Privacy Concerns

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Warning: There are swears ahead. Not many, but if that bothers you, stop reading now.

It’s clear, at least to me, that some Republicans feel entitled to either ignore or intrude upon the privacy of women in this country. The most recent foray into this fundamental disrespect of women involves Florida’s governor invading the privacy of young girls who want to play sports with questions about their menstrual cycles. Supposedly, this has to do with identifying potential transgender students which, if so, is none of the governor’s business. But no matter how you see it, the state of Florida is invading the privacy of young girls. In other words, children. And that’s just creepy.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of menstrual cycles being documented. I seem to remember hearing about an official in the former guy’s Office of Refugee Resettlement who kept a spreadsheet that tracked the pregnancies of minor female immigrants who arrived at the US border alone. Later in that same year, there was an article describing a Missouri official who reportedly kept his own spreadsheet that tracked the periods of patients at the state’s only abortion clinic.

And don’t even get me started on the state lawmakers who think they know what an ectopic pregnancy is. In 2019, Ohio had a bill that required doctors to attempt to reimplant the ectopic pregnancy or be prosecuted, never mind that it can’t be done. It’s no different in my opinion than someone practicing medicine without a license when lawmakers offer up these abusive and destructive bills. And it makes me wonder who on earth is advising these people?

In addition to their concern over the morning-after pill, some Republicans in red states apparently don’t want women taking birth control pills either. However, not every woman uses birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. Some women use birth control pills to prevent painful heavy periods, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and other health issues.

In 2022, when various states were all but banning abortion, Missouri, Texas, and a few other red states decided to make it more difficult for women who are prescribed methotrexate for autoimmune conditions like lupus, psoriatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis to receive that drug because it can cause a miscarriage. And although in some situations, methotrexate has been used medically to induce abortion, for many women who suffer from RA and other autoimmune diseases, methotrexate has been a lifesaver.

I had severe rheumatoid arthritis and during the first five years of treatment, I was prescribed methotrexate. Eventually, it was damaging my liver, so I had to stop using it, which was fine with me because I was on the top end of the dosage and the nausea and fatigue I experienced with it were awful. In fact, none of the medications prescribed to me seemed to do anything but move me around in the severe range, so after years of complete hell, I became a cannabis patient and achieved remission which I wrote about in Confessions of a Back Porch Herbalist.

But for many patients, methotrexate literally makes it possible for them to get up and walk around. And when you are in so much pain that you can’t do that, using methotrexate is the difference between being housebound and having some semblance of a normal life. So anyone who tries to prevent women who need methotrexate from taking it needs to shut the hell up and mind their own business.

Do so-called lawmakers actually believe that rheumatologists don’t tell women about the side effects of methotrexate? When I was taking methotrexate, my rheumatologist informed me of the issue and I stayed on birth control while I was in treatment, even after I stopped taking the drug. I was nearing menopause anyway, but I didn’t want to take any chances with all the crazy drugs I was taking. Instead, so-called lawmakers treat women as if we’re stupid or ignorant and intrude on our personal medical decisions.

And that’s bullshit.

How much trauma do so-called lawmakers want to inflict on women, young girls, and apparently transgender youth? One now-former member of the House referred to women as earthen vessels while a state lawmaker referred to women as host bodies so it’s pretty clear how at least some of them view us. And although there are plenty of anti-abortion advocates who are women, in this case, these so-called lawmakers were men.

Although we all can have an opinion about women’s reproductive health and how it’s managed, in my opinion, it does NOT give anyone the freedom to impose their views on others. While it may be a religious issue for some, for others, who don’t share the same religious views, it’s not, and no one should decide something so personal for anyone else. Because where does that kind of control stop? Men can get methotrexate, but not women? Women are to suffer health issues because they can’t take contraception for a reason other than preventing pregnancy? What is a private matter between a woman and her doctor is now the purview of so-called lawmakers? It’s bad enough that insurance companies are allowed to approve which life-saving drug, treatment, or surgery someone needs. Now lawmakers believe they can control the lives and healthcare choices of women?

Again…that’s bullshit. We’re entitled to our privacy. Period. If someone doesn’t believe in abortion, then don’t have one. If someone doesn’t believe in contraception, don’t take any. Mind your own business and stay out of the business of others. What’s between a doctor and a patient is private and the government needs to stay the hell out of it. And if lawmakers of any ilk are focused on tracking the menstrual cycles of young girls, parents had better stand up and refuse to allow that. Because that’s nothing short of demented and way beyond creepy.