Perry’s Pages Overwhelmed With Women’s Health Questions
Rita Kirk, director of SMU's Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, talks about personal, if facetious, comments from Texas women to Governer Rick Perry in the wake of his defunding women's health programs.
By Carol Cavazos
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Rick Perry may be governor of Texas, but he’s ‘Doctor Perry’ to thousands of angry women on Facebook, facetiously seeking ‘advice’ on women’s health issues.
Questions are about everything menstruation to menopause and anything in between.
Cait Webb wrote, “Dear Governor Perry: My period is three days late. I was a sinner and got my tubes tied over a year ago. Should I be concerned? Or should I just wear white and hope for the best?”
The questions are interspersed among comments on the Perry for President page.
The questions overwhelmed the Give Rick a Chance page.
Though the Give Rick a Chance page seems to have been started during the Governor’s run for the presidency and in preparation for the South Carolina Primary, sarcastic health care questions and comments are still being posted.
The comments follow the Governor’s role in cutting millions in federal Medicaid funding for
the Texas Women’s Health Program so the money won’t go to Planned Parenthood Clinics....
“They’re just trying to alert the public about their concerns, and Facebook is an excellent way to do that,” said SMU student Olivia Book.
As for the facetious nature of the posts, Book said, “You’re going to get so many ‘likes’ if your comment is more facetious and entertaining. If you post something and people think it’s funny or people like it, then it’s going to show up on a news feed and it will merit more attention,” she added.