Showing posts with label Focus on the Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Focus on the Family. Show all posts

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Bryan Fischer wants Women to shower with Trans Men

Just this past week, I turned my attention to the American "Family" Association's Bryan Fischer, and showed that he is neither a real Conservative or a real Christian. Thanks to my friend Zoe Brain, I've just been exposed to more of Fischer's inability to understand sacred scripture or science, in a blog essay over at the American "Family" Association's "Rightly Concerned" Blog, entitled "Barney Frank: ENDA is about men showering with women."

Fischer starts out showing his inability to comprehend Christian sacred scripure. His first two very short paragraphs are an attempt at scriptural exegesis:


“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, emphasis mine).

According to both Scripture and biology, there are just two genders, two
and only two, male and female. Period.


The emphasis was Fischer's, but it may as well have been mine. And his conclusion is totally and completely incorrect.

First, as I have pointed out on numerous occasions, Genesis 1:27 has an "and" and not an "or" connecting "male" and "female."

Second, this scriptural passage connotes that the very image of God is "male *and* female." All Fischer needs to do is read about the (allegorical, true, but this is a bigger point for a biblical literalist) creation of Adam. Adam was created in God's image, "male and female" in one being, and then split into two people. This does not mean that every person created by God is "split" in exactly the same way. From the perspective of scripture, transsexual people are created by God with natures that are different - not entirely male, and not entrely female. In a way, we're possibly more "God-like" than most people, though we are not "all male" and "all female" in the way that God's image and likeness is. For more on the image and likeness of God, and how this relates to the Name of God, I'd refer Bryan to Rabbi Mark Sameth.

Third, scripture contains references to people who are male, people who are female, and people who are "other." Those "other" people are called "eunuchs" in sacred scripture. Is Bryan saying that sacred scripture is untrue? That there are no people who are different?

Jesus Christ knew more about transsexual and intersex people that Bryan Fischer. We have one biblical verse in which Jesus mentions us, using the term "eunuchs" but that term is fleshed out. Let's look at Matthew 19:12, which together with passages from Isaiah and Acts constitute a triple reference that should tell Bryan that trans people are specially loved by God.

In Matthew 19:12, we hear the words of Jesus:


"for there are eunuchs which have been born thus from [their] mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs of men; and there are eunuchs who have made eunuchs of themselves for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it]."

I've used Darby here, but I could have used any of the literal translations.

So let's examine Jesus' words more closely, since people like Bryan are incapable of taking more than a few words in at once and not making a jumble of them:


"for there are eunuchs which have been born thus from [their] mother's womb; . . ."

In this first phrase, Jesus makes it clear that He, unlike Bryan, understands that transsexual and intersex people are born different.


". . . and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs of men; . . ."
While this second phrase may refer to those who are castrated as punishment for a crime, or to make them sing as sopranos in the Vatican choir, or for those who entered into government service in China or the Eastern Roman Empire, it also refers to things like genital reconstructuin surgery, performed on some trans and intersex people so that they can fit more easily into the artificial societal construct of sex that is imposed on the diversity of nature, to match the way their brains developed.


". . . and there are eunuchs who have made eunuchs of themselves for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. "
This third category of eunuch has from early Christian times been misinterpreted as referring to priestly celibacy, in a reaction to those Chriistians who took literally Christ's admonitions in Matthew 5:30 and 18:8, and Mark 9:43-45, and, like the theologian Origen, castrated themselves to avoid succumbing to their sexual urges. Paul of Tarsus offered marriage as an alternative to Christians who could not make themselves be celibate - teaching that Christians should be celibate, but those who cannot control their sexual urges should get married. For true Christians, based on Paul's teaching, getting married s an acknowledgment of an inability for the parties to sexually contain themselves. (of course, not everyone is a Christian, and not all Christians are faithful to Paul's teaching, but it is at least a rebuttable presumption that any married Christian is unable to control their sexual urges - otherwise they would have chosen to be celibate, like the Shakers.)

In actuality, the third category of eunuch in Jesus' words, is a reference back to Isaiah 56:4-5, in which the Lord says:


". . . Unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant,

even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off."
Jesus, a great scripture scholar, knew that God has a special place in God's own House for those who are transsexual and intersex.

We already knew that Bryan Fischer fails in his theological understanding of sacred scripture. I just wanted to make it absolutely clear that he is wrong about Genesis 1:27. There can be no doubt of this among reasonable minds.

Let's turn to biology, shall we?

We've clearly established that Fischer nows nothing about scripture; he apparently knows even less about biology.

His third paragraph is a gem:


"Pro-family advocates have from the beginning opposed the normalizing of transgenderism because it does gross violence to any rational view of human sexuality, and, even worse, will force women to share shower, bathroom and locker-room facilities with biological males. "

First, he mischaracterizes his cohorts as "pro-family advocates." That is an utter lie. He and people like James Dobson are about as anti-family as they come. The only families that they support are families like their own. They believe that families that are different are to be feared and hated. That is not pro-family, just like the National Organization "for" Marriage is not for Marriage but is against it.

Second, Fischer does not have a rational view of human sexuality, or biology. He fails to understand that nature is more diverse than society, and that there are people who do not easily fit into societal definitions of male or female. For people who hew to the narrow view of sex assignment, anyone who does not fit into that view perfectly is abnormal, deviant and pathological. It's also why people like Fischer conflate homosexuality, which is a sexual orientation, with transsexualism, which involves gender identity seated in the brain, and its relation to sex assignment. These are different issues, but the T is associated with the LG and B because we are all *different* from the sexuality expected by the majority, and as a result, elements within that majority feel no compunction about singling us out for persecution just because we are different in some way. Bullies like Bryan Fischer have no sense of morality or decency. They lie like snakes in the grass, and strike with their venom, their lies, and their deceit. They delight in whipping up of gullible and ignorant straight cissexual people into a frenzy of fear that is rooted in their fear of people who are not exactly like them, ghoulishly raking in their contributions to fight against justice and decency.

Human sexuality is diverse. It is society that imposes the two-sex view on nature.

If society insists that there has to be two and only two sexes, then society has to accommodate those who are different and do not exactly fit into the narrow view, in a reasonable way.

Forcing women to bathe with men is not reasonable. But THAT is what Bryan Fischer wants! He wants to force transsexual men to use women;s shower facilities. Because Bryan does not recognize genital reconstruction surgery as being effective, he wants men - men with beards, deep voices and male pattern voices, some of whom have larger penises than others, to shower with women, just because those men were born with a developed mullerian duct system and have or had uteruses.

Just because Bryan thinks of women as merely walking uteruses and sperm depositories, does not mean that such a viewpoint is universally shared. I am sure that when Bryan is not busy opposing reasonable treatment for trans people, he must be out there shaking jars of formaldehyde with fetuses at women going to see their doctors for medical treatment. His reduction of women to the mullerian duct system, as mere cows who exist for the purpose of bearing children to the men who think they own them, is shameful.

Then he wants to force women to share showers with trans men. Shame on him! There is no rational basis for his position. He apparently thinks that there are only transsexual women out there for him to degrade and abuse. He does not seem to realize that there are transsexual men, too - and that when he forces women out of the showers and locker rooms, he is forcing real men into those same places!

Bryan does not want those gullible and ignorant followers of his to know the truth - because if they knew the truth, they would realize just how ridiculous his position is. No - Bryan is relying on the idea that trans men will be too afraid to use women's facilities because they would be openly challenged by the women, even though Bryan insists that this is where these men belong.
What he really wants is for trans people to be relegated to the shadows of society and not be seen in the daylight lest we offend people who are afraid of people who don;t fit into their preconceived binary notions of reality.

The reality is that even under ENDA, women-born-female (WBFs) would not be forced to shower with pre-op/non-op women-born-transsexual, at the same time. Women who have, or still have, penises, would either have private showers in the women's area, or if there are only open showers, can be accommodated by way of "time-slicing" so they have access at different times from women who have an objection. Post-op women should not be subjected to any limitation.

When it comes to bathrooms, privacy is at the stall level. Pre-op and non-op women can and dod safely use public bathroom facilities every day without a problem. It's usually the butch lesbians who get hassled by other women in the bathroom because they sometimes get mistaken for men, depending on what they are wearing.

Bryan goes on to paint a distorted picture of trans people:


Transgenders are people who are so psychologically and mentally confused they think they are trapped in a body of the wrong sex.

So we are talking here about biological males - males in every single cell of their bodies, with every strand of DNA male to the core, males according to “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” - who are convinced that they are women trapped in male bodies. Consequently, they want to act as women, dress as women, and use the same facilities women use, including bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms.

Do you notice how easily and quickly Bryan makes the inconvenient trans men disappear? That's because he wants to foist these men onto women in women's showers and other facilities.

But that isn't the primary point. Bryan shows he doesn't have a clue about science, much as he proves over and over again that he does not have a clue about Christian sacred scripture.

Trans women are not and never are men. Not even when they got the blue blanket in the nursery because the obstetrician saw an "outie" rather than an "innie." Just because many may have an XY 23rd chromosome pair does not make them male. There has been scientific research that shows that there is an SRY gene that is one of the primary blueprints for male development. There have been genetic situtaions that have been discovered that explain at least some cases of transsexualism. In the past couple of years, a gene has been found that results in a "long androgen receptor." This may explain some of the brain development of trans women as female, while the recepptors work well enough to cause the wolffian ducts to develop rather then the mullerian ducts. For trans men, a gene was found that causes testosterone to be processed much more efficiently - and thiscan have an effect on embryonic and fetal development.

Bryan does not seem to realize that the "default" blueprint for the human body is female, and that any male development is the result of deviance from that default. In essence, before sexual differentiation, embryos are, as the bible points out in Genesis 1:27, "male *and* female." They have the capacity to develop in either direction, depending on how the blueprint reads, and the construction process moves. Transsexual embryos/fetuses get some parts that develop along male lines, and some parts that develop along female lines. Other intersex embryos/fetuses have developmental differences that range from developing fully in accordance with the "opposite" blueprint - complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) is an example, in which an embryos that would be classified as (unsing Bryan's words):

"males in every single cell of their bodies, with every strand of DNA male to the core"
develop phenotypically as female, because even though their bodies are full of testosterone, their cells have testosterone receptors that do not work. Remember, the default development is female, so that explains why the female form is used in the construction when the testosterone does not work.

Returning to trans women, or rather, fetuses that develop along those lines, the long androgen receptors may or may not be sufficient to cause female development in the brain or parts of the brain. The result is likely that not everyone who has this genetic feature will turn out to be a woman-born-transsexual. But enough of us do.

The studies do not claim to have found the only source of these developmental differences, but they point out the fact that who and what we are is biological and not merely psychiatric.

While the APA still classifies 'gender identity disorder" as a mental disorder, Bryan's take on it is pure prejudice and not scientific at all. The only reason for the mental disorder classification is so that trans people can get treatment. There are better models, medical models, that would be just as effective and less stigmatizing. The appropriate treatment, from the standpoint of a society that demands that there be only two sexes, is hormonal and surgical treatment to allow the trans individual to fit into society.

But Bryan and his ilk would have none of this - they'd rather have all trans people just commit suicide for lack of treatment, or push us off to the quacks who still practice electroshock and other "conversion" therapies that have been proven to be ineffective.

The only perversion I would not want to have people exposed to is Bryan's perversion of Christianity into something hateful and malignant.

Bryan quotes from Barney Frank, who, while a member of Congress, and a gay man, is no expert on transsexualism. Barney only showed in what Bryan quoted that even our allies need to be educated. But at least people like Barney Frank are likely to be educable, unlike bigots like Bryan, who perhaps should try electroshock therapy themselves to eliminate their harmful religious delusions. Not all religion is delusional, I hasten to add, and not all religious delusions are harmful. But when people like Bryan twist sacred scripture and science to fit their bigotry and prejudice and genuinely believe that they are right, they prove they are in serious need of professional help.

Incredibly, Bryan has to go back to 1999, when Rep. Frank was even less knowledgeable about trans people than he is now, to dig up his quote. In 1999, the first BSTc study was only four years old and was not widely known outside of specialized scientific circles.

Being gay does not make Barney Frank an expert on transsexual people, even now, but he's better today than he was in 1999, even if he still does not quite "get it."
And even in 1999, Barney was explaining that it was society that he saw as not ready to accept trans women as women. Things have changed - and those people who feel that way are increasingly in the minority.

Even most transsexual people ourselves are not experts on what it is that makes us tick - in part because we've all been educated in the same societal system that expects the sex binary to be a reflection of nature. We just know that the initial sex assignment was wrong. Once we realize that nature is more diverse, it's still difficult to let go of the societal expectations. Indeed, unless society changes, those who transition rather than trying to "gut it out" as something like "genderqueer" may have a better chance at coping with society, provided society meets us part way with reasonable accommodations.

So, when it comes to "protecting our wives and daughters," just remember that it's Bryan Fischer who is the one who really wants us women sharing the facilities with trans men. He just doesn't come out and say it openly, because it would scare away all those pretty donations that line his pockets.

--
ADDENDUM - August 30, 2010:

For those who want to know more about biological issues in the gray area that the "society" has historically ignored, and Bryan Fischer wants to continue keeping in ignorance, I suggest that readers take a look at numerous entries over at Zoe Brain's blog (you can find it in the column to the right).

Here are some examples of medical scientific studies that Zoe has provided information about:

http://www.facebook.com/l/c76ab;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18000096.

There's more in the comments at http://www.facebook.com/l/c76ab;aebrain.blogspot.com/2010/08/travel-issues.html
e.g. Frydman, R. et. al. (1988) Pregnancy in a 46 XY patient. Fertil. Steril., 50:813-814. Kan, A.K.S., et. al. (1997)

Two successful pregnancies in a 46, XY patient. Hum. Reprod.,12(7):1434-1435. Selvaraj, K., et. al. (2002)

Successful pregnancy in a patient with a 46, XY karyotype. Fertil. Steril., Aug.; 78(2):419-420.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sara Palin's Hypocrisy on Teen Pregnancy

On September 1, 2008, James C. Dobson, the founder and chief demagogue of (Out of) Focus on the Family issued the following statement:

"In the 32-year history of Focus on the Family, we have offered prayer, counseling and resource assistance to tens of thousands of parents and children in the same situation the Palins are now facing. We have always encouraged the parents to love and support their children and always advised the girls to see their pregnancies through, even though there will of course be challenges along the way.

That is what the Palins are doing, and they should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances."Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord. I've been the beneficiary of that forgiveness and restoration in my own life countless times, as I'm sure the Palins have.

"The media are already trying to spin this as evidence Gov. Palin is a 'hypocrite,' but all it really means is that she and her family are human. They are in my prayers and those of millions of Americans."


Well, while I will discount the last paragraph (Sarah Palin is a hypocrite, if one looks at what she says and what she does when she slashes funding for caring for pregnant teens in her state, that isn't what Dobson is dealing with), I largely agree with the so called "Doctor" Dobson here, at least when it comes to his reaching out to comfort people who fit into his narrow view of "pro-life, pro-family." He and his organization don't really care about anyone whose life or family doesn't meet his narrow and bigoted view of whose life is important and what makes a family. But if we limit ourselves to the sort of people who fit his constituency, I can't disagree with him.

His organization’s counseling doesn’t allow for any reproductive chopice other than going forward with the pregnancy. On the other hand, in the Palin situation, I am sure (or at least hopeful) that Bristol Palin should allowed to make her own reproductive choice, including having her baby. As to marrying the young man who got her pregnant, that should be their mutual choice. (I’ve seen reports that he may not be as willing to be getting married as she is, but that’s personal and private, and between them.)

But what’s the real issue – it isn’t Bristol Palin’s pregnancy, it’s teen pregnancy and teen unwed mothers and the role of education and government that are legitimate issues in the campaign.

Sarah Palin's "social conservatism" and her strange superstitious "religion" help make her a strong opponent of women’s reproductive rights except for the obligation to have a baby if one gets pregnant, whether by plan, by accident, or out of ignorance.

Sarah Palin opposes sex education in the schools. She recently line-item vetoed help for pregnant teens in trouble with nowhere else to turn. Don't believe it? See the Washington Post coverage: Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms By Paul Kane

ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed.

Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.

According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."


Apparently Governor Palin only believes in the oppressive side of the "right to life." While Sarah Palin may be supportive of her own daughter, not all teen girls who are pregnant and actually choose to have their babies have family support, or support from private sources.

Governor Palin may think it’s a good idea to cut the state budget to save taxpayers money – but relying on private charity does not make for a level playing field. Relying on religious charities, especially with the Bush version of "faith-based initiative," gives us an ugly hybrid – using goverment taxpayer funds to support discriminatory practices by religious bigots.

Seeing Sarah Palin speak during C-Span’s coverage of the Republican convention, and seeing her family, could have given me some "feel-good" feelings if it weren’t for her opposition to things that I hold near and dear, like the fact that I should have the same rights as everyone else. After all, she’s not entirely bad, is she?

If (Out of) Focus on the Family wasn’t rabidly anti-gay and anti-trans, I’d feel better about the positive things they do for people who fit their constiruency. For now, it’s enough for me to acknowledge that even the most evil Christianist demagogues aren’t all bad. James Dobson and Sarah Palin might be members of the lunatic fringe on the issue of marriage rights and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, but I have to acknowledge that they’re not 100% pure evil on every issue.

After all, according to a recent controversial movie on the subject, even Adolph Hitler apparently liked small animals and children.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Thoughts on the Dignity for All Students Act and the School Safety Act

First, I was quoted by The Advocate (online, August 19, 2008) in an article by Kerry Eleveld discussing the Safe Schools for All Students Act that was introduced by the Republican-controlled New York State Senate Rules Committee – notable for the first time any Republican-sponsored bill in New York has sought to protect people on the basis of “gender identity or expression.”

See the full article here.

Here's the part that quotes me:




Trans activists overall are pleased by the progress that has been made in the senate. “As a signal from the Republican leadership, the inclusion of gender identity or expression in the Safe Schools bill could be a ray of hope,” said Joann Prinzivalli, state director of the New York Transgender Rights Organization.

But Prinzivalli said one “disturbing” difference in the Republican bill is that it provides protection from disciplinary action or professional misconduct for school employees who know of, but do not report, acts of bullying. “This is not a feature in the [assembly’s] Dignity bill, and it makes the Safe Schools bill much less palatable as an alternative,” she added.

From a quite different viewpoint, the following comes from the Lunatic Fringe at (Out of) Focus on the Family:

New York Considers Special Rights for 'Transgendered' Students


The Republican majority in the New York Senate has introduced a measure that would make the state among the first in the nation to grant special protections to "transgendered" students, including those who cross-dress.

The Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-activist group, is taking credit for the so-called Safe Schools for All Students Act. Disguised as an anti-bullying effort, it would add special protections based on sexual orientation.

“While efforts need to be made to stop the bullying of any child, we believe it’s wrong for schools to have mandates pushed on them by homosexual-advocacy groups," said Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "These groups have been bragging about a 'coup' in New York and have a clear agenda of promoting their sexual lifestyle to children. “It is not wise to push those types of agendas onto young kids who are still figuring out who they are. Plus, it puts teachers who have deeply held religious convictions in jeopardy.”

North Carolina lawmakers rejected a similar bill in July.

Aside from the fact that the folks at (Out Of) Focus On The Family Action are always trying to push their anti-Christian, anti-humanitarian, anti-science, anti-human rights anti-justice anti-fairness agenda, one other thing these people don’t get is that this Republican-sponsored School Safety bill would add special protections for “teachers who have deeply held religious convictions.” If they bothered to read the bill carefully, the (Out Of) Focus folks might have seen this.

Both the Dignity for All Students Act (S1571, sponsored by Democratic State Senator Thomas K. Duane, and co-sponsored by eleven Democratic Senators, the Republican Rules Committee bill (S8739, the Safe Schools for All Students Act) require that school employees report incidents of harrassment/bullying of which they are aware or have reason to suspect. Both bills protect those school employees who report harrassment/bullying in good faith. But the Republican bill goes farther, adding:


FAILURE OF AN EMPLOYEE TO MAKE A REPORT PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH MAY NOT BE THE BASIS FOR ANY DISCIPLINARY ACTION OR PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT CHARGE AGAINST THE EMPLOYEE; (S8739, p2 lines 34-34)


It appears to be possible that the Republican senators really are trying to protect those (Out of) Focus “teachers who have deeply held ‘religious’ convictions” whose strange version of religion involves a belief that bullying and harassment of gay, transgender, tomboy and sissy kids is somehow a good thing.

The fact that “gender identity or expression” is properly included (under the definition of gender) as a protected class, in addition to sexual orientation, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, military status, sex, gender, age or marital status is lost on the bully-protecting folks at (Out of) Focus, who seem to think that it’s just fine for a schoolyard bully to pick on that nerdy sissy kid with glasses because in their warped sense of “religion” that’s what they think Jesus would have done (though I am quite sure Jesus would differ with that viewpoint, as they’ll find out when they get judged at the Final Judgment - see Matt. 25), or because bullying the sissy kid will somehow “make a man out of him.”

I had my own painful personal experience as a child with bullying and harassment, from the 5th grade until I got out of high school. It wasn’t a “sexual orientation” thing. It wasn’t even visibly a “gender identity or expression” thing – or maybe it was.

Essentially, I transferred into a new school in the middle of the school year, and somehow, the school bumped a very popular kid from the “A track” class to the “B track” class in order to fit me in. On top of that, when it came to schoolyard activity, it became obvious that I “throw like a girl.” This caused a great deal of resentment and led to a lot of harassment. I didn’t complain about it, but apparently teachers and administrators noticed, which prompted them to set up a meeting with my parents and the principal.

The proposed solution? My father was told that he and I should play catch after school every day. This was along the lines of “it’ll make a man out of him.” Of course, this turned out to be a very frustrating exercise for both my father and myself. No matter what I did, it *hurt* my elbow when I tried to “throw like a boy.”

The problem with this picture is that the traditional solution in these cases is to blame the victim, something the (Out of) Focus folks seem to want to continue as the solution.

The (Out of) Focus folks and the New York State Senate Republican-controlled Rules committee don’t seem to understand that teachers (and other school employees) who want to hide behind their so-called “religious beliefs” to justify bullying and harassment don’t belong in the schools, just like a teacher who believes in “Young Earth Creationism” shouldn’t be protected for teaching this religious belief in a science classroom.

One thought about this disturbing language in the Republican Senate bill (language perhaps intended to pander to (Out Of) Focus and its ilk) is that it was put there intentionally as a “poison pill” with the idea being the Senate could pass this bill and then kill a compromise with the Assembly Dignity for All Students Act bill (A3496 – the same as S1571) by insisting on protecting those teachers, school officials and employees who want to continue to turn a blind eye toward harassment and bullying. In this very cynical view, the Republican senators could trumpet about how they voted for (or even supported, if the bill doesn’t come to a vote) a “school safety” bill in their bids for re-election.

Most people wouldn’t even notice that the bill has a fatal flaw that eviscerates the coverage it would only seem to provide – the folks at (Out of) Focus On The Family Action didn’t notice that their so-called “concern” on the issue was already addressed by the Republican Rules committee.