Down at the Statehouse

I am tired and this may not be the most cohesive thing I ever wrote, but I am also angry and heartsick and needing to say what is swimming around in my brain.

After I got off work yesterday, I hurried downtown to take my opportunity to speak out against HB60, along with hundreds of other men and women of Texas. I hadn’t had dinner. My children were anxiously awaiting my return for the dozens of projects they want to do and things they want to tell me at the end of every day. But to stand by and do nothing while the committee debated was not possible.

It was interesting to listen to the testimony. Those who stood in favor of the bill fell into two categories. The pathetically ill-informed, who often resorted to calling upon God to fill in the gaps of their testimony, and the sad, deeply personal stories of a few who had either been coerced into abortion or who had chosen to continue a pregnancy with a terribly flawed fetus that could not live. While their stories were touching, it was interesting that they failed to see that through their words shone the true value of the choice that they were speaking against. Of course, those speaking against the bill were generally, but not always women, highly educated and well-informed, though often young, nervous, and in some cases nearly incoherent with emotion.

The testimony dragged on into the night. I kept checking my phone, but after my husband texted me that he had fed the kids Torchy’s Tacos and put them snugly to bed, I determined to stay until the dawn or later to have my say. Unfortunately, that time never came. In an unprecedented move, the chairman closed the proceedings while at least 200 still waited to speak, telling us that we were becoming repetitive. We stood and shouted in outrage. We refused to leave.  We asked the sympathetic members of the committee (all women, by the way) to intervene in our behalf. The chair agreed finally to hear 30 more minutes of testimony.  We selected a few of those who were oldest or had traveled the longest or who had great credentials to speak on our behalf.  The chair complained bitterly of our lack of respect, often interrupting speakers who had travelled across the state and waited for hours to remind us about his right to respect. I left the chamber at 1:30am and dragged myself home, too tired to eat but too upset to sleep.

So, since I did not have the chance to stand and speak last night, here is my testimony.

My name is Geraldine Mongold, representing myself and Faith Action for Women in Need, and I am against HB60. Mr. Chairman, you tell me that you have treated me and the others here with respect. Sir, I know exactly what respect looks like. Respect is not calling a special session in order to ram anti-choice legislation through the legislature. Respect is not closing most of the abortion clinics in the state and calling it an improvement in women’s health. Respect is not trying create a de-facto ban on abortion, when safe and legal abortion is supported by the clear majority of Texans. Respect is not burning up the three minutes people are allowed to speak with your own reiteration of the procedures or grand-standing or cutting them off before their time is up. Respect is not wandering in and out of the chamber when men and women tell the most intimate stories of their lives. Respect is not shoving an ultrasound wand inside a woman’s vagina for a painful, medically-unnecessary state-mandated rape because she should have the bad fortune to need an abortion or even because she is miscarrying her wanted child. I grew up in a Texas that had scientifically accurate sex education. I grew up in a Texas where a well-equipped and fully funded Planned Parenthood was around the corner to provide the high-quality health care and family planning that an uninsured teenager needed to ensure she could manage her fertility and make her own choices in life. I used to be so proud of being a Texan. But now, I am ashamed. When friends tell me “if you’ve got a uterus, you’ve got to leave that state,” I have to agree that they speak the truth. I fear for my daughter's future in a state that values the right to carry a gun on the college campus she attends over her right not just to bodily integrity and choice, but her right to life itself. Because HB60, if enacted will cause even more deaths of Texas woman, already suffering from cuts to women’s health programs and the failure of this state to expand Medicaid coverage. This bill is a hateful attack on Texas women and their families and must not be enacted.

Entitlement

My parents are retired and live in rural Arkansas. Living on social security and a tiny teacher’s retirement check is really tough. Getting adequate healthcare from a combination of VA benefits and Medicare is even tougher. And neither VA nor Medicare offers dental care. Untreated periodontal disease is taking its toll. My mom emailed me a few weeks ago to tell me that there was a once-a-year free dental clinic in Arkansas, and could my husband Dan please come up and take Dad to it.

It sounded like such an ordeal for an 82-year-old guy that I went to my local dentist to ask about alternatives. I spent an hour talking to the staff – they searched for dental programs and clinics in Texas and in Arkansas that he might be eligible for and came up with nothing. Although they offered to do the work themselves on a payment plan, he needs thousands of dollars worth of care that no one in the family can afford. So Dan packed up the Subaru and drove north.

Last Thursday, Dan and my dad drove from Odem to Arkadelphia to go to the clinic. It was set up at a school. The line started forming the day before. They checked in, received armbands, and were directed to a row of hard metal folding chairs outside. This was where they were to spend the night. Porta-potties were provided, but if they left the line for any other reason, their armband numbers were removed from the list and they lost their place in line. Storms raged through Arkansas that night. Tornadoes were sighted in several communities, accompanied by hail and floods. Dan sat with my dad all night, both snoozing as best they could in folding chairs. Cops were there to keep the crowd under control.

They were awakened at about 4:30 AM by the clinic staff.  By this time over 600 people had lined up hoping for dental care; many had to be turned away. As part of the first group, my dad was shown into the school gymnasium, filled from one end to the other with temporary dental chairs. He took a seat. The volunteer dentist asked him which teeth were the problem. Dad pointed them out. The dentist numbed his mouth, pulled out the five teeth, gave him a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of antibiotics, and sent him on his way. He got home and went straight to bed. 

Next year, if he goes back to the annual clinic, he can be fitted with dentures or partials. They only do dentures every other year.

Two days later, on a so-called liberal Facebook group that an acquaintance had added me to, someone posted a meme of two rustics with bad teeth with a joke about inbreeding. When I took the group to task for making fun of poverty, they explained that they were just making fun of poor people who vote Republican against their best interests, and explained that there was no excuse for such bad dental health, since ‘you can get free dental care.’ The discussion quickly devolved to a rant about how those stupid red states should just have to fend for themselves. I opted out of the group within the hour.

Dan says the people who ran the clinic were ‘real nice.’ I wonder why these nice people created such a miserable and dehumanizing experience for the people they serve. Why exactly was it necessary for a frail 82-year-old man to spend a stormy night in a metal chair? Why was it necessary for a cop to guard him? Mission of Mercy indeed. He doesn’t need mercy. He needs respect. The man served in Korea and Vietnam; he gave his youth and his innocence to his country. As an old soldier, he waited patiently in line and was grateful for what he received. Next year, my husband will drive back to Arkansas and take him to the clinic in whatever town it is held.

God bless America.