"It is important to remember that Roe v. Wade did not mean that abortions could be performed. They have always been done, dating from ancient Greek days.
What Roe said was that ending a pregnancy could be carried out by medical personnel, in a medically accepted setting, thus conferring on women, finally, the full rights of first-class citizens — and freeing their doctors to treat them as such."
-Waldo L. Fielding, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Boston for 38 years. Dr. Fielding was writing in a NYT article about the aftermath of illegal abortions he witnessed as a physician.
As a physician of TCM, and a healer, I see access to safe, legal abortion as a crucial part of a healthy society. One in which women's choices and agency are respected, and both men and women have the freedom and ability to make decisions about the course of their lives, including family planning, sexuality, career, living situation, travel, and so on, without interference from legal, corporate, or religious authorities. Choice and access in health care means healthier individuals, families, communities, and nations. It means access to quality, affordable care, and freedom to choose so-called 'alternatives' such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, midwifery and so on.
Health and wellness flourish in conditions of freedom. Lack of agency, lack of opportunity and lack of control over one's body, are fundamentally antithetical to health. Let me close by quoting Justice Blackmun, author of the Roe V. Wade decision. I couldn't have put it better myself. Let us indeed focus on promoting the conditions which truly foster maternal health, the flourishing of life, and the well-being of the women, men, and children in our communities.
The states are not free, under the guise of protecting maternal health or potential life, to intimidate women into continuing pregnancies. -Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Roe v. Wade, 22 January 1973
Zay gezunt! May you be well!
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, April 20, 2008
British Columbia to cover Acupuncture for Low-Income Residents.
Or is it?
The supplementary coverage for low-income residents of British Columbia (where everyone is covered for basic health care by government health insurance) adds acupuncture to the type of alternative medicine that participants can be reimbursed for:
"MSP reimburses premium assistance recipients $23 for each supplementary benefit - for example either physiotherapy, naturopathy or acupuncture - for a combined maximum of 10 visits per year." Read the complete article from the Victoria Times-Colonist
On the one hand, it's great to see the BC government recognizing the benefits of acupuncture - and the importance of helping people access low-tech preventative care like it and other 'alternative' medicine. (Apparently the BC Health Minister used acupuncture to treat his injuries from running - always good to have a patient in government: apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Schriver both get acupuncture, which has been good for helping kibosh legislation in California that would be damaging to the profession). On the other hand, 10 treatments total for all three of these modalities, chiropractic, acupuncture and naturopathy, is so very little. I think there is still resistance to seeing the way that our medicine works - not in dramatic bursts like surgery, a cortisone shot, or a course of antibiotics.. It's more like eating well or regular exercise - sustained change is a result of consistent visits. Not that people don't have amazing results from a single treatment - I've seen it myself. But for most people, especially if you have chronic or longstanding problems, acupuncture needs to be a regular thing, not a sporadic one.
All this brings me to the Community Acupuncture model, which attempts to close the gap between how often people need to receive acupuncture for the maximum health benefits, and how much most people (even not technically 'low-income') people can afford. I am taking a roadtrip in a few weeks to Northern California and I will be visiting a few Community Acupuncture clinics to see how this style of treatment works - I'll report back on my findings, but I am optimistic about a model that sees more people getting more treatments, more often!
L'khaim, to your health.
Kirsten
The supplementary coverage for low-income residents of British Columbia (where everyone is covered for basic health care by government health insurance) adds acupuncture to the type of alternative medicine that participants can be reimbursed for:
"MSP reimburses premium assistance recipients $23 for each supplementary benefit - for example either physiotherapy, naturopathy or acupuncture - for a combined maximum of 10 visits per year." Read the complete article from the Victoria Times-Colonist
On the one hand, it's great to see the BC government recognizing the benefits of acupuncture - and the importance of helping people access low-tech preventative care like it and other 'alternative' medicine. (Apparently the BC Health Minister used acupuncture to treat his injuries from running - always good to have a patient in government: apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Schriver both get acupuncture, which has been good for helping kibosh legislation in California that would be damaging to the profession). On the other hand, 10 treatments total for all three of these modalities, chiropractic, acupuncture and naturopathy, is so very little. I think there is still resistance to seeing the way that our medicine works - not in dramatic bursts like surgery, a cortisone shot, or a course of antibiotics.. It's more like eating well or regular exercise - sustained change is a result of consistent visits. Not that people don't have amazing results from a single treatment - I've seen it myself. But for most people, especially if you have chronic or longstanding problems, acupuncture needs to be a regular thing, not a sporadic one.
All this brings me to the Community Acupuncture model, which attempts to close the gap between how often people need to receive acupuncture for the maximum health benefits, and how much most people (even not technically 'low-income') people can afford. I am taking a roadtrip in a few weeks to Northern California and I will be visiting a few Community Acupuncture clinics to see how this style of treatment works - I'll report back on my findings, but I am optimistic about a model that sees more people getting more treatments, more often!
L'khaim, to your health.
Kirsten
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