? Back then, with out-of-wedlock births at an all-time high, there was more to the cultural story than you'd get in most sound bites. Well, Bergen plays a law partner on "Boston Legal" now. Watching her, one couldn't help but wonder if there was more to tell than what the show's writers were letting viewers in on.
Sure enough.
In a key primetime moment for the activists watching, an expert witness testified that "the morning-after pill can only prevent a pregnancy." Various characters on the show would go on to laud emergency contraception's ability to lower abortion rates. The problem, which got short shrift on "Boston Legal," is that EC isn't that black and white. How it works depends on where a woman is in her menstrual cycle. This isn't exactly what you want to get into with a heart-shaped Whitman's Sampler on your lap and "Captain Kirk" on your screen (William Shatner is a "Boston Legal" star), but, EC doesn't only prevent pregnancy — it can work as an abortifacient, to end the life of a developing human embryo. So, Catholic hospitals, if they are true to their names, will want to tread carefully here.
While feeling the pain, humiliation and anger of a girl who was brutally raped, there is also the reality that Catholic hospital officials who are in the business of saving lives may not want to be accomplice to ending one. It's a concern that some would like to legislate away — fighting against "conscience clauses" that would give a St. Mary's legal protection on EC and associated fronts. In related news, for instance, on the day the show aired, the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy voted to force Wal-Mart to carry emergency contraception.
In a morning-after conversation with Richard W. Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame's law school, he suggested a middle-ground position, one that wouldn't have made the show as dramatic, but perhaps a bit more realistic. "A compromise might be to require Catholic hospitals to inform people that EC exists, and that other hospitals will provide it."
In 2003, there were more than 15.4 million Catholic emergency room visits, according to the Catholic Health Association. Catholic concerns may not have a prayer on primetime TV, but as Catholic hospitals and other healthcare professionals minister to communities, they deserve a seat at the table in any life-and-death public-policy debate.
But the atmosphere right now, as characterized by primetime and real-life politics, isn't ripe for compromise. While "Boston Legal" writers were sure to condemn the imposition of religion on the fictional rape victim, EC's advocates seem comfortable with dismissing other's views and imposing their own.
Also on the morning after the loaded episode of "Boston Legal," I talked to a "reproductive freedom" official with the ACLU in Pennsylvania. When I asked her if folks at her viewing party thought that the episode was fair and balanced, if "the show was fair to both sides," she told me "I don't think anyone thought there were two sides."
In her mind, there is only one side of the story, a victim who should have gotten emergency contraception — period. Therein is not a healthy starting point for debate.
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