Roe

“Abortion is simply part of the warp and woof [ups and downs] of life. It is part of our mortality as a human being. It can no more be legislated than Niagara Falls can be dammed with a spoon.” -Frank Schaeffer

We’re not in a good place right now, us Americans. And the sad thing is, a good number of us don’t even realize it because they’re blinded by the same fundamentalist, misogynist Christian Nationalism that brought us here. I can tell by my Facebook feed that a lot of people are pissed, afraid, and concerned. But others are also celebrating the defeat of a supposed evil and praising their god for this victory.

Here’s the thing…criminalizing abortion is not a victory, and it will not stop abortions. Abortion has been around longer than Christianity, because abortion is a part of humanity, and it will be around after the current manifestation of Christian Nationalism has passed. Yes, it’s true – and sad- that this ruling will come at a cost to American women (and men). Women will lose their lives over it. Women will be put in jail. Women will lose their independence. Our job now it to figure out how to minimize that as much as possible – figure out how to do the real work that Christians should be focusing on: caring for our neighbors.

But, again, criminalizing abortion will not last. I know it’s hard for some to stomach, but there is nothing about our laws or our nation that is divinely inspired.

Nothing.

All of it is human made, and laws and rulings that are not in alliance with actual human nature will not last. I’m not talking about the fake, simple, rigid, human nature that Christian Nationalism proposes (men in the workforce, women in the kitchen, not sex until marriage, only hetero-marriage, people of color “in their place”, and no abortions). This is a concept of humanity so weak, so misguided, that it needs big guns and white supremacy to force people to accept it. I’m talking about an understanding of human nature that accepts the world as it is. An understanding that the world is messy and beautiful, but also sometimes requires people to make hard decisions.

We in America have been taught not to embrace hard decisions, not to acknowledge things that make us less than happy. It’s easy to suppress sadness and the ugly truths to life when you’re taught that you’re god’s chosen people, when you’re fed on a diet of empty spirituality and John Wayne America-is-the country-of-“winning”-politics.

But even when a county can’t stomach the truth, it’s still the truth: sometimes abortions are needed. And when that happens, comfort, empathy, and good healthcare are what should be provided. Not handcuffs and a death sentence.

Until our laws are crafted to embrace the world as it is and not try to force it to be more sanitary than it will ever be, there will be needless death and a constant tug-of-war. We as Americans need to think bigger than we have been. We need to recognize that the limited worldview of fundamentalist Christian Nationalism is a poison in this county that needs to be kept out of the highest offices of our land. We need to turn out sights towards healing our communities and taking care of each other if we are going to have any chance of repairing our nation.

Any chance of peace.

Tell Your Representatives and CMS to Stop Cuts to OT and PT Services

In 2020, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to make reimbursement cuts to several professions, including a 9% cut to occupational and physical therapy services, to offset the increase in reimbursement to primary care physicians.

These cuts would pose financial problems for outpatient OT and PT services, possibly resulting in clinics closing their doors while children and adults lose access to the services they need.

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has created resources to help advocate against these cuts*. I have broken down the steps to use them below.

Step 1: Write Your Representative

AOTA has provided an easy to use template to create a form letter and send it to your senators and congressional representatives. This takes about two minutes to fill out and send. You can find it here.

Step 2: Write CMS

AOTA has also created a form letter that is easy to alter and send to CMS to let them know you oppose the planned 9% cut to OT and PT services. This takes about five minutes to fill out and send. CMS is accepting responses until October 5th. The form letter can be downloaded by:

• Clicking here
• Scrolling to the bottom of the page
• Clicking the Template Letter button.

Once you have downloaded and personalized the letter, you can send it to CMS by:

• Clicking here
• Clicking the Comment Now button on the top right side of the screen
• Provide a comment in the comment box
• Attach the letter before sending

I would suggest changing the letter to a PDF before sending.

Thank you for taking time to raise awareness to this important issue!

*Individuals who are not occupational therapists may need to alter the language in the template and letter to reflect this.