Tag: emergency contraception

With the nomination of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security abortion rights activists are concerned her replacement, Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer, will be detrimental to progressive abortion policy in the state: (via azcentral.com).

Planned Parenthood in Indiana has created quite a stir in the anti-choice community by offering gift certificates for services, which are intended to help financially strapped men and women pay for preventative health care, but can also be used for abortion services: (via NY Times).

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published a study finding that between 2005 and 2007 access to emergency contraception from pharmacies has increased considerably since the medication has become available without a prescription, with large chain stores more likely than smaller local chains to stock and dispense EC: (via National Parternship.org).

In the journal Contraception an editorial examines possible reasons why increased availability of emergency contraception has not necessarily reduced the incidence of unintended pregnancy, including possible sporadic use of the medication or women using EC when no true risk of pregnancy exists: (via National Parternship.org).

A Guttmacher Institute policy review provides suggestions for making contraception more accessible and easy to use and calls for more attention towards the issue since 9 in 10 women at risk for unintended pregnancy use contraception, yet half of all pregnancies remain unintended: (via National Parternship.org).

The Catholic priest in California that called for parishioners to go to confession for voting for Obama attempts to clarify his statements to his congregation and in an interview with the Modesto Bee.

A recently released New Zealand study finds a small link between abortion and mental health issues, saying for many women abortion may be a stressful or traumatic time but does not cause devastating effects on mental health, as the anti-choice community would like people to believe: (via medicalnewstoday.com).  

Though abortion in Bolivia is legal in some circumstances, access for women who are able to legally obtain one are often practically prevented from doing so by anti-abortion judges and doctors, and illegal abortion remains frequent and dangerously unsafe: (via RH Reality Check).

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard arguments on the preliminary injunction against state Board of Pharmacy rules mandating that pharmacies must fill legal prescriptions, inclusing Plan B.  The judges expressed particular interest in whether the injunction could be limited to the plaintiffs, rather than the entire state, but isn't expected to rule for four weeks at the earliest (via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer).  

Planned Parenthood Action Fund announces its endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for president of the United States, marking only the second time in Planned Parenthood's history that the Action Fund has made a presidential endorsement.  

Canada will honour Henry Morgentaler - the doctor who led the fight to legalize abortion in Canada - with its highest civilian award, the Governor General's Order of Canada (via Reuters).  

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examines Pennsylvania's decision to refuse more than $5.8 million in federal Title V abstinence-only education funding since 2003, pointing out that a refusal of federal funding shows just how little confidence states have in abstinence-only programs.  

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard arguments on the preliminary injunction against state Board of Pharmacy rules mandating that pharmacies must fill legal prescriptions, inclusing Plan B.  The judges expressed particular interest in whether the injunction could be limited to the plaintiffs, rather than the entire state, but isn't expected to rule for four weeks at the earliest (via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer).  

Planned Parenthood Action Fund announces its endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for president of the United States, marking only the second time in Planned Parenthood's history that the Action Fund has made a presidential endorsement.  

Canada will honour Henry Morgentaler - the doctor who led the fight to legalize abortion in Canada - with its highest civilian award, the Governor General's Order of Canada (via Reuters).  

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examines Pennsylvania's decision to refuse more than $5.8 million in federal Title V abstinence-only education funding since 2003, pointing out that a refusal of federal funding shows just how little confidence states have in abstinence-only programs.  

RH Reality Check reports that only 28 states are still participating in the federal government's Title V abstinence-only funding scheme - meaning that 23 states have now opted out.

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has told conservative leaders that he will actively seek the support of Christian conservatives by emphasizing his anti-choice record (via MSNBC).  

Conservative Christian organization the Family Research Council's latest television ads attack presidential candidate Barack Obama's pro-choice stance (via The New York Times).  

Scotland's government leads the way in EC access by launching a program to provide free over-the-counter emergency contraception through all community pharmacies (via The Scotsman).

A Senate appropriations subcommittee approved a spending bill for the fiscal year of 2009 which will reduce Title V abstinence-only sex-education spending by 25%, keep Title X family planning funding at 2008 levels, and increase community health center funding by $150 million: (via nationalpartnership.org).

Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. discusses the recent controversy over the pregnant teens at Gloucester High and faults the blame primarily on the ineffective abstinence-only policies of the Bush Administration.

Researchers surveyed hospital emergency departments in Illinois and found only a small percentage used all 10 recommended elements of comprehensive medical care management for sexual assault survivors and statistics of those administering emergency contraception are provided: (via nationalpartnership.org).

A study by researchers at the RAND Corporation has found that of those teens who make virginity pledges, the ones that were already inclined to do so delay intercourse, but since most teens are not inclined to make such pledges, comprehensive sex-education is necessary to prevent unintended pregnancy and "sexual risk taking": (via nationalpartnership.org).

A nurse in Massachusetts has developed a comprehensive sex education program that also involves parents, teaching them to continue sex education conversations at home

Medical officials at a Massachusetts high school health center resigned in protest after their recommendation to give students contraceptives confidentially was rejected.  Teen pregnancy rates are growing at the school

Canada recently approved emergency contraception for behind-the-counter sales, and now in even more exciting news, the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities will approve EC for sale on drug store shelves, without requiring that customers speak with a pharmacist

RH Reality Check exposes the life and death reality of unsafe abortion in Senegal

An anti-choice organization at Harvard is encouraging students to ask for a refund of part of their campus health insurance plans because a portion of the health insurance fee goes to fund elective abortions.  Opponents of the group say that the campaign is a misleading, fundamental misunderstanding of the way insurance works

Misleading and false reports about the HPV vaccine have circulated, and health officials fear that people will decline the vaccine, which is safe and beneficial

Emergency contraception has been approved for over-the-counter sales in Canada

Harvey Karman, who helped to make abortions safer in the 1970s, has died

The Columbian reports on NARAL Pro-Choice Washington endorsed Attorney General candidate John Ladenburg's long history of helping people in Washington state

The LA Times details the differences in McCain and Obama's visions for the Supreme Court.  Obama notes that the Roberts-Alito court has rolled back civil rights by rejecting Lilly Ledbetter's fair pay appeal, a case that McCain has also opposed

Time magazine has further coverage of NARAL Pro-Choice America's endorsement of Obama and the decision of some affiliates to remain neutral

Pro-choice legislators in the Kansas senate succeeded in defeating an attempt to override Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto of an anti-choice bill that would have allowed family members of a woman to sue if they believed a doctor had performed or was about to perform an illegal late-term abortion

Bloomberg LP, founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is facing a lawsuit involving 58 women who say they had their pay cut, were demoted or denied opportunities because they had become pregnant

John McCain opposes the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act because he says it could invite future lawsuits, instead believing that women need more "education and training" to combat companies who pay women less for equal work

A Wisconsin pharmacist who received sanctions from the state's Pharmacy Board after refusing to dispense birth control pills to a college student or transfer her prescription is now appealing the sanctions at the state Supreme Court

Thousands of Chileans are protesting the Constitutional Court's decision to halt distribution of emergency contraception in public health clinics

Nearly forty years after abortion became legal in Britain, pro-choice supporters say that there are renewed attacks on reproductive rights

RH Reality Check details the effects of Oklahoma's anti-choice forced ultrasound law

Some young religious voters prove that religion and conservatism do not go hand in hand by focusing on social justice issues

Clinics in Missouri will provide the Gardasil vaccine at no charge to qualified patients, thanks to an $11 million grant

Another article takes aim at John McCain's choice record, bursting the "McCain is a moderate" bubble

RH Reality Check thoroughly debunks the alleged efficacy of abstinence-only education

Dave Reichert is listed as the least effective congress member from Washington State and ranks 401st out of the 439 House members overall by Congress.org

Meanwhile, Darcy Burner receives an endorsement from Earth Day founder Denis Hayes

In light of recent tension between second and third wave feminists, Courtney E. Martin urges feminists to have complex conversations about generational rifts, rather than engaging in reductive arguments

The Tennessee Attorney General is questioning proposed legislation that would ban late-term abortion, saying that it might conflict with the state's Constitution.  The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that Tennessee's Constitution offers more protection for abortion rights than the U.S. Constitution

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by anti-choice organizations who sought to stop the dispensation of Plan B without a prescription.  The judge said that the plaintiffs (including Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America) failed to show why anyone would be harmed by the availability of over the counter emergency contraception

The Dayton, OH abortion clinic that was in danger of forced closure is now set to remain open indefinitely thanks to an area hospital and three physicians who have agreed to treat clinic patients in case of surgical complications

The St. Petersburg Times Editorial Board weighs in against anti-choice legislators' use of ideology to restrict abortion rights in Florida, saying that recent legislation is not intended to protect women's health but limit choice and access

The Daily Iowan Editorial Board supports comprehensive sex education programs in an editorial, and praises the state's decision to refuse Title V abstinence only federal funding