Comments on: Domestic violence, C-sections considered pre-existing conditions

By: Rose

Rose — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:08:03 +0000

Thank you – this is a perspective I’m embarrassed to acknowledge that I hadn’t thought about.

By: Feministe » I Am Not a Pre-Existing Condition

Feministe » I Am Not a Pre-Existing Condition — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:20:58 +0000

[...] Read Amandaw and [...]

By: This Moment’s WTF? « random babble…

This Moment’s WTF? « random babble… — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:51:37 +0000

[...] bullshit that is insurance companies and their pre-existing conditions, please please run over to her blog or to FWD and do so right now. A perfectly healthy baby, in a home where the parents did what any [...]

By: All Denials of Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions Deserve Equal Outrage : The Curvature

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:28:24 +0000

[...] then I read this post from Amandaw, and suddenly, things clicked: So why are [domestic violence and c-sections being labeled [...]

By: Arwyn

Arwyn — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:49:14 +0000

I think you’re absolutely right on about the ableism, but I do also think these two “conditions” are a little different in that they are things that are done to women — which is “better” than excluding conditions inherent in a person (like my bipolar disorder or my partner’s clotting disorder) not at all, of course, but I do wonder if the done to/inherent in difference is a part of the difference in reaction.

By: PSA: 5th Carnival of Feminists has arrived! « Raising My Boychick

PSA: 5th Carnival of Feminists has arrived! « Raising My Boychick — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:43:45 +0000

[...] hits it out of the ballpark with Domestic violence, C-sections considered pre-existing conditions at three rivers fog. It’s about ableism, healthcare, ableism, misogyny and [...]

By: OuyangDan

OuyangDan — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:26:14 +0000

Wow. I gotta say, as outraged as I was at that news, and as much as the cherry picking that goes on w/ pre-existing conditions, and the rage I reserve for companies who practice rescission, I didn’t think about this angle.

Thanks. It’s a brilliant perspective.

By: The Fifth Carnival of Feminists « Zero at the Bone

The Fifth Carnival of Feminists « Zero at the Bone — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:42:06 +0000

[...] hits it out of the ballpark with Domestic violence, C-sections considered pre-existing conditions at three rivers fog. It’s about ableism, healthcare, ableism, misogyny and [...]

By: Jesse the K

Jesse the K — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:23:43 +0000

outstanding! Thank you.

By: Chally

Chally — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:51:53 +0000

I just wanted to tell you I thought you’ve done a smashing job on this post and I’m including it in the next Feminists’ Carnival. :)

By: Thursday Blogwhoring « random babble…

Thursday Blogwhoring « random babble… — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:41:45 +0000

[...] amandaw: Domestic violence, C-sections considered pre-existing conditions. [...]

By: Zailyn

Zailyn — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:59:42 +0000

I’m also not from the US – European here – and I don’t think I can agree with that. Not quite a medical condition, but I do have a speech disorder and the (remarkably similar) stereotypes about its cause have all boiled down to “it’s only because they’re shy/have low self-esteem/are cowardly/talk too fast/etc. etc. etc.” – so because we’re doing something *wrong*, not because our brain happens to be wired slightly differently or anything like that – no matter where I’ve lived. And, you know, the prejudice against people with medical conditions and other disabilities suffer tends to be quite similar. Dig down enough, and you very often find the undercurrent of “this can’t possibly happen to ME because it only happens if you do X and I’m too smart to do X!”

I think the reason it’s more obvious in the US is because the US has a strong individualist bent – “you can achieve anything if you try hard enough!” which has the nasty dark side of “if you don’t achieve something, it’s because you didn’t try, so you certainly don’t deserve any help” and often gets used against welfare initiatives – this attitude is much less strong in Europe, I think. Saying all these attitudes don’t *exist* outside the US, however, just goes too close to whitewashing what happens in the rest of the world for my comfort.

By: flora poste

flora poste — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:34:35 +0000

“…the very popular cultural myth that people with medical conditions are somehow to blame for them” is something I only came across when I started following the discussions about health-care reform in the US.
Not being from the US, I found that pretty shocking. So much of what happens in the US seems to be taken up with enthusiasm in other parts a few years later, so I’m worried.

By: Femmostroppo Reader – September 20, 2009 — Hoyden About Town

Femmostroppo Reader – September 20, 2009 — Hoyden About Town — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:14:22 +0000

[...] three rivers fog » Domestic violence, C-sections considered pre-existing conditions [...]

By: lilacsigil

lilacsigil — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:33:45 +0000

Spot on analysis. Oh, those fat women, those sick women, those useless disabled women and cancer victims who brought it all on themselves, somehow? Sure, charge them! I’m just waiting for someone to point out that fat, sick and disabled mothers are more likely to have caesareans (whether they need them or not) so why not charge them more? And disabled people are likely to suffer domestic violence, so really it’s just part of their overall condition, isn’t it.

As I said elsewhere, I truly wish I could wake up tomorrow and the US would have universal healthcare. In Australia, even private insurers (who exists alongside the public system) can’t refuse you for pre-existing conditions – they can only impose a waiting period. Thanks, government!

By: Sungold

Sungold — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:02:42 +0000

This is the post I’ve been tempted to write over the past few days. I don’t think that your argument in any way diminishes the horrors of domestic violence. Instead, it throws into relief the callousness of insurers who would discriminate against both DV survivors and cancer patients. Thanks for saying what needed to be said!