President Obama Repeals Global Gag Rule

Last Friday, on his third full day in office, our new president Barack Obama lifted the Global Gag Rule via executive order.

The Global Gag Rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, was first instated by President Ronald Reagan (then repealed by President Bill Clinton, and reinstated by President George W. Bush), and restricts U.S. funding to international reproductive health organizations that discuss the option of abortion with patients. U.S. funds were already not allowed to go towards actually providing abortions, but the Global Gag Rule put many additional restrictions in place. For the first time, organizations that provided abortions with other funding sources could not receive U.S. funds. Even worse, those organizations that did not provide abortions but discussed them as an option for their patients or promoted pro-choice policies in their home countries were also not eligible for funds.

In other words, under the Gobal Gag Rule, health providers were forced to chose between lying to their patients or having their funding cut off. Many of those providers who refused to lie to patients about their options subsequently closed down, making birth control and other reproductive health services inaccessible to many very poor women. Those who continued to accept funding were not allowed to tell patients how to receive an abortion even when they asked, or even if their lives were in danger from continuing the pregnancy. As a result, the Global Gag Rule resulted in more unintended pregnancies, more unsafe, do-it-yourself abortions, and the deaths of innumerable women -- all for the sake of anti-choice ideology.

Planned Parenthood proudly supports the decision to overturn the Global Gag Rule, knowing that it will protect women's heath, save lives, and prevent more unintended pregnancies among the world's most underprivileged women. We can hope that it's a sign that President Obama understands that access to honest, safe reproductive health care should not be a privilege for the world's wealthy few, but a right for all.

An Evening With Bill Baird

Last night, being the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Rochester NOW sponsored an event with reproductive rights activist Bill Baird.

Bill Baird is the founder of the Pro-Choice League and was the defendant in the landmark Baird v. Eisenstadt case that established the right to birth control for unmarried people. Previously, birth control had only been ruled a right for married couples in Griswold v. Connecticut. The majority opinion in the case contains the famous and highly significant line: "If the right of privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or beget a child." The right to privacy cited in the decision was also referenced in Roe v. Wade itself, as well as the more recent case Lawrence v. Texas, which ruled laws prohibiting same-sex sexual activity unconstitutional.

At the event, Baird spoke extensively of his history in the reproductive rights movement, his relatively unknown status, and the controversy surrounding his name and actions. And he certainly is a compelling speaker, if one who enjoys going off on tangents.

Baird discussed the fact that he has been jailed 8 times in 5 different states for showing contraception to poor women, and how during his landmark Supreme Court case he was refused the help of other progressive and reproductive rights organizations at the time. It's an issue that still clearly upsets him. He reminded us that there was a time when sexual intercourse outside of marriage was illegal, and gave a vivid description of the moment when he decided to begin the work that would get him repeatedly arrested: when he saw a woman work into the hospital where he worked with a coat hanger hanging out of her uterus, and died in front of him -- all because, he said, she didn't have access to birth control to prevent that pregnancy. And he railed against men who believe that they have a right to tell women what to do with their own bodies, and the lives that such "arrogance" costs.

During one particularly compelling moment, he held up an old newspaper with the headline "Mother Begs for Birth Control" and asks the question "why should any woman have to beg for medical care?" The question particularly sticks in one's mind because with high costs and laws restricting access, it's hardly one that's irrelevant today. Baird's talk focused greatly on history, but contained a strong link to the present. The struggles we face now may not be as extreme as they once were, but they are ultimately the same struggles.

Blog for Choice: A New Day for Women's Health

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that secured the right to safe, legal abortion. Bloggers across the globe are celebrating this day by participating in Blog for Choice Day. The anniversary of Roe comes just two days after the historic inauguration of President Obama. Fittingly, the Blog for Choice Day question is, What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

Well, Planned Parenthood is first and foremost a health care provider. We are unique because we are a provider and advocate, speaking out for the women, men, and teens we serve to promote reproductive justice and protect women's health.

With a new President leading the way, we have an opportunity to engage the country in a conversation about the importance of women’s health, and ensuring that women’s health is an integral part of the efforts to fix our health care system. There will be efforts in states across the country to undermine a women’s right to make personal health decisions, but we believe the American people have clearly spoken that they are ready for a new day.

We look forward to working with President Obama and the new Congress on three critical health priorities:

• First, we need to make sure that everyone has access to affordable, quality health care, especially women.
• Second, we need common sense policies that reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and teen pregnancies.
• Third, we must expand access to affordable family planning and prevention care, both domestically and internationally.

Go to our website to learn more about our health care priorities and top issues and to find our how you can get involved.

Kicking the Year off Right in Albany!

On Monday, January 12, the first day of the new legislative session, over 300 advocates gathered in Albany to proclaim "Women's Health Matters!" to our legislators and state officials. Of course, Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region was there with a bus full of Rochester and Syracuse advocates to join in the celebration and the fight. We gathered in the Well, a central location in the Legislative Office Building where we knew we'd get lots of attention.

The new President and CEO of Family Planning Advocates, Tracey Brooks, kicked off the morning rally. There was an awards presentation honoring our courageous advocates in the NYS legislature. The Margaret Sanger Award was presented to Senator Eric Schneiderman and Assemblymember Naomi Rivera and the Champion of Choice Award was given to Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

There were many exciting speakers, including Assembly Speaker, Assemblymember Sheldon Silver; NYS Commissioner of Health, Dr. Richard Daines; NYS Comptroller, Thomas
DiNapoli; Senate Majority Leader, Senator Malcolm Smith; and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice, Mylan Denerstein. The excitement in the air was palpable and it was clear that 2009 would be a year of great hope and progress in Albany!

I had the honor of introducing the keynote speaker, a woman I have immense admiration for, 23-year-old sexual education activist, feminist, and youth empowerment organizer, Shelby Knox. Shelby spoke eloquently about her seven year fight for comprehensive sex ed, literally coming to tears when she predicted that in 2009, the Healthy Teens Act will finally become law in New York.

After the rally in the Well, advocates scattered throughout the Legislative Office Building and Capitol to meet with legislators. Our group met with twenty-one elected officials from the Rochester/Syracuse region, advocating for the Healthy Teens Act, Reproductive Health Act, and investing funding in family planning services. When the bus rolled into Rochester for the last drop-off at 7:00 PM, we were tired, but we knew our actions made a difference.

Who Decides?

Yesterday, NARAL Pro-Choice released their 2008 "Who Decides?" annual report, which tracks pro-choice and anti-choice trends throughout the country and gives a pro-choice grade to each state based on policy and legislative make up. (Note: Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region is non-partisan and takes stances only on policy, not candidates for office.)

NARAL ranks New York State as an A-, which makes it one of the most pro-choice states in the nation but means there's still room for improvement. You can read the full state profile here.

Other key findings include the fact that while more anti-choice legislation was considered than pro-choice legislation (502 measures vs 459 measures), significantly more pro-choice legislation was successfully adopted. Surely, with 16 states enacting 24 anti-choice measures in 2008, there's still a lot of work to be done -- but 23 states enacting 39 pro-choice measures is definitely nothing to sneeze at!

For more, check out the federal profile, state profiles, pro-choice policy key findings, and anti-choice policy key findings. And here's to a pro-choice 2009!

FDA Advisers Recommend New Female Condom

An FDA committee has recommended that a new female condom be approved for the general market:

Like the other version of the female condom -- the "FC" approved by the FDA in 1994 -- the second-generation "FC2" is made by the Chicago-based Female Health Company. Just as effective as its predecessor at preventing unwanted pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, the new version is made of nitrile, a cheaper material than the older version's polyurethane, and is 30 percent less expensive.

Cost estimates range from $1.40 to $2.10 for consumers and about half that for health care organizations that distribute it. The new condom has won support from women's advocates for its reduced price and because women can insert it without a sexual partner's help.

"Our interest in seeing a second-generation female condom comes from the changing face of the AIDS epidemic," says Kirsten Moore, president of the Washington-based Reproductive Health Technologies Project. "With the growing number of women becoming infected with HIV, we clearly need more and better female-controlled prevention options."

The women's health organizations that spoke before the FDA's Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Advisory Committee included representatives of the Atlanta-based SisterLove; the Washington-based National Women's Health Network; and the Washington-based National Research Center for Women and Families. They will convene in Gaithersburg, Md., near the FDA's headquarters in Rockville, Md.

Eighty-seven U.S. advocacy groups and 50 international groups submitted petitions in favor of FC2. Other health authorities, such as the New York-based Guttmacher Institute, are submitting separate letters of support.

Health advocates say that if the government moves quickly in recommending FC2 approval, the new condom could be on U.S. pharmacy shelves -- and in the hands of aid organizations that distribute it worldwide -- some time in 2009.

Of course, the new female condom still has its downsides. It's prohibitively expensive compared to male condoms, and much more difficult to find. Further, the new female condom has not undergone an extensive redesign to make it more comfortable and easy to use -- that is still underway.

But the fact remains that it's still an important development. Making the female condom less expensive is a step forward, even if its still more expensive than we'd ultimately like to see. And the female condom is still the only method of female-controlled STD prevention, meaning it's an important part of women's sexual health and empowerment.

One of the major obstacles that women face to using the female condom is an unfamiliarity with how to use it. That much, at least, can be cleared up immediately -- Planned Parenthood has all the information you need on how to use the female condom properly and safely.

England Pilots Program for Non-Prescription Birth Control

In England, two pilot programs are being launched that allow women to obtain birth control without a prescription, over-the-counter from a pharmacist:

England plans to launch two pilot programs in the London area that will provide women with nonprescription access to birth control pills, the PA/Google.com reports. The pilot programs will begin next year in the Lambeth and Southwark primary care regions of England's National Health Service, and the results will be used to determine whether the program should be expanded across England. Under the program, women seeking nonprescription oral contraception will undergo an interview with a qualified pharmacist. Strategic health authorities -- which manage local health services under NHS -- will be required to provide pharmacists with sets of instructions known as patient group directions, including special directions for girls younger than age 16, the PA/Google.com reports. According to the PA/Google.com, patient group directions are required by law to dispense medications without a doctor's prescription and currently are used for administration of emergency contraception. The directions for dispensing EC to girls younger than 16 include a mental health assessment.

The women would receive patient counseling from a nurse or pharmacist prior to receiving the pills, very similar to that which a doctor would provide. Further, this is common practice in England and other countries for many other drugs -- including emergency contraception -- meaning that pharmacists and nurses are trained and capable of providing this type of counseling. The goal is to increase access, particularly for teens, by lowering the amount of time and effort it takes to get such routine care.

Of course, like with any other medication, birth control pills do have risks associated with taking them. This is why the counseling is so important, and we'll just have to wait and see how the trial goes. You can read more about the concerns that the pilot raises, and whether they're really that worrisome, here. What are your thoughts?