As I am self-employed, I pay for my own health insurance. It has high premiums and a high deductible--but it does cover abortion. However, it only covers it at network providers. Who provides elective abortions, other than Planned Parenthood (not a network provider)? The only hospital nearby is Catholic. Yeah, I'm sure I could get one there. So even though I have "coverage," I'd end up paying out of pocket. And I'm "covered" by the largest insurer in California.

While I'm adamantly pro-choice, I just can't see getting all worked up over Stupak. If your life is endangered, you'll still be covered (see Smartacus' letter for an excellent explanation). As stupid as it is, I don't think Stupak will change anything for women of any income level.

Someone needs to set up a cage match between Stupak and Lieberman to determine who gets to kill health care reform. Battle to the death.

Either way, we all win.

While my hair is of both the appropriate color and texture, I simply do not have enough of it to pull off this look--it looks great if I keep it a little longer than chin-length or shorter. However, if I let it grow past shoulder length, the weight pulls the wave out and it just looks stringy and awful.

I would guess that if I wanted to have long hair, I could get a weave/extensions to add volume, and that it would be damned expensive.

As for the color, I guess there are people who really have a burning yen for it--three of my last four stylists have told me they would make a fortune if they could put my color in a bottle and sell it (the fourth thought I should go lighter). Here's the arduous and expensive process I go through to get it: I let it grow out of my head, I walk around in the sun a few times a week. Given the comment about Ms. Lively's genes, I suspect her process is similar.

Well, actually, the mistress has to rely on her own insurance, as she has no marital/family tie to the policyholder.

The real reason abortion is covered is as a precaution in case some good, God-fearing Republican daughter gets knocked up by "some black fella."

...particularly because it will also rid the world of gourmet dog biscuit bakeries.

Personally, I've never seen labia OR a penis (hair and big throbbing veins, ooo baby!) that didn't look weird.

Also, you lose the right to make your own decisions about absurd plastic surgery if you're too stupid or ignorant to know the difference between your vagina and your uterus.

So DTMFA.

Duh.

Health insurers who cover abortions now are doing it for one reason only--the $500 for an abortion beats $15K for a delivery. That's a projection on my part about the delivery cost--someone told me 10 years ago it was $8K then, and in a part of the country with lower medical costs, so it may well be higher. That also does not cover all the prenatal visits. Even if the mother elects to give the kid up for adoption, her insurance company is on the hook for all of that.

If everyone's so concerned about "keeping costs down," it's the only logical thing. (Republicans, I'm looking at you.)

Don't you get it? She's WISHING she could have had an abortion, but she couldn't afford it/it was illegal/etc.

Besides, women who get first-trimester abortions often aren't even showing...they look like anybody.

Many things about this article suggest the author really needs to do something about her stress levels, although the easiest one to point to is that she's waking up at 2:30 every morning worrying. (Been there!) She's also obviously spending plenty of time worrying while she's awake (and screaming on the inside, if not the outside).

That takes a huge toll on you physically after a while--seek out a stress reduction program (many hospitals offer a program based on Jon Kabat-Zinn's work at UMass Hospital--based on meditation, but nice and secular). If you're a mess, you won't do your kid any good, either.

(Also, apologies for typos in my previous post--I do know the difference between "their" and "there," honestly!)