Updated February 8, 2012
The Susan G. Komen Foundation will once again give money to Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings following a national uproar that included AAUW’s decision to sever a tie with the foundation’s Race for the Cure and a strongly worded letter from 26 U.S. senators. The Komen Foundation announced Tuesday that a new policy prevented support of organizations under government investigation. A House of Representatives committee has been investigating Planned Parenthood’s compliance with federal restrictions on abortions, although many believe the investigation to be politically motivated. Today, Komen said it would revise the new policy to again allow Planned Parenthood to be eligible for funding. Planned Parenthood and several other women’s organizations said the fund cutoff resulted from new anti-choice leadership at Komen and pressure from anti-choice activists.
AAUW put out a news release Thursday stating that because of the Komen Foundation’s decision to strip funding for cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood, AAUW will no longer offer the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure as an optional pre-conference community service opportunity at the upcoming National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL). AAUW’s decision was widely reported in national media. AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz said, "AAUW is disappointed that some are playing politics with women's health and jeopardizing care for the most vulnerable among us.”
- from AAUW's Washington Update for February 3, 2012.
Two religious colleges have filed lawsuits following President Barack Obama’s ruling that religious-affiliated employers will not be exempt from a provision of the heath care law that requires employers to cover all FDA-approved forms of contraception for free. Some question exists about whether the mandate would hold up if either lawsuit reached the Supreme Court in light of the court’s unanimous decision in January to recognize a “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws. The decision said that churches and other religious groups must be free to choose and dismiss leaders without government interference. Churches and other religious entities that primarily employ and serve people of the same religion are already exempt from the birth control rule.
AAUW believes that contraception and related outpatient services are basic health care for women, and, like all other basic health care needs, should be covered by health insurance policies. AAUW opposes the religious exemption provision, as it will deny thousands of women access to affordable contraceptive care.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for February 3, 2012.
The Obama administration announced today a one-year delay for religious nonprofit organizations to abide by a new rule that requires employers who offer health insurance to include coverage of contraception for their employees with no out-of-pocket costs. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship were already exempt from the rule, but the administration had faced pressure from some religious groups and conservatives to expand that exemption.
AAUW believes that contraception and related outpatient services are basic health care for women, and like all other basic health care needs, should be covered by health insurance policies. AAUW was pleased when the Department of Health and Human Services said that contraception should be covered by insurance without a co-payment or cost sharing. AAUW opposes the religious exemption provision, as it will deny thousands of women access to affordable contraceptive care.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 20, 2012.
A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that 50 percent of teenagers who had unplanned pregnancies were using no form of birth control whatsoever. A third of that group said they did not think they could get pregnant from unprotected intercourse.
AAUW supports comprehensive sexuality education or programs that include information about both abstinence and contraception. AAUW believes individuals should have complete and accurate information about their reproductive health and family planning options. AAUW opposes federally funded programs that limit young people’s information and choices by promoting abstinence-only education. These programs censor information on contraception, pregnancy prevention, and sexually transmitted infections and are a disservice to our nation’s youth.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 20, 2012.
States enacted 80 laws restricting access to reproductive health care in 2011, more than three times as many as in 2010, according to research by the Guttmacher Institute. This increase is due in part to the 2010 elections, which swept many anti-reproductive choice candidates into office. There are now 15 state governments in which both the governor and legislatures oppose abortion rights, up from 10 in 2010. These restrictive laws include mandatory waiting periods, limited access to medication abortion, and new restrictions on later term abortions. Additionally, six states enacted deep cuts to family planning budgets, and five states have also moved to restrict eligibility for providers that have anything to do with abortion.
AAUW supports the right of every woman to safe, accessible, affordable, and comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services. AAUW trusts that every woman has the ability to make her own informed choices regarding her reproductive life within the dictates of her own moral and religious beliefs. Further, AAUW believes that these deeply personal decisions should be made without government interference.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 6, 2012.
Fourteen U.S. Senators sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday, urging her to provide the specific scientific basis for her decision to overrule the FDA last week and keep Plan B behind drug store counters. The senators wrote, “On behalf of the millions of women we represent, we want to be assured that this and future decisions affecting women’s health will be based on medical and scientific evidence” as opposed to politics.
Secretary Sebelius stated earlier this week that she would be willing to reconsider making Plan B more widely accessible if Teva Pharmaceuticals, the pill’s producer, provides additional data showing that girls as young as 11 can safely understand and use the emergency contraceptive. The medical and women’s communities remain baffled by Sebelius’s decision, as Plan B’s extremely mild potential side-effects make it safer to use than Tylenol, Advil, Prilosec OTC, Benadryl, and Robitussin – all available without a prescription.
As a strong proponent of women’s reproductive rights, AAUW is extremely disappointed in the administration’s decision to restrict access to Plan B. AAUW encourages efforts to increase education and access to emergency contraception for all women, including minors, and believes emergency contraception should be available without a prescription or restriction. Greater awareness of and improved access to emergency contraception could help reduce the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion in the U.S. AAUW supports the right of every woman to obtain medically accurate information about and access to safe and comprehensive reproductive health services. This is also why AAUW supports comprehensive sex education programs.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 16, 2011.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius overruled Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to allow emergency contraceptives to be sold over the counter. The FDA’s decision would have increased access to Plan B for women younger than 17, who currently need a prescription to purchase the pill. Sebelius stated that her decision to overrule the FDA was based on a lack of evidence that Plan B, which is most effective if taken soon after unprotected sex, is safe for girls as young as 11, of whom 10 percent are able to bear children. President Barack Obama defended Sebelius’ decision, saying there was not enough evidence that the pill would be used properly by young girls.
Proponents of access to Plan B have expressed disappointment with the decision. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who has led efforts in Congress to make Plan B available, said the FDA’s decision about Plan B’s safety should not have been overruled. “No one should come between women and the experts that are charged with making impartial, non-political decisions about the safety of the drugs they use,” Murray said.
As a strong proponent of women’s reproductive rights, AAUW is extremely disappointed in the administration’s decision to restrict access to Plan B. AAUW encourages efforts to increase education and access to emergency contraception for all women, including minors, and believes emergency contraception should be available without a prescription or restriction. Greater awareness of and improved access to emergency contraception could help reduce the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion in the U.S. AAUW supports the right of every woman to obtain medically accurate information about and access to safe and comprehensive reproductive health services. This is also why AAUW supports comprehensive sex education programs.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 9, 2011.
An FBI advisory board voted this week to update their narrow definition of rape, which defines rape as "carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will." This definition – in place since 1929 – is narrower than the one used by many police departments around the country, and women's rights advocates say it leads to the under-counting of thousands of sexual assaults each year. The new terminology voted on by the board says rape is "penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." FBI Director Robert Mueller now has to approve the definition change.
AAUW advocates freedom from violence and fear of violence in homes, schools, and workplaces, and strongly supports broadening the definition of rape. AAUW believes that sexual violence is a pervasive social problem across the globe, and we need to treat it as such by integrating greater sensitivity and accuracy into reporting about sex crimes.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 9, 2011.
The administration is weighing whether to exempt some religiously affiliated employers from the Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation that new insurance plans cover contraception as a preventive service without copay. AAUW opposes any exemption and believes all women should have contraception coverage without copays or cost-sharing. Take action now and let the White House know that all women should have access to affordable birth control.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 2, 2011.
The first large-scale study of the correlation between teen pregnancy rates and state sex education curricula found that abstinence-only programs do not result in higher levels of abstinence. In fact, the study by researchers at the University of Georgia found that teen pregnancy rates were “significantly higher” in states with abstinence-only education. Even after controlling for socioeconomic status, education levels, and ethnicity, states with comprehensive sex education — including teaching STD prevention measures and birth control options – have significantly lower teen pregnancy rates.
AAUW supports the right of every woman to obtain medically accurate information about and access to safe and comprehensive reproductive health services. AAUW opposes federally funded programs that limit young people’s information and choices by promoting only abstinence. Because the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in the developed world, AAUW supports comprehensive sexuality education or programs that include information about both abstinence and contraception.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 2, 2011.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles struck down part of a North Carolina abortion law on Tuesday, saying the state cannot require abortion providers to show and discuss with pregnant women ultrasound images of the fetus. Eagles ruled that doctors and others challenging the antichoice law were likely to win on their contention that the provision violated their constitutional rights. The judge, however, left in place other portions of the law, including a provision requiring a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion.
AAUW supports the right of every woman to safe, accessible, affordable, and comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services. AAUW advocates for choice in the determination of one's reproductive life and increased access to health care and family planning services including expansion of patients' rights.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for October 28, 2011.
The U.S. House approved antichoice legislation Thursday that would ban women from using the health care reform law’s tax subsidies to purchase insurance plans that cover abortions. The bill (H.R. 358), passed in a 251-172 vote, would also allow health-care institutions to refuse to provide abortions if they morally object. Fifteen Democrats voted for the bill, and two Republicans – Rep. Judy Biggert (IL) and Rep. Richard Hanna (NY) – voted against it. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke passionately against the bill, saying that it would essentially allow caregivers to not treat a woman who is dying on a hospital floor.
AAUW supports the right of every woman to safe, accessible, affordable, and comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services. AAUW advocates for choice in the determination of one's reproductive life and increased access to health care and family planning services, including expansion of patients' rights.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for October 14, 2011.
A recent Kaiser Health Tacking Poll shows that two-thirds of Americans without health insurance support the Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to require health insurance plans to offer birth control and other preventive care services for women without copays. The survey findings reveal that support is not divided by gender, but mainly by age and party, with Democrats and people younger than 50 more supportive. HHS is currently considering the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine as to which specific services it will require as health insurance reform is implemented.
AAUW celebrated this victory for both women and common sense. For every dollar we invest in helping women avoid unwanted pregnancies, the country saves nearly $4 in Medicaid expenditures down the road. The new guidelines reflect the fact that prevention can be the best medicine of all and will ensure that women get the basic health care that they need. Healthy moms are an important step toward healthy families.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for September 2, 2011.
The Department of Health and Human Services adopted recommendations from the Institute of Medicine including free coverage of birth control. The adopted recommendations, which received overwhelming support from women’s health advocates, mean the health reform law now requires new insurance plans as of August 1, 2012, to cover well-woman visits, counseling for sexually transmitted infections, FDA-approved contraceptive methods, contraceptive counseling, and domestic violence screening without co-pays, co-insurance, or deductibles.
AAUW celebrates this victory for both women and common sense. For every dollar we invest in helping women avoid unwanted pregnancies, the country saves nearly $4 in Medicaid expenditures down the road. The new guidelines reflect the fact that prevention can be the best medicine of all and will ensure that women get the basic health care that they need. Healthy moms are an important step toward healthy families.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for August 5, 2011.