Elevating the Legal Rights and Status of a Fetus
Bush is deliberately pursuing his agenda of reproductive repression by elevating the legal status and rights of a fetus at the expense of women everywhere. July 25, 2002: Bush earmarks financial assistance for embryo “adoption”. In the Fiscal Year 2002, Bush made nearly $1 million available to in part finance an embryo “adoption” public awareness campaign. The choice of the word “adoption” over the traditionally used “donation” implies that the embryo has equivalent status to a living child. This again is an attempt to elevate the legal status of an embryo. March 5, 2002: Bush extends prenatal care to fetuses, but not mothers. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was extended to “unborn children,” recognizing the fetus at any stage as eligible for health care, yet denying the mother prenatal or postpartum care, reducing her to “host” status. August 9, 2001: Bush severely limits stem-cell research. Bush has limited the expansion of stem-cell research. Bush’s constraints will prevent research on cures for numerous medical conditions. Potentially forfeiting the health of thousands of Americans, this is an example of Bush ignoring the opinions of the majority and elevating the status of a fetus above that of thousands of Americans to placate right-wing ideologues.
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