So, in effect, the reproductive rights of all women in America could be dropped from health insurance coverage. Here’s the analysis from Planned Parenthood legal experts:

Thus, if a plan wants to offer coverage in the exchange to both groups of individuals, it would have to offer two different plans: one with abortion coverage for women without subsidies and one without abortion coverage for women with subsidies. These private insurance plans would need to be identified as either providing or not providing coverage for abortion.

Health insurance plans are highly unlikely to operate in this manner, and it is not even clear that this is feasible under the administration of the exchange and affordability credits. As one alternative, the Stupak amendment purports to allow women to purchase a separate, single-service “abortion rider,” but abortion riders don’t exist. In the five states that only allow abortion coverage through a separate rider, there is no evidence that they are available.

Furthermore, women are unlikely to think ahead to choose a plan that includes abortion coverage, since they do not plan for unplanned pregnancy. In addition, it is not clear that health plans would even be allowed to offer two separate plans under other provisions of the act, such as the anti-discrimination and guaranteed-issue provisions. Those elements of the bill, which are very important to consumers, may make it impossible for plans to provide two separate plans, one that includes abortion and another that does not.

Realistically, the actual effect of the Stupak-Pitts amendment is to ban abortion coverage across the entire exchange, for women with both subsidized and unsubsidized coverage.

Link via Mikhaela.

The U.S. Supreme Court may uphold a woman’s right to a medical procedure on her own body, but the House health care plan doesn’t care. And what is the justification for that? Why are women’s reproductive rights expendable? Reach back into the lizard brain of patriarchy and you dredge up the assumption that only “sluts” need abortions. Only women who are irresponsible with their bodies need to resort to “baby killing”, so of course it is right for men to make their reproductive decisions for them. Really, without this underlying patronizing attitude, it’s hard to think of any other reason to deny women access to legal medical treatment that so fundamentally affects their bodies.

Anyway, you can always nag Obama to oppose this, like I did (and he does, anyway, for what that’s worth on its own) or you can take Kate Harding’s advice: tell the Democrats to go fuck themselves. Or something like that. Sounds good to me!

Lisa contacted me the other day with this script, something she had laying around, but which gained more urgency in light of some recent events: inappropriate groping by fanboys of costumed fangirls at San Diego Comic Con last week, spurred on by the advertising campaign of a gaming company, who half-assed apologized; the Ben Roethlisberger rape case, which has generated a lot of rapist apologia from his fans; and, well — hey, rape is such a pervasive problem in every society on this planet, we don’t really need a current event to justify talking about it. Which is why I like the general approach of Lisa’s writing for this strip.

For more of Lisa’s work, check out Arcana Jayne and Coreopsis. Which is really the tip of her iceberg, because she is one prolific woman.

I liked working on this for a few reasons: I rarely get to draw for other people’s writing; Lisa is a great writer, so it’s a treat to work with her; and it demonstrates the unique collaborative power of the InterNetz. Lisa and I have never met in person, but we have crossed paths many times in our webcomics nerding, political sympathies, ranting and social networking. Hopefully one of these days we’ll actually meet for a beer and snark on politics in person.

The Seth Rogen-Anna Faris movie in question is “Observe and Report,” a dark comedic answer to “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” that includes a date rape scene played for laughs. Really squeemish ones, too, I reckon. I haven’t seen it, but movie reviews tend to treat the scene as a failure in terms of being either funny or truly outrageous. MightyGodKing has a very thoughtful response to the completely understandable outrage the scene has provoked.

For me the controversy plays in a larger context that includes the recently passed and, following international outrage, revised law in Afghanistan that would have made it a wifely duty to service a husband’s sexual desires regardless of her own — in effect, compulsory marital rape. Within the same time frame Sarah Palin’s pick of Wayne Anthony Ross for Alaska’s attorney general was soundly rejected in part because of comments he made defending marital rape. This context also includes high incidents of rapes committed by male soldiers against female soldier in the U.S. military; gang rapes in Brazilian prisons; rape as a means of social control and as acts of war.

So, yeah, although I have not seen the movie in question (and I am a fan of both Rogen and Faris), I question the value of seeking humor in rape. Call me a humorless, shrill, preachy prude, but I just don’t see the point.

But the “national conversation,” as it were — or, really, the media-hyped blather — reached a level where I just couldn’t take it any more. I am not sure what the tipping point was. Speculation about how her beating will affect Rihanna’s career? Kanye and Mekhi circling the wagons? The complaints by some parents and teens about Rihanna reuniting with Brown? The report that some teens blame Rihanna for her abuse? (It is no surprise that these very teens are being abused themselves. Sadly.)

So, er, yeah, if I have mined any comedy gold from these horrible incidents, it is a bitter, mirthless humor. But then, my point isn’t really to make y’all laugh this time. I really hate the way these same behaviors pop up again and again. Our celebrity culture has magnified the callous, indifferent and misogynist attitudes people have toward violence against women — and were the tables turned, I doubt a male victim of abuse fare any better. I am glad Oprah and Robin Givens are trying to get some lemonade out of this situation. Hopefully it will do Rihanna some good — as well as the thousands (millions?) of obscure women in a similar situation.

UPDATE: And let’s not forget this most important line of questioning:

A more important question: “Can he learn to control his anger and not be a violent asshole?”

Update #2:

How low can the tabloid press go? How about rumors of a sex tape? With celebrity gossip news, there is no bottom. Or else it’s all bottom.

Although I have blogged about rape against women in Iraq before, the cartoon was inspired by a blog post by my good friend Barry Deutsch, the creator behind Hereville at Webcomics Nation.

Go read and be disgusted.

The blog post, that is. Hereville will not disgust you. It's quite charming, in fact.