Healthcare Prof:

5 (1 votes)

Several states recently took action on measures related to abortion and other reproductive health issues.

~ Louisiana: The state House voted 76-13 Thursday in favor of a bill (HB 1247) that would ban private insurance coverage for elective abortions, including in cases of rape or incest, the AP/Daily Comet reports. The measure — supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and sponsored by Rep. Frank Hoffmann (R) — would prohibit doctors from billing insurers for an abortion unless the doctor certifies in writing that the abortion was medically necessary to save a woman’s life. The certification would have to be kept on file for at least seven years, the bill stipulates. Opponents with the measure said the provision could discourage providers from performing potentially lifesaving abortions for fear that their decisions later would be challenged. The bill also consists of language stating that Louisiana only permits abortion since the Supreme Court has said it is legal but that “[i]f those decisions … are ever reversed or modified or the United States Constitution is amended to allow protection with the unborn, then the former policy of this state to prohibit abortions shall be enforced.” Abortion-rights supporters also criticized the bill for intruding into women’s personal medical decisions and potentially depriving girls of services they can currently access. State Rep. Juan LaFonta (D) offered two amendments to the bill, both of which were rejected. The very first amendment would have allowed abortion coverage if the fetus would not be able to survive outside the womb, while the second amendment would have allowed coverage in cases of rape and incest (Deslatte, AP/Daily Comet, 4/22). The bill now moves towards the state Senate for consideration (Millhollon, Baton Rouge Advocate, 4/23).

~ Michigan: The Michigan Senate approved multiple bills Wednesday that would prohibit the sale or purchase of human eggs and require state research facilities, including universities, to file annual reports with information such as the number of human embryos they possess, the Detroit News reports. The violation of some with the provisions would be felonies punishable by up to 12 months in prison, while others would result in civil fines of up to $5,000. Some opponents say the bills are unconstitutional simply because they conflict with a 2008 state constitutiona amendment that permits scientists in the state to conduct any embryonic research allowed by federal law. The measures are supported by antiabortion-rights groups and the Michigan Catholic Conference. The measures now head towards the state House, where they are expected to face opposition from the Democratic majority (Bouffard, Detroit News, 4/22).

~ Missouri: The Missouri Senate voted 26-5 Thursday in favor of a bill (SB 793) that would require state abortion clinics to provide women with specific information about fetal development and offer them a chance to view an ultrasound and listen towards the fetal heartbeat 24 hours before the procedure, the AP/KOAM reports. The bill now goes towards the state House, which earlier this yea approved a similar bill (HB 1327). The House version also would establish a new crime of coercing a woman into having an abortion. It also would require abortion clinic employees to notify prosecutors if a minor inquires about an abortion (AP/KOAM, 4/22).

~ Nebraska: Health providers in Lincoln are working to provide no-cost or reduced-cost prenatal care to documented and undocumented immigrants who recently lost Medicaid coverage for prenatal care services, the AP/CNBC reports. Roughly 870 undocumented Nebraska residents and 750 documented state residents lost Medicaid coverage on March 1, when the state ended its decades-old policy of providing prenatal services to females whose children would legally qualify for Medicaid once they are born. Deb Shoemaker — director of People’s Well being Center, which directs pregnant girls to participating physicians — stated the health community’s response is actually a temporary solution. Shoemaker projected that her organization could spend up to $140,000 inside the next year to provide care to females who lost their Medicaid coverage (AP/CNBC, 4/22).

~ North Dakota: North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger (R) on Wednesday approved an antiabortion group’s request to petition for a ballot measure that seeks to criminalize decapitating a fetus or crushing its skull, the AP/MSNBC reports. Supporters will have until Aug. four to gather the 12,844 signatures required to place the measure on the state ballot. The ballot measure would ask voters if it should be a felony to use “any instrument or procedure to grasp the skull or neck” of a fetus to decapitate it or crush its skull. Physicians who violate the ban would face felony charges, with punishments of up to 20 years in prison or a $10,000 fine (AP/MSNBC, 4/22).

Reprinted with type permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You are able to view the entire Daily Women’s Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Everyday Women’s Health Policy Report can be a cost-free service with the National Partnership for Females & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

? 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

Article Opinions:1 posts
The following summarizes selected women’s health-related blog entries.

~ “10-Year-Old Mexican Rape Victim Denied Abortion,” Sarah Menkedick, Change.org’s “Women’s Rights”: Freelance writer Menkedick examines the case of a pregnant 10-year-old girl inside the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, which “recently passed draconian laws criminalizing abortion.” Authorities have refused to allow the girl, who allegedly was raped by her stepfather, to have an abortion. According to Menkedick, Quintana Roo permits abortions within the cases of rape “but only if the abortion is performed within the initial 90 days of pregnancy,” a window that the girl missed by one month. After authorities failed to inform the girl of her right to have an abortion when her pregnancy initial was initial reported last month, state Attorney General Francisco Alor Quezada commented, “I do not believe there is another instance in which the girl could be in better hands.” Menkedick retorts that the girl would be in better hands “if she wasn’t getting forced to give birth at age 10, when her chance of dying in childbirth is five times higher than that of” older girls, or “if she lived in a country that didn’t make it so difficult for rape victims to get abortions,” or “if her country did not pass laws which throw women in jail for getting abortions.” Menkedick continues that the “nonchalance of the state attorney general only mimics the general unconcern of Mexican politicians for the fate of ladies.” She adds, “This is not the ‘right to life’ — it is the right of arrogant, ignorant male politicians to rob a child of her psychological and physical wellbeing,” concluding, “It is the right with the country’s governments to reaffirm their complete and total power [over] women’s bodies, and to go on exercising it with impunity” (Menkedick, “Women’s Rights,” Change.org, 4/22).

~ “The Cost of Medicaid Expansion,” Kevin Drum, Mother Jones: California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner is running ads accusing primary opponent Meg Whitman of supporting the national wellness reform law, which Poizner claims will “blow up state Medicaid budgets,” Drum writes. In response to Poizner’s claim, Drum cites a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities stating that the “federal government will assume 100% of the Medicaid costs of covering newly eligible individuals” from 2014 to 2016 and that “for 2020 and all subsequent years, the federal government is responsible for 90% with the costs of covering these individuals.” According to Drum, expanding Medicaid therefore “won’t cost states an extra dime through 2016, by which time our recession will presumably be over, and even after that states will only pay for a tiny fraction of the increased costs.” He adds, “Put another way, that $20 billion in state spending will insure an additional 16 million people, which works out to a cost per person of $125 per year over the next decade.” He concludes, “That’s a pretty good deal. And not exactly fiscal Armageddon” (Drum, Mother Jones, 4/20).

~ “A New Generation of Abortion Rights Activists,” RH Reality Check: An RH Reality Check post takes issue with the “methodology” of a recent Newsweek article by Sarah Kliff that ” claim[s] younger generations are more ‘lukewarm’ to abortion rights issues” than older generations and that “20-somethings are just not as interested in protecting” a woman’s right to choose. The blog post says that some of Kliff’s assertions are correct, such as the fact that “young people don’t run organizations that focus solely on abortion” and that “Democrats aren’t trustworthy protectors of abortion rights.” However, Kliff ignores “monumental” details about young abortion-rights activists, the post states. Young activists “may not be heading up established organizations that write letters and lobby, but we are starting our own grassroots organizations that are taking on barriers to abortion access on the ground,” the post says, adding, “We protest, we escort, and most importantly, we listen.” According towards the post, “Abortion-rights activism has not waned, it has evolved.” While “public opinion about abortion is continually manipulated with non-facts and reframing, I can assure the ‘postmenopausal militia’ that [young activists] are not giving up,” the post continues. It concludes, “As legislative obstacles were your battleground, public opinion and access campaigns are ours, and like you, we do not plan on losing” (RH Reality Check, 4/20).

~ “Family Research Council Releases Electoral Hit List,” Daily Kos: The Family Research Council — “frothing mad about the well being care law” — has “included a handful of pro-life Democrats in its political action committee’s list of 20 congressional targets for the 2010 election season,” the post states. “The move is the latest one from a pro-life group seeking to defeat those members whose votes resulted in the pro-abortion wellness care bill,” the post continues. Daily Kos notes that Connie Mackey, president of FRC Action PAC, recently stated, “As pro-life and pro-family voters, we must work together to change the Congress, state governments and ultimately the White House in 2012. … It’s time to replace this Congress, repeal the government takeover of health care and restore our Constitutional freedoms” (Daily Kos, 4/20).

~ “President Wants SCOTUS Nominee Who Recognizes That Women’s Right to Privacy is One of This Country’s ‘Core Constitutional Values,’” Rachel Peck, Womenstake: Peck, a fellow at the National Women’s Law Center, addresses President Obama’s comments Wednesday that his nominee to replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will be “somebody who is going to be interpreting our Constitution in a way that takes into account individual rights, and that consists of women’s rights.” Peck writes, “We agree with President Obama that individual rights and privacy are core constitutional values,” adding, “And so did Justice Stevens.” She notes that Stevens “consistently supported a robust interpretation of the constitutional guarantee of privacy to protect individuals against government intrusion into their most personal decisions, including women’s right to choose to have an abortion.” Peck concludes, “Nominating an individual who shares a commitment to these core constitutional protections would truly honor Justice Stevens’ legacy” (Peck, Womenstake, 4/22).

~ “The Pill Turns 50: Taking Stock,” Christiane Northrup, Huffington Post blogs: In a post commenting on the 50th anniversary of FDA’s approval with the birth manage pill, Northrup writes that the pill is “the most-studied medication in history.” She adds, “Unfortunately, since it’s made from synthetic non-bioidentical hormones, it has more side effects than it should!” Northrup also discusses other factors women should consider when deciding whether to take the pill, noting that it “[i]n general, the pill’s benefits outweigh its risk for the vast majority of females simply because the health risks from unintended pregnancies far outweigh any risks from the pill.” She writes that “the bottom line” is that although “[w]e have the science and technology to make safer oral contraceptives from bioidentical hormones, there is no profit in doing so — and therefore no support for it.” She adds, “Taking the pill is an individual decision. It’s neither a panacea nor a curse.” Northrup concludes, “In the final analysis, it has certainly done far more good than harm” (Northrup, Huffington Post, 4/22).

Reprinted with type permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the whole Day-to-day Women’s Well being Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Day-to-day Women’s Well being Policy Report can be a totally free service of the National Partnership for Ladies & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

? 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

3 (1 votes)

The following summarizes recent action in Kansas, Michigan and Texas related to crimes against abortion providers and an antiabortion protester.

~ Kansas: Scott Roeder, who was convicted of murdering abortion provider George Tiller, has filed a habeus corpus petition complaining about his treatment in prison and seeking release, the AP/Boston Globe reports. A hearing on the petition is scheduled for June four prior to Judge Timothy Henderson in Wichita. According to the court docket, Roeder filed the preliminary paperwork in February (AP/Boston Globe, 4/21).

~ Michigan: Shiawassee County, Mich., Judge Gerald Lostracco on Thursday issued a sentence of life in prison for Harlan Drake, who was convicted of first-degree murder within the September 2009 shootings of an antiabortion-rights protester along with a local businessman, the AP/Google News reports. Drake’s lawyers had argued that he was mentally ill at the time of the shooting, but the jury rejected the insanity defense (White, AP/Google News, 4/22).

~ Texas: A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Texas man, Erlyndon Lo, for allegedly sending a letter by overnight mail threatening to use deadly force to stop abortions at the Southwestern Women’s Surgery Center in Dallas, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports. The indictment charges that Lo wrote about plans to come to the facility on April 2. Lo’s letter allegedly included the statement, “[I]f I must use deadly force to defend the innocent life of another human becoming, I will” (AP/Dallas Morning News, 4/21).

Reprinted with type permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You’ll be able to view the whole Day-to-day Women’s Well being Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Well being Policy Report can be a free of charge service of the National Partnership for Girls & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

? 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

The following summarizes legislative action on antiabortion-rights bills in three states.

~ Georgia: The House Rules Committee could vote as early as Tuesday on whether to send to the floor a controversial antiabortion bill (SB 529) that calls for jail time for abortion providers if they perform the procedure after learning that a woman was coerced to terminate the pregnancy because of the fetus’ sex or race, the Macon Telegraph reports. The bill, which is dividing the state Republican caucus, is “one step in a larger effort to argue abortion law prior to the U.S. Supreme Court,” the Telegraph writes. The legislation originated from Georgia Right to Life, which says it hopes the measure’s references to race and sex will propel it to the Supreme Court. Some Republicans tried to remove those references, but GRTL threatened to oppose the measure if they did, so the original bill was left intact (Fain, Macon Telegraph, 4/26).

~ Mississippi: The Mississippi House voted 75-32 Saturday in favor of a bill (SB 3214) — titled the “Federal Abortion-Mandate Opt-Out Act” — that prohibits insurers from offering health plans that include abortion coverage in the insurance exchanges that will be formed under the new national health reform law (PL 111-148), the AP/Biloxi Sun Herald reports. The bill — which the state Senate unanimously approved on Friday — now goes to Gov. Haley Barbour (R). Opponents with the measure say it is unnecessary because a 2002 state law bans the use of federal, state and local tax funds for abortion. They contend that the bill is a way for lawmakers to pander to the state’s social conservatives. Supporters say they want the state to specify that no public money could be used to fund abortion under the reform law (Wagster Pettus, AP/Biloxi Sun Herald, 4/24). The weekend vote came after a Republican House member blocked consideration of the budgets for two state agencies until House leadership scheduled a vote on the abortion bill. The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Alan Nunnelee (R), who is running for a U.S. House seat (Parker, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 4/24).

~ Oklahoma: Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry (D) vetoed two antiabortion-rights bills Friday, “likely setting up an override battle” with the Republican-controlled Legislature, the Tulsa World reports. The very first bill (HB 2780) sought to require girls seeking abortions to undergo ultrasounds and listen to an explanation of the findings within one hour of the abortion procedure. The governor said the bill contained numerous flaws, including the lack of an exemption for rape and incest. He also stated it would result in a costly and potentially futile legal battle. A court previously ruled that a similar measure was unconstitutional since it violated a state rule that laws address a single subject. Henry described HB 2780 as “an unconstitutional attempt by the Oklahoma Legislature to insert government into the private lives and decisions of its citizens.” The second bill (HB 2656) sought to ban so-called “wrongful life” lawsuits against physicians who withhold information about a pregnancy or a fetus’ well being that might lead a woman to have an abortion. Henry stated, “It is unconscionable to grant a physician legal protection to mislead or misinform a pregnant woman in an effort to impose his or her personal beliefs” (Hoberock, Tulsa World, 4/24). Republicans within the Legislature quickly promised to hold override votes for both measures. State Rep. Mike Reynolds (R), a sponsor of both bills, stated votes could take place this week. Republicans are within the majority in both the House and Senate, but they would need some Democratic support to obtain the three-fourths majority needed to override a gubernatorial veto (Murphy, AP/KOTV, 4/25). The Center for Reproductive Rights, which has launched successful legal challenges to Oklahoma laws within the past, praised Henry’s actions. “We are very pleased that Gov. Henry vetoed these two extreme antiabortion measures,” Stephanie Toti, a staff attorney at CRR, stated. Henry signed a third bill (HB 3075) that would require abortion providers to post signs stating that a woman cannot be forced to undergo an abortion (Tulsa World, 4/24).

Reprinted with type permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. It is possible to view the entire Day-to-day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery here. The Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report is really a free of charge service of the National Partnership for Ladies & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

? 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

Several states are debating and advancing new restrictions on abortion rights, “a trend fueled in part by” passage with the federal wellness reform law (PL 111-148), USA Today reports. Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute said that at least 22 states are weighing bills that would increase waiting periods or counseling prior to an abortion, while 18 states are debating measures that would expand pre-abortion ultrasound requirements. Nash added, “This year, particularly within the past couple of weeks, it’s really turned into a free-for-all on trying to restrict abortions.”

Mary Spaulding Balch with the National Right to Life Committee said that 2010 has been “very successful” for state measures restricting abortion rights.

According to USA Today, the “most significant” measure is the recently signed Nebraska law (LB 1103) that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks based on its supporters’ claim that fetuses can feel pain at that point. Restrictions in other abortion laws are generally pegged to fetal viability. USA Today reports that legal challenges against the Nebraska law are “likely.”

Other antiabortion-rights measures working their way through state legislatures include a Tennessee bill (HB 2686), passed last week, that would ban abortion coverage in insurance plans sold through state insurance exchanges, which will be created under the federal reform law. The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Diane Black (R), said the measure would apply even if premiums were paid with private funds due to the fact public funds would be used to help run the exchange. Legislatures in four other states — Louisiana (HB 1247), Mississippi (HB 1760), Missouri (SB 747) and Oklahoma (HB 3290) — are considering similar measures.

In addition, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry (D) recently vetoed a bill (HB 2780) that would have required abortion providers to show an ultrasound image towards the woman, who would have been allowed to avert her eyes. An override attempt is expected, USA Today reports. Meanwhile, Kansas legislators are expected to attempt to override Gov. Mark Parkinson’s (D) veto of a bill (HB 2115) that would have required providers to report a medical diagnosis for abortion late in pregnancy. Earlier this year, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed a bill (HB 462) that allows homicide charges to be filed against ladies who arrange illegal abortions (Young, USA Today, 4/26).

Opinion Piece Says Neb. ‘Fetal Pain’ Law Should Prompts Suspicion

Nebraska’s so-called “fetal pain” law is “yet another attempt to undo Roe v. Wade and abolish a woman’s constitutional right to a pre-viability abortion,” Caitlin Borgmann — a City University of New York School of Law professor and board member with the National Abortion Federation — writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. Borgmann testified as a constitutional law expert at a legislative hearing on the fetal pain law.

Current antiabortion-rights legislation “commonly masquerades as something a lot smaller than a call to ban all abortions, … [b]ut these narrow aims are not what that laws are really about,” Borgmann writes. “It is evident that the drafters of Nebraska’s law were not primarily concerned with fetal pain,” as ladies would still be able to obtain abortions after 20 weeks if their lives were in danger, she continues. “Moreover, for those permitted abortions, the legislation does nothing to protect the fetus from its purported pain, such as requiring the administration of anesthesia,” Borgmann says, adding, “If the law’s goal is protect fetuses from pain, it is oddly framed.”

There is “reason to be suspicious of attempts to restrict abortion based on supposedly new scientific evidence about fetal development,” Borgmann writes, noting that there is “nothing approaching a scientific consensus on fetal pain” at 20 weeks. “We should all support continuing objective, sound research on whether and when fetuses perceive pain,” but Nebraska lawmakers “didn’t want to wait for that, simply because scientific truth was not the point,” according to Borgmann. She concludes that the Supreme Court “should remember that” if it is asked to rule on the law (Borgmann, Los Angeles Times, 4/25).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the whole Everyday Women’s Well being Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Everyday Women’s Wellness Policy Report can be a free of charge service with the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

? 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

Article Opinions:2 posts

USA Today: “Dozens of states are passing or debating new restrictions on abortion, a trend fueled in component by passage with the nation’s new wellness care law. Both sides of the hot-button issue are seeing new approaches to reduce abortions. … So far, 2010 has been ‘very successful,’ stated Mary Spaulding Balch with the National Right to Life Committee. The most significant legislation, both sides say, is actually a Nebraska law signed by the governor this month that would ban most abortions at the 20th week of pregnancy based on a new rationale that the fetus feels pain. Legal challenges are likely. Previously, abortion bans were based on when a fetus could survive outside the womb, generally beginning around 22 weeks, according to medical studies. At least 22 states have bills to increase counseling or waiting periods; 18 states have bills to expand the use of ultrasound,” according to Elizabeth Nash, a spokeswoman for the Guttmacher Institute, “a research group focused on reproductive wellness and rights” (Young, 4/26).

Anchorage Day-to-day News: Alaska “has committed to spending $5,000 on its share of the multi-state suit challenging the constitutionality of the mandate that people buy well being care insurance or pay a fine. The 20-state consortium, led by Florida, aims to end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. But Alaska has vowed not to spend a penny more than $5,000 to be a component with the litigation, stated Bill McAllister, a spokesman for Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan. Sullivan and Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell re-emphasized their commitment to low-cost legal action after they were criticized by the only Democrat in Alaska’s congressional delegation: Sen. Mark Begich. Begich suggested the suit would be pricey and called it of ‘dubious merit’” (Bolstad, 4/25).

Sarasota Herald-Tribune: “City of Lakeland officials emptied out a conference room in one of its administrative buildings a couple years ago and installed medical examining tables and EKG machines. The meeting room became a four-room well being clinic where city employees get basic medical services for free of charge. Bringing medical services to its staff saved the city $1.1 million in wellness claims in just one year. Now, a growing list of local government agencies including Sarasota County, the city of Sarasota and the Manatee County School District are considering opening clinics as they struggle with wellness care costs that have risen at double-digit rates in recent years. Sarasota County, which insures about five,000 workers, dependents and retirees, paid $29 million in medical expenses in 2009 and has budgeted about $31 million this year. … The district’s well being care fund is $6 million in the red” (O’Donnell, 4/25).

Chattanooga Times Free Press: “Chattanooga may be facing higher costs next year for more police officers, pension benefits and stormwater cleanup, but the city’s fiscal wellness is getting some help from the health of its employees. The city’s wellness insurance costs are projected to decline slightly subsequent year, according to estimates by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. … City Personnel Director Donna Kelley credits the improvement towards the city’s Well Advantage program, which includes a city-operated pharmacy, fitness center and medical clinic along with employee incentives for improving health habits. … The city expects to spend just under $23.5 million on wellness care coverage for its 2,900 employees and retirees in the fiscal year that begins July 1. The city estimates it will spend a comparable amount within the current fiscal year after spending $24.7 million this year on employee health care coverage” (Flessner, 4/26).

The Los Angeles Times: “Nearly five,600 people lined up outside the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Sunday, many camping out in the cold on the sidewalk overnight, to claim wristbands as well as a chance for cost-free dental and medical treatment at a massive well being clinic this week. … The seven-day clinic, which starts Tuesday, will include vision exams, mammograms and diabetes screening, among other services. A team of more than 300 volunteer doctors, dentists and other medical professionals each day will see patients from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. … Most of those seeking treatment came from throughout Los Angeles County, but some drove from neighboring counties. Many were unemployed, disabled or retired. But there were also workers of all ages, some with children, who stated they could not afford well being insurance. Some were illegal immigrants. Most of those with insurance, including government plans, said their coverage did not include dental or eye care” (Hennessy-Fiske, 4/25).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with type permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Everyday Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

? Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

The Oklahoma Senate today is expected to override Gov. Brad Henry’s (D) vetoes of two antiabortion-rights bills, a day after the House overrode the vetoes, the Oklahoman reports. Each measure requires a three-fourths majority in both chambers to override the vetoes simply because the bills go into effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

The first measure (HB 2780) would require girls seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound and listen to a description of the ultrasound image (McNutt, Oklahoman, 4/27). The second bill (HB 2656) sought to ban so-called “wrongful life” lawsuitsthat allowa woman to recover damages if a physician withholds information about a pregnancy or a fetus’ well being that might lead a woman to have an abortion (Women’s Well being Policy Report, 4/26). Supporters said the measure was intended to prevent girls from discriminating against fetuses with disabilities, according to the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Henry has called HB 2780 flawed due to the fact it does not include exemptions for rape and incest survivors, and the Center for Reproductive Rights has stated it is among the strictest antiabortion-rights measures in the U.S. Keri Parks, director of external affairs for Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma, urged the Senate to sustain Henry’s vetoes. She stated, “Doctors, not politicians, should be making these medical decisions” (Talley, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/26).

Thirty-six votes are required for the Senate to override the vetoes. The Senate passed both measures last week in a 35-11 vote, with two senators absent. State Sen. Mike Mazzei (R), who has been absent most of the session since of an injury, is expected to return to vote in favor of an override (Oklahoman, 4/27). Senate Democratic Leader Charlie Laster, who voted to pass the bills, stated Monday that Henry raised important issues in his veto message. Laster said he has not decided whether he will vote for an override (AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/26).

The House addressed the veto overrides on its first day back in session, taking less than 10 minutes to complete both votes (Oklahoman, 4/27). Supporters of the bill stated they do not share the governor’s concerns about the bills’ constitutionality (AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/26). The chamber, in which Republicans have 62 seats and Democrats have 39, required 76 votes to override the legislation. Lawmakers voted 81-14 to override the HB 2780 veto, with one Republican voting to sustain the veto. They voted 84-12 to override the HB 2656 veto, with only Democrats voting to sustain the veto. Four Democrats and two Republicans were absent. A spokesperson for Henry said the governor has no comment on the House action and will not comment until after the Senate votes.

According towards the Oklahoman, the Legislature overrode a veto of a similar ultrasound measure in 2008 (Oklahoman, 4/27). Earlier this month, Henry signed laws stating that a woman’s “voluntary consent” is needed just before an abortion, requiring abortion providers to post signs stating that a woman cannot be forced to have an abortion and making it illegal to perform an abortion based on the gender with the fetus, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/26).

Reprinted with type permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You are able to view the entire Every day Women’s Well being Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery here. The Daily Women’s Wellness Policy Report is actually a cost-free service of the National Partnership for Girls & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

? 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

The New York Times on Tuesday included an interview with National Institute of Child Well being and Human Development acting Director Alan Guttmacher, a geneticist and pediatrician who is the nephew of Guttmacher Institute founder Alan Guttmacher.

In the Times interview, Guttmacher said that the family name “does stand for something,” adding that he “finds that people know the name primarily because” with the Guttmacher Institute’s work. He stated advocates on both sides with the abortion-rights debate “tend to use [the institute's] data as the reliable data,” so his appointment towards the agency was “less controversial than some might believe.”

Guttmacher also discussed NICHD’s research on contraception and infertility. He stated NICHD’s funding for reproductive wellness research totaled more than $254 million in 2009. He added that the agency has been “supporting a number of studies on the basic biology of ovulation,” which “may lead to knowledge about why it sometimes fails to take place.” The agency also is funding studies on contraception for men, including research “targeting ion channels to interfere with sperm motility,” Guttmacher stated. Other research is focused on “temporarily shutting down sperm production in the testes” and “attempting to interfere with the sperm’s ability to find the egg,” he added (Dreifus, New York Times, 4/27).

Reprinted with type permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You are able to view the entire Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery here. The Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report is actually a free of charge service with the National Partnership for Ladies & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

? 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

“Sex brings out the irrational side of man and woman — and government,” Detroit News columnist Laura Berman writes, noting that “[m]ost health insurers in Michigan cover abortions, but not necessarily birth manage. In addition, some Michigan pharmacists have campaigned for the ability to refuse to dispense drugs they find “morally objectionable.”

Cecile Richards, president with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told Berman, “The backdrop is that despite all of the progress we’ve made, the U.S. still leads the industrialized world in teenage pregnancy and unintended pregnancy.”

Berman writes that “the new national well being care law, combined with a bottomed-out Michigan economy, is changing the landscape for Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan, which serves 55,000 females every year.” Richards and Lori Lamerand, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan, “are ramping up for a boom in birth control and other reproductive services — what Lamerand calls ‘an onslaught’ of girls poised to gain new access to reproductive well being care,” according to Berman.

Berman adds, “Recession has heightened demand for contraception and for abortion, especially from clients who wouldn’t have gone to Planned Parenthood in better times.” In the next 18 months, the organization plans to open a new clinic in Oakland County, Mich., that will offer abortion services, unlike other centers in the Detroit area.

Lamerand said, “Over the last couple of years, we’ve been getting calls that go, ‘I’m pregnant, we don’t have wellness insurance, my husband isn

Healthcare Prof:

5 (1 votes)

The following summarizes selected women’s health-related blog entries.

~ “Jillian Michaels’ ‘No Pregnancy’ Workout,” Jeana Lee Tahnk, Salon‘s “Broadsheet”: Jillian Michaels — a trainer on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” — “is getting a beating of her own within the press” after she stated in an interview with Women’s Health magazine that she plans to adopt instead of becoming pregnant since she “can’t handle doing that to my body,” Tahnk writes. Tahnk says, “I am clearly part of a tiny minority here when I ask, so what?” She continues that Michaels “has a rockin’ bod and wants to keep it that way — is that really so bad? It’s her option.” She says, “The truth is simple: Pregnancy alters the body for life,” and while it is “quite possible that Michaels has body image issues, … that doesn’t make her responsible for other women’s hang-ups” (Tahnk, “Broadsheet,” Salon, 4/26).

~ “The Complicated World of ’16 and Pregnant’,” Sarah Seltzer, RH Reality Check: Seltzer examines whether the MTV show “16 and Pregnant” is actually a “genuine attempt to educate the public or a chance to offer up contestants for our consumption, dangling before them the carrot of fame.” Each week, the series “focus[es] on a different teen mother-to-be before, during and after the birth of her newborn,” Seltzer writes, adding that the show “effectively demonstrates the brutal reality faced by these youngsters” and is “meant to be a cautionary tale.” However, “[i]n the midst of this twisted emotional dynamic between the viewers and the participants on such shows the educational message gets totally lost,” she continues. “These young females aren’t really there to teach us a lesson, but to entrance us with their stories,” she writes, adding, “The fact is, we all know that scaring teens rarely deters them from common behaviors,” but “a positive message wouldn’t bring people towards the channel.” Seltzer writes that she wonders “whether the show’s popularity comes from the way it allows us to watch people perform traditional gender roles.” The show “satisfies a problematic need to see sexually active girls from underprivileged backgrounds punished and essentially broken,” she continues, concluding, “It’s the philosophy behind the anti-choice movement, and no number of glib announcements about safe sex and prevention can override that underlying message” (Seltzer, RH Reality Check, 4/27).

~ “What You Thought You Knew About the Pill,” Elaine Tyler May, Daily Beast‘s “Blogs and Stories”: “On May 9, as we mark the 50th anniversary of FDA’s approval of the pill, we can celebrate its many benefits to girls, and also recognize what the pill did not achieve,” Elaine Tyler May, author of “America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation,” writes. According to Tyler May, the pill’s arrival in 1960 marked the first time a birth control method was “totally inside the control of girls.” However, “contrary to popular belief, the pill was not solely responsible for the sexual revolution