By Andrew

As we gear up for a new year in Congress, we want to highlight two recent declarations of support for increased access to contraceptive services.

In late November, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists joined the American Academy of Pediatrics in publicly supporting expanded access to contraception. Both groups, which together represent thousands of medical professionals, have agreed that improving access to contraception should be a high priority in the United States. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists specifically advocated for the ability to sell birth control over the counter without a prescription, while the American Academy of Pediatrics believes that women – and minors – should have prescriptions for emergency contraception in advance, making it more effective.

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that the right to privacy not only allows an adult access to obtain contraceptives, but that this right also extends to include minors. We certainly hope that the medical community’s public support for contraception will encourage our legislators to draft bills that will turn these recommendations into actual policy.

Contrary to “abstinence-only” ideologues, the proper use of contraception does help sexually active people to remain disease free, as well as avoid unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the nation’s leading sexual health research organization, young people generally begin having sex at age 17, but only marry around their mid-20s. During this decade-long period when they engage in sex, contraception plays a key role in preserving good sexual and reproductive health. It is time our legislators across the nation recognize this fact.

Right now, though, young people ages 15 to 24 carry a disproportionate burden of new STDs diagnosed each year. Meanwhile, women ages 18 to 24 report higher rates of unintended pregnancy compared to the rest of the female population. We can address this reproductive health crisis effectively by expanding access to contraception. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has consistently reported the benefits of condom use in preventing STDs and unwanted pregnancy – in fact, when properly used, condoms have a .02% failure rate. Still, no method of birth control is perfect. However, expanding access to contraception enables women to take greater control of their own reproductive health.

The United States medical community is not alone in acknowledging and promoting this empowerment. On a global level, the United Nations has gone one step further by declaring that access to contraception is a human right. The UN reports that contraceptive options provide women with an opportunity to space pregnancies and plan their families more successfully with greater certainty. The World Health Organization echoes these same recommendations. It is known that family planning, possible through proper use of contraception, “has a direct impact on a woman’s health and well-being,” specifically because it “represents an opportunity for women for enhanced education and participation in public life.”

By giving women and men the tools they need to control their reproductive health we can create a stronger society that helps all individuals reach their full potential. True reproductive freedom rests on the ability to obtain the services necessary for maintaining good sexual health, and those services include access to contraceptive options.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the UN have all expressed support for this expansion of reproductive freedom – but we need your help to make sure that it remains on the legislative agenda. You can start by taking some time to determine which method of contraception works best for you. You can also use your social media networks to educate others about the importance of expanding access to contraception.

Most importantly, though, you should contact your representatives to advocate this issue further by reminding them that the larger effort to enhance reproductive healthcare is still a priority.

By Andrew

People will be analyzing the Nov. 6th election for months, if not years, to come. Many already say President Obama won re-election in great part due to his support of a woman’s ability to make her own personal medical decisions without interference from politicians.

As a result of the election, we will move ahead with implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). By eliminating many out-of-pocket costs associated with preventive healthcare, the ACA will dramatically expand the number of people who can receive high-quality, affordable care from trusted and essential providers like Planned Parenthood.

At Planned Parenthood alone, nearly three million women a year already rely on close to 800 health centers for a range of personal and preventive health care services, such as gynecological and breast exams, STI testing and counseling, Pap tests, HIV testing, and more. The ACA’s provisions will enable millions more women to take advantage of these services with no co-pays or deductibles.

Although we have a women’s health champion in the White House, manifestations of fervently anti-choice agendas remain present at both the federal and state levels. Below, we will examine some of those state attacks. As their proponents begin recycling the scraps of this year’s anti-choice campaigns into renewed efforts down the road, we will certainly keep a close watch.

State Issues: Recap and Moving Forward

In five states – Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and Ohio – anti-choice initiatives to define “personhood” as beginning from the moment of fertilization either failed to gather either enough signatures to be voted upon by citizens or, if they did, were rejected at the polls. Although the presence of these efforts reflects a continuing trend of attacks on the safe and legal termination of a woman’s pregnancy, trends within states indicate a weakening popularity for the anti-choice “personhood” tactic.

Proponents of personhood amendments in Colorado failed to gather the legally required number of signatures necessary to place the issue on the Nov. 6th ballot, whereas with similar initiatives, in  both 2008 and 2010, they were actually voted on though subsequently defeated by wide margins.  In Nevada, two separate personhood measures also failed to gather enough signatures, mirroring the outcome of a previous personhood initiative in 2010. Mean while, in Florida, personhood supporters neglected to deliver the requisite materials to the state by the 2012 deadline to appear on this year’s ballot.

Arizona state legislators attempted to redress the stalling of personhood legislation by referring SB 1494 to the November 6th ballot. Although this effort also failed, Arizona HB 2036 has traversed the federal court system as legal sparring continues over the restrictive nature of the legislation. The bill would ban all abortion procedures after 20 weeks of gestation, earlier than any other state. Concerns exist over the bill’s lack of exceptions for women who discover fetal birth defects or other life-threatening conditions beyond 20 weeks into their pregnancy. As it stands, the bill stymies a woman’s ability to decide to end her pregnancy within pre-existing legal parameters.

Efforts on behalf of advancing a personhood amendment in Ohio yielded too few signatures to be listed on the November 6th ballot, although the state has other threats to reproductive freedom pending. Ohio HB 125 would outlaw abortion, even within the legal limits prescribed by Roe v. Wade (1973), if a fetal heartbeat can be detected.  According to reports by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Ohio’s state legislators have come to a consensus on the bill and may pass it by the end of this year.

Unlike these states that focused on abortion restrictions, Texas navigated state healthcare laws in an effort to insert clauses that would defund family planning services, particularly its seven Planned Parenthood affiliates. However, these affiliates have successfully referred to the state court system and made progress towards the dissolution of the state’s anti-choice administrative rules passed in 2011. These rules stipulate that health care providers who terminate a woman’s pregnancy, counsel her on options that include abortion, or associate with providers that do either, will lose all state funding. After suing the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Planned Parenthood affiliates received an affirmative decision that prohibits that state from canceling their funding for being affiliates of an organization that offers safe and legal abortion services.

A woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy has become much more precarious in Mississippi, where the state’s only abortion provider, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, has been mired in bureaucratic and legal struggles to remain open.  In 2011, Mississippi voters rejected a personhood amendment to the state constitution, though anti-choice legislators have adapted the intent of this failed amendment into a “targeted regulation of abortion providers” (TRAP) law. On July 1st of this year, a new law took effect mandating that abortion providers must be certified as obstetricians/gynecologists who also have privileges at local hospitals. Mississippi is the only state with such strict, and medically unfounded, provisions. The law masquerades as safeguarding women’s health, though its intent is to make the termination of a woman’s pregnancy a nonexistent option in Mississippi. Following the enactment of this law, a federal judge ruled that the Jackson Women’s Health Organization may continue to operate without criminal or civil penalties while it pursues legal challenge to the state law.

Unfortunately, these state initiatives only reflect a portion of the anti-choice efforts currently unfolding across the country, and we expect to see more challenges to reproductive freedom in the future.

Where Pennsylvania Stands

Pennsylvania’s status quo on reproductive freedom stems from a governor, state legislature, and congressional representatives that lean predominantly towards anti-choice policies. Like Mississippi, this state has endured its share of TRAP laws, most notably Act 122, signed into law in December 2011 by Governor Corbett. The law requires all abortion facilities to meet standards of classification as an “ambulatory surgical facility,” often entailing additional administrative and architectural alterations. The law imposes restrictions that do not have an immediate impact on women’s health. Rather, it places a financial chokehold on abortion providers, thereby diminishing a woman’s ability to access safe and reputable abortion facilities in the state.

A positive note to remember is the lifting of a separate financial barrier to reproductive health services, accomplished by maintaining the Affordable Care Act. Moving forward, the framework for Pennsylvanians to receive care under the ACA will depend on the actions of the Pennsylvania state government, which has about a month to develop a state health insurance exchange program within the parameters of the ACA. If it fails to deliver, the federal government will intervene to establish a health insurance exchange in the state.

Despite the severe challenges to women’s reproductive freedom in each of these states, women across the nation expressed to policymakers that their ability to make personal decisions about what is best for their reproductive health is a personal priority. Although we expect continued attacks  on the essential domains of women’s health care – from funding for Planned Parenthood, to access to contraception, to safe and legal abortion – we are stronger than ever to hold our leaders accountable for protecting our reproductive freedom.

By Sarah 

With the 2012 Summer Olympics in full swing, athletes are competing and apparently having lots of sex.  And we aren’t kidding.  Preparations for this international event in London included supplying the athletes with approximately 100,000 condoms. This number has become the norm since the 2000 Sydney games where 70,000 Olympian designated condoms ran out.  

Just before the games began, officials at the Olympics made final preparations to ensure that all athletes have the option of safe sex during their 2-week stay in London.

We wanted to use this as a moment to talk about the many other forms of contraception. Most people know about condoms and the birth control pill. From there, the options are vast but a bit murky. Do you know what Ortho Evra is? How about the Birth Control Sponge? Do you know the steps to getting an IUD?

Which birth control method is right for you? Contraception can be tailored to your lifestyle. Several organizations have information available on the numerous options out there including Planned Parenthood’s nifty tool, My Method.  My Method lets you know which birth control method may work best for you. Simply answer a few questions about your lifestyle and you will get suggestions and detailed information on each method.

Go ahead and try it out. Even if you are happy with your current method, it is a great tool to see what all your options.  This is also a great time to re-evaluate your method since insurance companies are beginning to provide coverage for contraceptives with no co-pay as one of the preventive health services covered under the Affordable Care Act.  

As always, be sure to remember oral and hormonal contraceptives protect against pregnancy but not sexually transmitted diseases.  Since condoms protect against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, we are grateful that our Olympians are well stocked with rubbers.

By Audrey

Today is National HIV Testing Day.  Tomorrow, June 28th, we expect the Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  And next week, on July 4th, as a country, we celebrate our independence. 

Yet, for many of us, our independence is stifled by the attacks on reproductive health or by rising health care costs or a lack of health insurance coverage - either being underinsured or uninsured. 

Despite the negative focus on the individual mandate, etc., the ACA, also known as the health care law, has tremendous benefits.  It will give Americans the independence they need to care for themselves and their families.  It will bring us closer to eliminating the need to decide whether to put food on the table or purchase a prescription or receive a much needed medical test or exam.

In the ACA, there is a menu of preventive health services with no-co pay including HIV testing!  This means, should the health care law withstand the legal challenge, no one will have an excuse not to get an HIV test.

However, as we await a decision, if you have the means to obtain an HIV test, today is the perfect day to schedule an appointment or take advantage of a free testing event since it’s National HIV Testing Day.  And there are many providers who offer low-cost testing throughout Pennsylvania. 

The ACA also prevents insurance companies from denying coverage or discriminating against individuals based on a pre-existing condition.  This is an important clause for anyone living with HIV/AIDS or another chronic disease. 

After everything is said and done, the health care law is a step in the right direction and we hope it will survive the scrutiny by the Supreme Court.  Read more about what’s included in the health care law at: www.healthcare.gov and be sure to spread the word.  It will truly help Americans live long, healthy lives.  

    

By Alix

In recent conversations with my mother and a friend’s grandmother, I was reminded of the immense struggle that previous generations went through in the early part of the 20th century to achieve women’s healthcare rights and access to family planning services.  It struck me how easily my generation has been able to forget that rights to women’s reproductive healthcare including access to birth control and legal abortion have not always been a right. These rights were demanded by and fought for by our mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and aunts. They are responsible for helping all women obtain the right to important health services and ultimately the right to choose what to do with their own body. 

Polling suggests that most people support the preventive care that Planned Parenthood provides. However, many lawmakers in America think that Planned Parenthood only provides abortion services, that it is simply a clinic for the poor and irresponsible to go to for help. In reality, Planned Parenthood provides thousands of women the basic healthcare they require to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. In Pennsylvania, over 95% of PP’s services are preventive, meaning that they perform everything from pap smears and breast examinations to screenings for cervical cancer to family planning services. Most importantly, Planned Parenthood offers a safe environment where high-quality care is provided at an affordable price.

Over the past year and a half there has been an increase in the political debates and media coverage surrounding women’s reproductive healthcare, with hot button issues like abortion and birth control as the main focus.  While abortion has always been a controversial issue that elicits major public response, the increasing political debates about birth control seems to have taken center stage.  Perhaps one of the most significant achievements in women’s reproductive health in the last thirty years is contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act.   Birth control is also symbolic of a woman’s freedom and ability to have control over her own life. However, rather than be recognized as solely a woman’s health issue, attacks on birth control have also been framed as an issue of religious freedom. In truth, these debates are centered around restricting access to contraception, thereby undermining and infringing upon our freedoms and rights as women.

The “War on Women” threatens to infringe and even take away our reproductive health rights; it is a war with a political agenda that illustrates how little policy makers and political leaders understand or care about women’s health and the needs of women everywhere.  In light of the 39th anniversary of Roe V. Wade’s earlier this year, the numerous attacks on birth control, the impending Supreme Court’s decision on ACA and Pennsylvania’s new “Whole Woman’s Health Funding Priorities Act,” there is no time like the present for our generation to come together and become more involved in protecting our rights and our bodies. If we don’t fight to keep the reproductive health coverage the generations before us fought for, it can and will be taken away.