tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post3844367720519539024..comments2023-10-07T11:03:10.202-05:00Comments on Autist's Corner: Barack Obama Sez Mental Health Isn't HealthLindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10860246538349067232noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-66537940090960962992008-07-08T19:43:00.000-05:002008-07-08T19:43:00.000-05:00"And there is NO meaningful difference between the..."And there is NO meaningful difference between the Democratic and Republican parties."<BR/><BR/>I think, on some level, I know that, although I want very much to believe otherwise.Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10860246538349067232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-68803094775527047632008-07-08T19:41:00.000-05:002008-07-08T19:41:00.000-05:00"...mental distress is not the same thing as a men..."...mental <I>distress</I> is not the same thing as a mental <I>impairment</I>"<BR/><BR/>That's true. I guess my mind immediately jumped to the cases of either major depression (for which a woman must stop medication while she is pregnant) or a history of/risk factors for postpartum depression/psychosis. Or any other psychiatric disorder that a) requires a medication that is unsafe to use while pregnant or b) causes the woman to doubt her ability to bear/raise a child and remain sane. But you're right; not every bad emotional experience is a psychiatric episode. Nevertheless, I think Sen. Obama's sentiment, if reflected in the law, would make it hard for women who do have psychiatric conditions who wish to avoid pregnancy to get abortions. And that would be wrong.Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10860246538349067232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-530548799681444324.post-40139695466318004412008-07-08T03:28:00.000-05:002008-07-08T03:28:00.000-05:00Oh this is complex. Very very complex.I've very re...Oh this is complex. Very very complex.<BR/><BR/>I've very recently been very badly burned on this issue, so for now i'll limit my comments to: mental <I>distress</I> is not the same thing as a mental <I>impairment</I>, and i don't think the former comes under the category of medical (as opposed to social) phenomena. That might sound like a trivial point of categorisation, but i believe it's one that has very, very real implications, not just for psychiatry but for Western society in general.<BR/><BR/>(Of course, i believe that any woman has a right to abort, before the point of viability outside the womb, for <I>any reason whatsoever</I> (even if i think that very nasty ideologies underlie some of these reasons), so the distinction isn't really an issue for me in this context...)<BR/><BR/>And there is NO meaningful difference between the Democratic and Republican parties.<BR/><BR/>I have a post planned on this in the near-ish future...stevethehydrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18334234855643025449noreply@blogger.com