Here's this week's reproductive rights news brought to you by the women of Our Word (and at least one of the guys!). If you see something you find relevant please email it to me, bayprairie at gmail dot com

Great interview of Cristina Page by Rachel Fudge at Alternet about her new book, How The Pro-choice Movement Saved America.

Did the Pro-Choice Movement Save America?

Cristina Page boldly declares that the pro-choice movement is "doing a better job at what the public understands to be the pro-life agenda than the pro-lifers are": that is, not only dramatically reducing the number of abortions in the United States, but also putting forth (and achieving) a truly pro-family, pro-child vision of life in America.

::::more below the fold::::also posted at Our Word::::

:::snip:::

...For instance, in Bush's State of the Union Address, when he trumpets the declining numbers of abortions, he's not congratulating NARAL and Planned Parenthood, even though that's who deserves the credit. You don't ever hear that publicly.

CP: I'm glad you mentioned that, because I wrote an op-ed last week about [how Bush is] misleading America -- no one published it, by the way. Those figures Bush was using were from 2002. This man has absolutely no right to take credit for what we know to be the work of the Clinton administration and the pro-choice movement's policies. It was a misleading statement.

:::snip:::

But I will say this: While the legacy of Clinton remains -- we have more contraceptives available than ever before in history; more people have health-insurance coverage for their contraceptives; emergency contraceptives are more available than ever before, even though people misunderstand what it is and that keeps them from using it -- in that speech Bush was asking the American public to believe that the diametrically opposite policies had led to these declining numbers.

He was saying, "I have taken a course of action that is leading in the exact opposite direction of what we know are proven ways to [reduce the numbers of abortions and teenage pregnancies], and I expect that the same exact results will come from the exact opposite policies."

RF: Mentioning declining abortion rates and abstinence in the same breath was quite clever.

CP: And no one called him on it. I have not read one person in this country calling him on that fact. Now, if it were the NSA or it were about WMDs Whether or not [women] have access to contraception and safe access to services will impact us immediately, far more than an Al Qaida cell in Afghanistan. I don't mean to minimize those issues, but I don't see the media covering it -- with the exception of a handful [of progressive outlets]. I don't see this debate happening among the people the public needs to hear from.

For example, the Vatican is putting out claims that the condom can cause the spread of AIDS. The Vatican is trying to make these religious arguments by [using] science and misinterpreting and misusing scientists' materials. The only one to cover the story was the BBC. They went back to every single scientist that the Vatican used and said, Let's see what you actually did say, and all of them said resoundingly that they believed that condoms are the only method besides not having sex at all that will protect you against HIV/AIDS. The BBC alone did that -- I never saw anyone follow up on it.

RF: One of the most chilling parts of your book is your chapter on the Bush administration's defunding of UNFPA in 2002, describing how a handful of extremists were able to have a dramatic global effect, and the way that they have safe harbor in the Bush administration.

CP: First of all, it's important to note that UNFPA has nothing to do with abortion. They don't provide abortion services; they simply are the largest contraceptive distributor to developing nations. In fact, their work leads to fewer abortions. Contraception may be a hallmark of how we live [in the United States] and how we base our lives, but in developing nations, this is a life-saving technology. If you don't have good obstetric care, and if you get pregnant too early or too late in life, or too quickly after a previous pregnancy, that's life-endangering. When you see in these countries the maternal death rate because there's no access to contraception compared to countries that have widespread access to contraception, you know: You know that [UNFPA and other agencies are] doing God's work by getting these techniques to the people who need them most.

Six people in Front Royal, Va., in a religious office park campus, have led these slanderous campaigns against, and in many ways terrorized, UNFPA workers. [Representatives of PRI went] into Yugoslavia and claimed that [UNFPA is] involved in ethnic cleansing because they're handing out birth-control pills to people who've been raped as an act of war. It's unbelievable to see this, and to see the full-blown nature of vindictiveness and how sinister their goals are. The pro-life movement in the United States is the international pro-life movement.

That's the truth, and it really is leading to the most paradoxical of outcomes: more abortions. More maternal death, more infant death. Pro-lifers [in the United States] need to understand this.

Read this article. Buy that book.

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More South Dakota news. The following story details a constitutional amendment that's been shot down. Some people involved in reproductive rights feel that the anti-choice legislators are actually afraid of the people expressing their will in the voting booth.

‘Unborn’ plan abandoned

PIERRE — Worried that voters may be confused and reject it, South Dakota legislators dumped a proposed ballot measure Friday that was designed to stress that there is no right under the state constitution to an abortion.

The state constitution is silent on the subject of abortion, and proposed constitutional amendment SJR2 would help assure that the document grants no right to the procedure, Sen. Julie Bartling, D-Burke, said.

“It would attempt to neutralize our constitution as an independent source of abortion rights,� the abortion opponent said.

:::snip:::

Kate Looby, state director of Planned Parenthood, said after the meeting that she believed legislators rejected the proposal because it could have turned into a referendum on abortion — with results that those against abortion may not have expected.

Legislators killed the measure rather than take a chance that it may backfire at the polls, Looby said. The measure would have allowed South Dakota voters to weigh in on the abortion issue for the first time, she said.

“Once the legislators realized they would be limiting their own ability to control the women and families of South Dakota if the voters rejected a constitutional amendment in November, they quickly decided to eliminate the resolution,� she said.

Rep. Pat Haley, D-Huron, agreed with Looby.

“It would be very interesting to see what the people think about it,� he mused.

“We might be surprised what people in South Dakota have to say about abortion or abortion rights or the right to privacy,� Haley said.

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Good news from Australia! Last week we cited a story on the Australian bill to strip authority over the abortion drug RU486 from the Health Minister, Tony Abbot, and assign it to the medical experts at the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). RU486 was essentially banned by the Health Minister. Switching the authority over the drug to the TGA will have the result of allowing its use. Well, that bill has now been passed by the Senate

Abortion pill vote lifts ban

Australian women could access RU486 within a year after parliament today overwhelmingly voted to lift a 10-year ban on the abortion drug.

In a rare conscience vote, MPs set aside their political colours and voted to strip Health Minister Tony Abbott of his power over the controversial pill.

Medical experts at the Therapeutic Goods Administration will now take control of RU486.

Today's decisive victory in the lower house ended two weeks of emotional debate in which MPs and ministers revealed their own personal experiences with abortion.

Two earlier attempts by Liberal backbenchers to amend the private members' bill failed.

But the vote does not mean that RU486, which allows women to have abortions without surgery, will become available immediately.

A pharmaceutical company or doctor will have to apply to the TGA for permission to use the drug. At least one doctor has started that process and two major companies are believed to be keen to import the drug.

Earlier in the week there was a rather interesting and bizarre rationalization used by an anti-choice member of the House as to why the drug should be banned.

Liberal MP's gaffe on abortion pill

federal Liberal MP has declared that control of the abortion drug RU486 must remain with parliamentarians to stop Australia turning into a Muslim nation.

:::snip:::

Mrs Vale argued that such a move would stop Australia from aborting itself out of existence and ultimately becoming a Muslim nation.

"I've actually read in (Sydney's) The Daily Telegraph (newspaper) where a certain imam from the Lakemba mosque actually said that Australia's going to be a Muslim nation in 50 years' time," she told reporters.

:::snip:::

It is not the first time Mrs Vale's comments have attracted attention for the wrong reasons.

I can only assume by the successful passage that not many fell for Mrs. Vale's offensive argument.

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Here's news from West Virginia

Manchin says he supports anti-abortion law

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Gov. Joe Manchin said Thursday he has always supported parental notification of abortions and would sign a bill strengthening that requirement if it reaches his desk.

Manchin made his comments after speaking briefly to several hundred anti-abortion activists at a rally in the Capitol rotunda. Organizers gave him a stack of petitions wrapped in a red ribbon that they said contained the signatures of more than 20,000 people who support the bill.

:::snip::::

West Virginia law currently requires parents to be notified 48 hours in advance of the procedure if their daughter is under 18 and has not graduated from high school. The law allows health care providers to sign waivers authorizing teen abortions without parental consent, under certain conditions.

Melissa Adkins, legislative director of West Virginians for Life, has said that waiver provision makes West Virginia's law ineffective. The bill would eliminate the provision.

:::snip:::

A dozen other states require some sort of parental notification, according to the nonprofit Alan Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research group. All but Utah provide a judicial bypass procedure, while Delaware and Maryland also allow waivers from health professionals.

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More Wal-Mart/emergency contraception action at the state level, this time in Connecticut.

Comptroller wants Wal-Marts to stock emergency contraception

HARTFORD, Conn. -- State Comptroller Nancy Wyman has asked Wal-Mart to stock emergency contraception pills in its 20 Connecticut pharmacies.

:::snip:::

Wyman said she made the request as administrator of the health insurance plan for 188,000 state employees and retirees.

"I believe it is important for women to have a treatment such as Plan B available as an option if they so choose," Wyman wrote in a letter to Wal-Mart officials. "I also strongly believe that use of this treatment should be a decision made exclusively between a woman and her physician, not a retail pharmacy chain."

Excellent!

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Here's more good news on the Emergency Contraception from Massachussets.

Mass. Wal-Mart Must Stock Contraception

BOSTON (AP) - The state pharmacy board ordered Wal-Mart on Tuesday to stock emergency contraception pills at its stores in Massachusetts.

:::snip:::

The unanimous decision by the pharmacy board comes two weeks after three women, backed by abortion rights groups, sued Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart for failing to carry the drug in its 44 Wal-Marts and four Sam's Club stores in Massachusetts.

:::snip:::

Sam Perkins, a lawyer for the three women, praised the board's decision and said he was prepared to sue in other states should Wal-Mart not overturn its policy. Abortion rights groups and women's organizations have also urged Wal-Mart to change its policy.

``I'm proud to be able to tell my patients that they now can go anywhere for their prescriptions,'' said one of the plaintiffs, Dr. Rebekah Gee, 30, of Boston. ``My patients should not have to shop around.''

I look forward to reading of more successes from Lawyer Sam Perkins and I salute the women who filed suit. Thanks are due to all of them.

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Good news for Alaskan women. Juneau is getting it's own Planned Parenthood. The bad news is the anti-choice zealots are already propogating unfounded and irrational fears.

Clinic to spur teen sex or curb abortion?

Planned Parenthood of Alaska's anticipated arrival in Juneau has some fearing rampant teenage sex and others saying the clinic will cut down on the city's need for abortions.

:::snip:::

The anti-abortion American Life League's STOPP International executive director, Jim Sedlak, said a Planned Parenthood clinic in Juneau would lead to an explosion of teenage sexual activity in the community.

:::snip::::

Simon (Planned Parenthood of Alaska CEO Clover Simon) said Planned Parenthood of Alaska is dedicated to educating parents and teens about reproductive health, including information on cervical and breast cancer, conducting sexually transmitted disease testing, and providing birth control and other contraceptives.

:::snip:::

Ida Barnack, president of Juneau's Alaskans For Life, opposes the clinic.

"The reason we are against it is because medical evidence proves that life begins at conception and we believe that life needs to be respected from conception on," Barnack said. "We believe that it is also a civil right, that anyone has a right to continue to live."

Karen Allen, a board member of Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition, said, "Reproductive rights are basic human rights."

Allen said women in Juneau are on uneven ground with men.

"Right now in Juneau, Alaska, a man can get the full range of reproductive services," she said. "A woman can't."

There are no clinics in Juneau or Southeast Alaska that conduct abortions. Those who go through the procedure must travel to Anchorage, Seattle or beyond.

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Here's news of a pilot study just completed in Britian.

Study finds home abortion 'safe'

A pilot study into whether women could have abortions at home has shown early signs of success, it has been reported. Women less than nine weeks pregnant can safely have the medical abortion outside hospital, the Department of Health backed project found.

None of the 172 women, who took tablets supervised by a nurse in a health centre, suffered serious complications, Nursing Standard reported.

But anti-abortionists say the process is too traumatic for women.

The pilot could pave the way for women to have abortions at home, in GP surgeries and in family planning clinics.

:::snip:::

The pilot project in southern England represents the first time staff have offered the service outside a hospital setting.

:::snip:::

Anne Weyman, chief executive of Family Planning Association, said: "It's very encouraging that this pilot study has been so successful.

"Medical abortion is a highly safe and effective procedure, and completing the second stage at home can provide greater comfort and privacy.

"It also reduces the number of visits needed to a clinic and is already common practice in a number of countries, including the United States."

:::snip:::

However Julia Millington, of the ProLife Alliance, said: "Abortion, in any circumstance, is a traumatic experience for a woman.

"But they haven't considered the psychological effects. I can't imagine anything more traumatic, than for women to go through this alone at home."

Thats the in-vogue selling point with the anti-choicers these days, "abortion is always a traumatic experience".

I suppose abortion can be a traumatic experience, except when its not. And then it isn't.

The article I've cited allows comments at the bottom and once again, as I read them, I'm struck by how much more judgemental, on average, the anti-choice comments made by males are compared to the ones made by women. This is something i always note, by the way. Its the men who can't give birth that have the least understanding of the issue of choice and to my way of thinking, the least right to judge or impose their beliefs on the body of another who feels differently.

Trust the women to choose, they know best.

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Bush's budget policy, if enacted, will fuel a rise on abortions worldwide. Here's a story that proves it.

U.S. Cuts Funds for Family Planning Overseas, Stirring Opposition

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 — President Bush, who acted on his first full day in office five years ago to deny federal aid to overseas groups that help women obtain abortions, is for the first time proposing sharp cuts in financing for international family planning programs that the White House had described as one of the best ways to prevent abortion.

Since 2001, the administration had adhered to Mr. Bush's commitment to maintain the financing of such programs at $425 million, the same level as in the last year of the Clinton administration.

But in the president's new budget proposal, financing would fall 18 percent, from $436 million this year to $357 million.

The cuts are stirring strong opposition from nonprofit groups and Democrats on the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees responsible for foreign aid. They say the reductions would mean more unintended pregnancies for the world's poorest women, and more dangerous abortions in countries where the procedure is outlawed.

"It's ironic that an administration outwardly committed to reducing the incidence of abortion would take away valuable tools for preventing unwanted pregnancies," said Representative Nita M. Lowey, Democrat of New York.

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In Kansas we have more circus news, courtesy of the Phile Kline roadshow.

Judge delays ruling on privacy of teen sex

It will be at least a month before a federal judge rules on a bench trial that ended last week over the sexual privacy of Kansas teenagers.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten sent an e-mail to lawyers involved in the case telling them of the delay, an assistant to the judge said Tuesday.

At issue is whether prosecutors can enforce a legal opinion issued by the state's attorney general that would require health care workers to report most sexual activity by people under age 16 to social services and law enforcement.

Here's an excerpt from an editorial written by Dr. Wes Crenshaw and Marissa Ballard that ran in the Lawrence Journal-World.

Dr. Wes:
If you study the testimony online (Kansas.com, search “Phill Kline�) you’ll find “experts� claiming that sexual exploration before the age of 16 is abnormal; that sex can lead to depression, drug abuse and even suicide; that girls should not be allowed to access birth control, but boys should; that pregnancy and adoption for young teens teaches them a lesson about their sexual behavior; that being reported to the government creates a “painful consequence� that will stop kids from having sex; that girls younger than 16 are “powerless in making decisions about sex�; that race plays a part in the ability to consent, and so on. One of Kline’s witnesses even admitted that his testimony has been excluded in other courts — but claimed this was because he was “politically incorrect.�

Kline claims that state law requires professionals to report as child abuse suspected instances of underage sex — even if they involve willing partners of similar ages. Thus, anyone seeking services for STDs, birth control or therapy would be at legal risk by disclosing sexual contact. Kline now claims he’s only been referring to intercourse and oral sex, but another witness (Sedgwick County Dist. Atty. Nola Foulston) said she would include “fondling� in this definition. Another of Kline’s witnesses (Professor Allan Josephson) actually admitted under cross examination that doctors would be better qualified than an entry-level SRS worker to decide whether consensual underage sex between age-mates constitutes sexual abuse. Indeed. So why isn’t he recommending it?

Health care providers always have agreed that sex is abusive if the other partner is much older or coercion is involved. However, no one previously has considered it child abuse when two 15-year-olds choose to have sex — only the bad judgment of youth. Moreover, about a third of teens have had sex before age 16. Many more have had oral sex, and most have “fondled.� What shall we do with all these new “sex offenders?�

:::snip:::

Marissa:
Report teens if they are having sex? This is about the dumbest stunt our government has tried to pull yet. In what ways will our youths benefit from this? The answer is very few. In fact, it will hurt them.

:::snip:::

What are they planning to do to teens who are not legally allowed to be having sex, yet are having sex anyway? A slap on the wrist? A “sex ticket?� If teens are having sex, chances are that no matter what the government tries to do to them, they are going to continue to have sex. The government has no right to try and regulate who can and cannot have sex, no matter their age. It is a personal decision, not a federal one. Hopefully, the courts will realize that this is an issue for families to work out, not Mr. Kline.

— Dr. Wes Crenshaw is a board-certified family psychologist and director of the Family Therapy Institute Midwest. Marissa Ballard is a Lawrence High School senior.

In Phil Kline's Kansas© Dorothy had better be very careful in the future.

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Here's a story on the four deaths of women due to bacterial infections who had recently had Mifeprex induced abortions

Government Calls Conference to Study 2 Deadly Infections

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 — The federal government has called an unusual scientific conference to look into two related bacterial infections, one that killed four California women who took an abortion pill and the other that has caused outbreaks of diarrhea and colitis in hospitals and nursing homes across the nation.

Fifteen to 20 scientists who have studied the two bacteria have been asked to present their research at the conference, scheduled for May 11, an official at the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the abortion pill, Mifeprex or RU-486, is so controversial that some officials have been threatened after speaking about it publicly.

:::snip:::

Officials are concerned that the political controversy swirling around medical abortions may interfere with the scientific discussion, the F.D.A. official said in an interview.

"We hope to keep the focus on the science," the official said. "We're holding this in a secure government facility for a reason."

The two bacteria are Clostridium sordellii and Clostridium difficile, which generally live in the soil and in human intestinal tracts. Both thrive in environments with limited oxygen. When these bacteria infect the bloodstream, they can produce a toxin that causes something akin to toxic shock syndrome.

:::snip:::

Another intriguing mystery is why all four lethal Clostridium sordellii infections occurred in California.

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Here's news from the HPV front.

GSK Announces Plans To Seek FDA Approval in 2006 for Experimental HPV Vaccine Cervarix

GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday announced that it will submit its experimental human papillomavirus vaccine, Cervarix, for FDA approval by the end of 2006, London's Independent reports (Kollewe, Independent, 2/9). Cervarix in early clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/4). A GSK spokesperson on Wednesday also said FDA might approve the application for a rapid review. In addition, the company announced its plans to submit an application for approval in Europe in March, which means Cervarix could reach the European market by 2007 (Independent, 2/9). GSK has said it plans to recommend Cervarix for girls as young as age 10 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/4).

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Here's a story on the ongoing Indiana consent law. Its an Associated Press story that ran in the Washington Post.

Abortion Consent Law Before Ind. Legislature

INDIANAPOLIS -- Women seeking an abortion in Indiana would be told that life begins at conception under a proposal that would give the state one of the furthest-reaching abortion consent laws in the country.

:::snip:::

Only South Dakota has beginning-of-life language similar to Indiana's proposal, which would require women seeking an abortion to be informed in writing that "human life begins when a human ovum is fertilized by a human sperm."

::::snip:::

The Indiana bill would require abortion providers to tell women that a fetus may be able to feel pain. Such notice is required in Arkansas, Georgia and Minnesota, but those states specify that it applies to fetuses at 20 weeks gestation or later, while Indiana's proposal does not specify a gestation period.

:::snip:::

"To put our religion or faithful beliefs into a statute that's going to be law, without being able to back it up scientifically, I have real hard questions about doing that," said state Rep. John D. Ulmer (R), who voted against the bill.

:::snip:::

State Rep. Tim Harris (R), the Indiana bill's House sponsor, said he did not intend to restrict abortion. "We in no way infringe on a woman's right to an abortion," he said. "That's still legal. That is still the law of the land."

:::snip:::

"We're seeing more and more informed consent laws passed that are politically motivated, with items in there trying to dissuade women from having abortions, rather than being politically neutral and giving women true risks and benefits," said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, the professional association of abortion providers in the United States and Canada.

Legislative abuse, by my way of thinking, and in this case an egregious one. Representative Harris deserves the condemnation of us all for his hateful, abusive bill.

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Here's more info on a positive story from last week.

Preventing Unsafe Abortion

Last week, the International Planned Parenthood Federation announced the launch of the Global Safe Abortion Programme, which will support services and information to reduce the number of unsafe abortions around the world.

The program was well received by the United Kingdom (U.K.), which pledged an initial three million pounds (more than five million dollars) to the initiative.

The U.K.'s immediate pledge of funding is a marked contrast to the response of the United States, which reinstated the global gag rule five years ago on George W. Bush's inauguration day. The global gag rule prohibits international family planning organizations from receiving U.S. funding if they provide abortions, refer patients to other abortion providers, counsel patients on the option of abortion, or even lobby for abortion legalization or reform in their countries.

:::snip:::

Responsible public policies — those motivated by public health realities, not conservative ideology — would increase these women's options.

The United Kingdom is on the right track. The United States is not.

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