One of the biggest problems with having fibro is not knowing when to go to the doctor. This is followed by seeing “miracle cures,” life-changing healthcare for people who had no hope, and knowing that will never be me. I work at a healthcare facility and hear about those stories all the time. However, my personal biggest frustration is when I hear about withholding healthcare for people who need it because of politics. As someone who wishes for an available medical solution to my problems, the idea of making any safe, tested healthcare illegal is abhorrent and an indication of the mental and political health of our society as a whole.

Abortion is not a political decision. It’s a moral decision, and moral decisions can’t be mandated by any political system, much less one that’s as divided, unreasonable, and uncommunicative as ours is. As soon as lawmakers are unable to understand and empathize with both sides of any argument, they should step down. As soon as they make decisions based on their own morals (or sometimes lack thereof) they should step down. The post-Roe abortion environment is threatening not just physical healthcare but also mental health care for women everywhere – for example a proposed bill in Oklahoma banning abortion after 30 days. On top of that to hear a statement by a Texas politician declaring medical treatments for transgender children “child abuse” and thus threatening access to medical care by transgender children is not just disgraceful, it’s criminal. Since a lot of this crap politics is coming from the same people who fight against wearing masks and being responsible during a pandemic — it’s like life-threatening irony.

The fibromyalgia community, who have dealt with a lack of healthcare availability and have fought against being labeled as whiners and malingerers, should stand up for all the people who are being refused necessary healthcare because of small-minded, hypocritical, greedy politicians.

I don’t know how hashtags work (because I’m old) but #StopMakingHealthCareIllegal and #FibroFighters.

There. Rant done for the day. I don’t care who I pissed off.