Which State Was the Worst for Women This Week?
By Amanda Marcotte
The state legislative season is beginning to wind down, so it's time to squeeze in some last-minute attacks on women's access to health care. Last week's Worst State of the Week honors were handed out on grounds of sheer weirdness, but this round is defined mostly by mean-spiritedness.
Third place goes to North Carolina, where the state Senate passed a bill that would expand the abortion waiting period from 24 hours to 72 hours, because lately women have become even more slow-witted and need yet more time to think over their decisions. This move isn't just about hassling women and their doctors, however. State legislators are also screwing over Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who won his swing state in 2012 by promising not to sign more abortion restrictions; McCrory has been dodging and weaving when reporters ask if he plans to sign this bill. You'd think McCrory's Republican colleagues would avoid putting him in this no-win situation, but apparently forcing women to stay pregnant 72 hours longer than they'd otherwise choose was just that important.
Second place goes to last week's winner and perennial contender Texas, for its devotion to expanding anti-woman attacks past mere abortion restrictions. Now it's cancer screening for women that's on the chopping block, as state lawmakers there cut Planned Parenthood from the breast and cervical cancer screening program that provides free cancer screening to uninsured, low-income women. Planned Parenthood handles about 10 percent of women who get screened through the program.
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http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/06/05/wisconsin_doing_its_best_to_give_men_ownership_over_women_s_bodies.html
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