Updated: May 14, 2013
According to a newly released study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in nine women have used the emergency contraception pill. Released 15 years after the EC pill was approved, the report is the first of its kind. The results came from 12,000 interviews of women ages 15 to 44 between 2006 and 2010. Experts suggest that the increase in use is likely due to EC’s increasing accessibility. Due to the Affordable Care Act, the over-the-counter pill will become accessible to millions of women without co-pay, however women under age 18 still require a prescription to purchase the pill.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) supports the right of every woman to safe, accessible, affordable, and comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services. AAUW encourages efforts to increase education about and access to emergency contraception for all women, including minors, and believes emergency contraception should be available without prescriptions or restrictions.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for February 15, 2013.
Back to the Index< Judge Rejects Arizona’s Attempt to Defund Planned Parenthood
On Monday, a federal judge overturned Arizona’s attempt to cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood because of the organization’s abortion services. This is not the first time a judge has rejected a state attempt to cut funding to Planned Parenthood; similar laws in Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas have been overturned.
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 and that these deeply personal decisions should be made without governmental interference.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for February 15, 2013.
Back to the Index< Obama Administration Modifies Contraceptive Coverage Regulations
The Obama administration on Friday announced modified regulations for religious employers and nonprofits that object to providing insurance coverage that includes contraception. Under the Affordable Care Act, contraception is a preventive health care service and provided to women without co-pay. Under the proposed regulations issued in 2012, employees at religiously-affiliated organizations will instead receive a stand-alone, private insurance policy that would provide contraceptive coverage at no cost. The modified regulations expand the definition of “religious employer” and “nonprofit religious organization,” but make it clear that women working at those institutions must have access to contraceptive insurance coverage. For-profit businesses would not be exempt from the coverage requirement, and must include contraception as part of employee insurance benefits.
AAUW has long believed that politicians should not insert themselves into the decision-making process when it comes to reproductive health care, which is a basic element of women's health care overall.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for February 1, 2013.
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court decided the landmark case Roe v. Wade. The 7-2 decision affirmed a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion, making the procedure legal in all states. Four decades later, the status of this decision is precarious: Although Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land, subsequent Supreme Court decisions and several restrictive state laws have chipped away at the right to choose. According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, 63 percent of Americans say they do not want the court’s ruling overturned, while 29 percent would like to see it tossed out.
AAUW supports the right of every woman to safe, accessible, affordable, and comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services, and 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. Keep an eye on @AAUWPolicy on Twitter and AAUW on Facebook on Tuesday for an image you can share with your fellow AAUW members and other friends to celebrate the Roe v. Wade anniversary.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 18, 2013.
On Monday, NARAL Pro-Choice America announced that Ilyse Hogue will be the organization’s next president. Hogue has worked for a number of progressive organizations, including MoveOn.org. Hogue will take over from Nancy Keenan, who said she was retiring to make way for the next generation to take the reins of the pro-choice movement. In accepting the position, Hogue said, “This is a critical moment to engage a new generation of young people in the conversation about what choice means in a modern age."
AAUW congratulates Hogue on her new position and looks forward to continuing the fight to protect reproductive rights, especially as we approach the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 18, 2013.
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute finds that states enacted 43 abortion restrictions in 2012. Although that number is much lower compared to the 92 state restrictions passed in 2011, the 2012 number is still the second-highest number on record. Most of the new restrictions enacted in 2012 addressed abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, non-surgical abortion, and insurance coverage of abortion in the health exchanges to be set up under the Affordable Care Act.
AAUW opposes governmental restrictions on women’s reproductive rights and governmental interference with women's reproductive decisions. 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.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 4, 2013.
On December 26, Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused a request from a Catholic-owned arts and crafts company, Hobby Lobby, to block the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage requirement for health insurance plans from going into effect on January 1. Justice Sotomayor said Hobby Lobby did not meet the high standard to receive an emergency injunction and can continue to challenge the requirement in federal court. Additionally, on December 21, a U.S. district court temporarily halted enforcement of a Missouri law that requires health insurance companies to issue policies without coverage for contraception if such services violate an employer's moral or religious beliefs. The judge ruled that the Missouri law conflicts with federal law, which, under the Affordable Care Act, requires all new health insurance plans beginning January 1 to cover key women’s preventive care services, including contraception, without co-pays.
AAUW supports women’s right to access safe, affordable, and comprehensive contraception and reproductive health services regardless of where they work or learn.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 4, 2013.
A poll by Lifeway Research revealed that 63 percent of American believes businesses should be legally required to provide contraceptive coverage without a co-pay, even if it conflicts with the owners’ religious beliefs. When asked specifically about religious schools, charities, and hospitals, including those affiliated with the Catholic tradition, 53 percent of respondents said the businesses should provide coverage of contraception without a co-pay. The Affordable Care Act requires most employers, including some religious schools and hospitals, to provide such coverage.
AAUW supports the right of every woman to safe, accessible, affordable, and comprehensive family planning and reproductive health services.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 7, 2012.