You would think that would be the end of it.

The anti-women brigade is nothing if not tenacious. They have managed to get a similar measure on the ballot this year. This time, it’s known as Amendment 62. The wording is also altered slightly, in order to obscure the point of the amendment itself. Instead of referring to zygotes as persons “from the moment of conception”, it now refers to zygotes (again) as persons “from the moment of biological development”. In the amendment there is no actual definition of what “biological development” means.

The intended effect, as was the intended effect of Amendment 48, is to ban abortions in our state, without exception; to outlaw any form of oral birth control, including Plan B and/or other emergency contraceptives; and to hold women criminally liable for miscarriages; and banning in vitro fertilization, among other things. In short, forcing complete control by the state over a woman’s reproductive health. Period. No more exceptions for rape, incest, or a woman’s physical health.

The message is clear: if you are a woman of childbearing age (let’s face it, somebody old enough to have a menstrual period), a zygote is more important than you.

Take some time to read the rest of the FAQ at No on 62. Find out what you can do to help. If you live in Colorado, the biggest thing you can do is to either send in your mail-in ballot or get out there on Election Day and vote. All this is is Amendment 48 with a different number. Let’s ensure this amendment ends up the same way that did.

ETA: There was a rally at the state Capitol on Tuesday to kick off the No on 62 campaign. Sadly, I was on the phone with my insurance company for most of the day.

In my mind, it’s a cruel conversation ender. Meant to be… Meaning that it was “meant to be” that M went through what she did, what she’s still going through, and what she’ll have to live with for the rest of her life. That in itself is pretty fscking cruel. And for our daughter – why would it be “meant to be” that she was taken from the person who gave birth to her, who she shares more than half her genes with, and put her into a home with strangers? Forever?

Let’s not forget the adoptive parents. Most of us – certainly not all, but most, came to adoption through infertility. Was it really meant to be that my husband and I spent 13 years of our lives that we will never get fscking back on infertility treatments? At the end, when the well-meaning doctor (because, you know, everyone out there is so well-meaning) said, “I’m sorry, Ma’am, but it’s IVF or nothing for you”; and we both said “That destroyed our friend’s marriage. No thank you”.

All those prayers to Gods and Goddesses, vanished into the ether. But then we talked about adoption.

We waited for 2 years, primarily because we used the words “spiritual, but not religious” on our questionnaire when it asked about our religious beliefs in detail. Not to get all maudlin, but we went through quite a bit during our adoption process. We hung in there with the humiliations dished out by our well-meaning families. We lived with having our lives dissected in front of a hell of a lot of people, and finding our life wanting time after time. They were all well-meaning. They all told us to have faith, that things would work out the way they were meant to be. And when they told us to have faith, I began to let my own faith go.

Iwas an agnostic Wiccan by the time we started our adoption quest. By the time we went through our first disrupted placement (which is a long, hideous story all on its own, and not the way some might think), I had started to think about maybe.

Maybe all of our spells and prayers weren’t being heard.

Maybe there was a reason for that.

Maybe the reason was…that there was nobody there to listen.

I can’t say that I know for certain that God or a Goddess isn’t out there somewhere. I’m not smart enough to know that. But I do know that unless I meet him or her on the road someday, I don’t believe any more.

This rant was inspired by a post on another forum. Not linking because I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings by what I’ve said.

Know what? I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would. Nobody else seemed to either. Not feeling as sorry for myself as that might imply – Just the facts.

What’s been happening? Everything and nothing. Last Wednesday and Thursday were Data Gathering Days at School Girl’s school. We went in for about an hour on Wednesday for ability testing, picture taking, and various odd and assorted stuff. After that, she went to a friend’s house for a sleepover.

She was sick Thursday night, so I made the decision to let her stay home on Friday (which was idiotic scheduling on somebody’s part anyway, but that’s another rant for another time).

Yesterday we went to a parenting group meetup at a local water park. Well, we were there at the same time as the parenting group…That’s what I get for not checking my email before I leave the house every day. But School Girl had a great time, so that’s what was important.

And it’s another week that Mr. Evil is away (for his birthday, no less) in Boondocky, LA. He gets to do it next week too…