Several South Dakota physicians have "lined up on opposite sides" of the state's law (HB 1215) that bans abortion except to save a woman's life and are "lending their personal and medical opinions to a cause in which they believe," the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. According to Ken Aspaas, president of the South Dakota State Medical Association, the abortion ban debate has divided the state's medical community. Publicly, the association "has taken a largely hands-off approach to the subject of abortion," after "heated" discussions among its members in recent months, according to the Argus Leader. However, the SDSMA in June released a statement "strongly condemn[ing]" interference by the government or any person in a medical decision, according to the Argus Leader. Some physicians are worried about the ban's effect, "especially when they deem the procedure to be medically necessary for the health of the pregnant woman," the Argus Leader reports. Supporters of the ban have pointed to a report released last year by the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion, which included testimony from physicians that women could experience potentially harmful emotional and mental problems from undergoing the procedure, according to the Argus Leader. The task force was appointed by Gov. Mike Rounds (R) and was co-chaired by Maria Bell -- a Sioux Falls ob-gyn who also is the co-chair of the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, the group that organized the petition drive that brought the abortion ban onto the state ballot (Myers, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 7/16).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Articles and news on abortion facts, abortion myths, safety of abortions, legal and/or economic barriers, surgical abortion, medical abortion, abortion after 12 weeks, post-abortion issues, abortion and the law, ethics of abortion, parental consent.
May 7, 2007
Early Fetal Gender Test Demands Rapid Ethical Policymaking
This alert highlights the research published this week in a special issue of Prenatal Diagnosis entitled, Fetal Sexing: Global Perspectives on Practices, Ethics and Policy. The special issue arose out of a workshop organized as part of the SAFE network of excellence.
Reviews highlighted in this newsalert:
* Early pregnancy maternal blood test for fetal gender demands rapid ethical policy-making. The sex of a 5-7 week embryo can be determined by a new test - about two months earlier than was possible with ultrasound. But should we use this new technology 'just because it is there?'
* Sex selection รข€" liberally ok but not without problems. Sex selection fits with a liberal view of permission in reproduction, but using abortion as part of the process is less defensible and may degrade our value of human life.
* Will easier access to more effective sex selection affect gender balance? Probably not. Increasing ease of travel to countries with lax rules on sex selection makes it possible for wealthy couples to have a baby of the desired sex. But surveys that ask whether people would prefer to have a boy or a girl show that, at least in Western countries, the sex-ratio is unlikely to change considerably.
* Most people do not favour sex selection. Surveys conducted to date show that, overall, people have negative attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons, particular if the method involves terminating a pregnancy.
Lyn Chitty, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Genetics and Fetal Medicine at the UCL Institute of Child Health, London, says, "this Special Topic issue presents a range of papers that discuss the scientific, social and political implications of fetal sex selection. It begins by describing the technological advances that have made early non-invasive fetal sex determination a practical, reliable and safe option for women at high risk of sex-linked disorders if the test is performed in accredited and experienced laboratories.
It then goes on to explore the views of clinicians, scientists and social scientists as well as the evidence from the developed and developing world on the potential impact of this technology if used for non-medical reasons.
It gives no answers and, to quote the editors of this issue - 'It remains to be seen whether the triumph of modern science to allow fetal sexing at increasingly early stages of gestation will be seen as a triumph, allowing those at risk for sex-linked disorders to learn of the health of their fetus at the earliest point possible, or a tyranny, making simpler the selective termination of female fetuses with its attendant social and political consequences.'"
Early pregnancy maternal blood test for fetal gender demands rapid ethical policy-making
The sex of a 5-7 week embryo can be determined by a new test - about two months earlier than was possible with ultrasound. "It is imperative that an authorized committee of experts in each country generates and official policy regarding use of this test," says Dr. Esther Guetta from the Danek Gertner Institute of Human Genetics, in Israel, writing in the latest edition of Prenatal Diagnosis.
To understand the test you need to know two things:
1. Fragments of DNA from an embryo can be found circulating in its mother's blood.
2. While males have an X and a Y chromosome, females only have two X chromosomes.
If you take a sample of a pregnant woman's blood plasma and find DNA that is only present in males, the woman is most probably carrying a male fetus.
Unlike other highly accurate invasive tests, this test poses no risk to the embryo. It can also be carried out early in pregnancy. Add these together and it is likely therefore to become popular with anyone who is prepared to use abortion as a way of choosing their child's sex.
"We need to think about this quickly because the technology is already with us," says Guetta. In the USA, for example, some mail order products already use this sort of technology.
"Should this new technology be applied 'just because it is there'?" asks Guetta.
Review Title: Guetta, E: Noninvasive detection of fetal sex: The laboratory diagnostician's view: Prenatal Diagnosis DOI: 10.1002/pd.1478
Sex selection - liberally ok, but not without problems
Sex selection fits with a liberal view of permission in reproduction, but using abortion as part of the process is much less defensible and is liable to degrade the value of human life. This is the conclusion of Thomas Baldwin who works in the Department of Philosophy at the University of York, England.
While there is reasonable acceptance of sex selection to help parents avoid passing on a genetic disease to their children, many surveys show that people do not welcome the possibility of sex selection merely to choose the sex of a child.
In order to understand the opposition to sex selection, Baldwin considers the arguments against sex selection in four key areas:
1. religion - Baldwin believes that religious arguments by themselves should not be used to drive public policy in a liberal secular state, but suggests that the main religiously-derived arguments are taken into account in secular ethical debates.
2. social consequences - some people argue that a serious objection to sex selection is that it will lead to a substantial imbalance of boys over girls within society. Baldwin, however, argues that if sex selection is primarily used for family balancing, the numbers of boys and girls in Western societies will not become unbalanced.
3. child's autonomy - it is argued that deciding a child's sex violates his or her autonomy by imposing a particular destiny on the child. Baldwin rejects this view largely by pointing out that there are many ways during our upbringing in which parents influence who we become. Sex selection is therefore not introducing something radically new, although it does extend parental influence into a new dimension.
4. children as a commodity - still others argue that sex selection turns the child into a commodity that has been designed to satisfy a need and thus that parents will not give their child the unconditioned love it needs. But the connections here are not inevitable, and it may equally be argued that enabling parents to have the kind of child they want increases the chances of them giving their child the love it needs.
Since these objections are not decisive, Baldwin concludes that the liberal argument for permitting sex selection is the reasonable position to take, though its use should be restricted for the moment to family balancing situations. When it comes to looking at methods of sex selection, Baldwin believes that there is nothing problematic in any method that does not destroy an embryo or fetus.
Once an embryo has been implanted and allowed to develop, however, termination of the pregnancy merely for the purpose of sex selection is in principle wrong. But he accepts that the combination of new non-invasive methods of testing with over the counter hormone abortion kits will make sex selection by early abortion something that is in practice impossible to stop.
"Since there are no straightforward victims, it is a mistake to try and enforce its prevention," says Baldwin. "We will just have to learn to live with the resulting degradation of the value of human life."
Review Title: Baldwin, T: Understanding the opposition: Prenatal Diagnosis, DOI: 10.1002/pd.1473
Will easier access to more effective sex selection affect gender balance? Probably not ..
Increasing ease of travel to countries with lax rules on sex selection makes it possible for wealthy couples to have a baby of the desired sex. But surveys that ask whether people would prefer to have a boy or a girl show that, at least in Western countries, the sex-ratio is unlikely to change considerably.
The desire to choose the sex of our offspring is not new - it has been part of human culture for millennia. However until recently there has been no successful method of achieving this goal.
Now that methods, like sperm selection and non-invasive methods of testing an embryo's sex, are becoming available, the issue is moving from one of mild interest, to one that needs serious consideration.
"It will be very difficult for governments to stop people who want to use these new techniques," says Frank van Balen who works at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Science at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The question then is whether this use will alter the gender balance within the population.
Many initial comments suggest that these tools will create a population with more boys than girls, but van Balen thinks this is not necessarily the case.
While 'son preference' tends to be stronger that 'daughter preference', recent surveys show increased 'daughter preference' particularly among women. Given that abortion laws give the woman the decision-making power over a termination, the argument that sex selection should be barred because it would discriminate against women may not be so strong.
'Light' sex selection methods, especially those known not to be effective, enjoy a high degree of social acceptance. But it will also be interesting to see how attitudes change as people get used to the presence of technologies that 'work'.
Review Title: Van Balen, F: Attitudes towards sex selection in the Western world: Prenatal Diagnosis, DOI: 10.1002/pd.1471
Most people do not favour sex selection
Surveys conducted to date show that, overall, people have negative attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons, particular if the method involves terminating a pregnancy. This was the main conclusion of a review that drew together data from 21 separate studies. The research was carried out by Dr Sue Hall and colleagues working in the Department of Psychology at Guy's College London.
"Some of the studies show that while people may be in favour of the general principle of reproductive choice, they feel that they would not use sex selection themselves," says Hall.
The surveys cover a range of time from 1971 to 2005. Sixteen were carried out in the USA, 4 in Germany and 1 in the UK. Attitudes were particularly negative in Germany.
"People's attitudes become more negative when the methods used to select the gender of a child are explained - eg the cost and effort involved, the unreliability of sperm sorting or the need for termination of pregnancy following prenatal diagnosis," says Hall. "People are particularly reluctant to endorse prenatal diagnosis and abortion for sex selection."
Earlier this month MP Caroline Flint declared that choosing the sex of a baby for social reasons would be banned and the Department of Health has been conducting a review of the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act - the legislation governing human fertilisation.
"Such debates need to consider the way that policy, guidelines and legal frameworks drawn up to work with Western attitudes and cultures will impact regions of the world that have more positive attitudes toward sex selection such as India and China," says Hall.
Review Title: Hall, S: Attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons: a review, DOI: 10.1002/pd.1472
###
Notes to Editors
1. Special Issue: Prenatal Diagnosis: Fetal sexing: global perspectives on practices, ethics and policy.
2. Prenatal Diagnosis: The aim of the journal is to communicate the results of original research in a variety of clinical and scientific specialities concerned with in utero diagnosis of fetal abnormality in humans (and in animal models) resulting from genetic and environmental factors. Prenatal Diagnosis can be accessed online at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-07/www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/pd
3. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., with its headquarters in Chichester, England, is the largest subsidiary of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., provides must-have content and services to customers worldwide. Its core businesses include scientific, technical, and medical journals, encyclopaedias, books, and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley has publishing, marketing, and distribution centres in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb. Wiley's Internet site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com/
4. The Special Non-Invasive Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Evaluation Network (SAFE) is a Network of Excellence established under the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme which aims to implement routine non-invasive prenatal diagnosis and cost effective neonatal screening through the creation of long-term partnerships.
The SAFE network will develop a series of measures to enable the rapid introduction of Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis (NIPD) and Neonatal Screening (NS) throughout the EU and beyond. At present NIPD , based on a pioneering observation that circulatory cell free fetal DNA is present in maternal plasma and serum, has already begun to impact clinical practice. It started on 1 March 2004, will run for 5 years and has 53 partners from 19 countries currently participating. One of the reasons for the setting up the network is that relevant knowledge is dispersed across many disciplines, including molecular biology, medical genetics, bioinformatics, social justice, and ethical studies. SAFE brings together leading experts from the key disciplines in a programme designed to achieve intellectual and practical integration with a view to enhance the efficacy of NIPD and NS for genetic disorders within and beyond the European Community. For more information please visit: http://www.safenoe.org/
Contact: Polly Young
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Reviews highlighted in this newsalert:
* Early pregnancy maternal blood test for fetal gender demands rapid ethical policy-making. The sex of a 5-7 week embryo can be determined by a new test - about two months earlier than was possible with ultrasound. But should we use this new technology 'just because it is there?'
* Sex selection รข€" liberally ok but not without problems. Sex selection fits with a liberal view of permission in reproduction, but using abortion as part of the process is less defensible and may degrade our value of human life.
* Will easier access to more effective sex selection affect gender balance? Probably not. Increasing ease of travel to countries with lax rules on sex selection makes it possible for wealthy couples to have a baby of the desired sex. But surveys that ask whether people would prefer to have a boy or a girl show that, at least in Western countries, the sex-ratio is unlikely to change considerably.
* Most people do not favour sex selection. Surveys conducted to date show that, overall, people have negative attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons, particular if the method involves terminating a pregnancy.
Lyn Chitty, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Genetics and Fetal Medicine at the UCL Institute of Child Health, London, says, "this Special Topic issue presents a range of papers that discuss the scientific, social and political implications of fetal sex selection. It begins by describing the technological advances that have made early non-invasive fetal sex determination a practical, reliable and safe option for women at high risk of sex-linked disorders if the test is performed in accredited and experienced laboratories.
It then goes on to explore the views of clinicians, scientists and social scientists as well as the evidence from the developed and developing world on the potential impact of this technology if used for non-medical reasons.
It gives no answers and, to quote the editors of this issue - 'It remains to be seen whether the triumph of modern science to allow fetal sexing at increasingly early stages of gestation will be seen as a triumph, allowing those at risk for sex-linked disorders to learn of the health of their fetus at the earliest point possible, or a tyranny, making simpler the selective termination of female fetuses with its attendant social and political consequences.'"
Early pregnancy maternal blood test for fetal gender demands rapid ethical policy-making
The sex of a 5-7 week embryo can be determined by a new test - about two months earlier than was possible with ultrasound. "It is imperative that an authorized committee of experts in each country generates and official policy regarding use of this test," says Dr. Esther Guetta from the Danek Gertner Institute of Human Genetics, in Israel, writing in the latest edition of Prenatal Diagnosis.
To understand the test you need to know two things:
1. Fragments of DNA from an embryo can be found circulating in its mother's blood.
2. While males have an X and a Y chromosome, females only have two X chromosomes.
If you take a sample of a pregnant woman's blood plasma and find DNA that is only present in males, the woman is most probably carrying a male fetus.
Unlike other highly accurate invasive tests, this test poses no risk to the embryo. It can also be carried out early in pregnancy. Add these together and it is likely therefore to become popular with anyone who is prepared to use abortion as a way of choosing their child's sex.
"We need to think about this quickly because the technology is already with us," says Guetta. In the USA, for example, some mail order products already use this sort of technology.
"Should this new technology be applied 'just because it is there'?" asks Guetta.
Review Title: Guetta, E: Noninvasive detection of fetal sex: The laboratory diagnostician's view: Prenatal Diagnosis DOI: 10.1002/pd.1478
Sex selection - liberally ok, but not without problems
Sex selection fits with a liberal view of permission in reproduction, but using abortion as part of the process is much less defensible and is liable to degrade the value of human life. This is the conclusion of Thomas Baldwin who works in the Department of Philosophy at the University of York, England.
While there is reasonable acceptance of sex selection to help parents avoid passing on a genetic disease to their children, many surveys show that people do not welcome the possibility of sex selection merely to choose the sex of a child.
In order to understand the opposition to sex selection, Baldwin considers the arguments against sex selection in four key areas:
1. religion - Baldwin believes that religious arguments by themselves should not be used to drive public policy in a liberal secular state, but suggests that the main religiously-derived arguments are taken into account in secular ethical debates.
2. social consequences - some people argue that a serious objection to sex selection is that it will lead to a substantial imbalance of boys over girls within society. Baldwin, however, argues that if sex selection is primarily used for family balancing, the numbers of boys and girls in Western societies will not become unbalanced.
3. child's autonomy - it is argued that deciding a child's sex violates his or her autonomy by imposing a particular destiny on the child. Baldwin rejects this view largely by pointing out that there are many ways during our upbringing in which parents influence who we become. Sex selection is therefore not introducing something radically new, although it does extend parental influence into a new dimension.
4. children as a commodity - still others argue that sex selection turns the child into a commodity that has been designed to satisfy a need and thus that parents will not give their child the unconditioned love it needs. But the connections here are not inevitable, and it may equally be argued that enabling parents to have the kind of child they want increases the chances of them giving their child the love it needs.
Since these objections are not decisive, Baldwin concludes that the liberal argument for permitting sex selection is the reasonable position to take, though its use should be restricted for the moment to family balancing situations. When it comes to looking at methods of sex selection, Baldwin believes that there is nothing problematic in any method that does not destroy an embryo or fetus.
Once an embryo has been implanted and allowed to develop, however, termination of the pregnancy merely for the purpose of sex selection is in principle wrong. But he accepts that the combination of new non-invasive methods of testing with over the counter hormone abortion kits will make sex selection by early abortion something that is in practice impossible to stop.
"Since there are no straightforward victims, it is a mistake to try and enforce its prevention," says Baldwin. "We will just have to learn to live with the resulting degradation of the value of human life."
Review Title: Baldwin, T: Understanding the opposition: Prenatal Diagnosis, DOI: 10.1002/pd.1473
Will easier access to more effective sex selection affect gender balance? Probably not ..
Increasing ease of travel to countries with lax rules on sex selection makes it possible for wealthy couples to have a baby of the desired sex. But surveys that ask whether people would prefer to have a boy or a girl show that, at least in Western countries, the sex-ratio is unlikely to change considerably.
The desire to choose the sex of our offspring is not new - it has been part of human culture for millennia. However until recently there has been no successful method of achieving this goal.
Now that methods, like sperm selection and non-invasive methods of testing an embryo's sex, are becoming available, the issue is moving from one of mild interest, to one that needs serious consideration.
"It will be very difficult for governments to stop people who want to use these new techniques," says Frank van Balen who works at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Science at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The question then is whether this use will alter the gender balance within the population.
Many initial comments suggest that these tools will create a population with more boys than girls, but van Balen thinks this is not necessarily the case.
While 'son preference' tends to be stronger that 'daughter preference', recent surveys show increased 'daughter preference' particularly among women. Given that abortion laws give the woman the decision-making power over a termination, the argument that sex selection should be barred because it would discriminate against women may not be so strong.
'Light' sex selection methods, especially those known not to be effective, enjoy a high degree of social acceptance. But it will also be interesting to see how attitudes change as people get used to the presence of technologies that 'work'.
Review Title: Van Balen, F: Attitudes towards sex selection in the Western world: Prenatal Diagnosis, DOI: 10.1002/pd.1471
Most people do not favour sex selection
Surveys conducted to date show that, overall, people have negative attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons, particular if the method involves terminating a pregnancy. This was the main conclusion of a review that drew together data from 21 separate studies. The research was carried out by Dr Sue Hall and colleagues working in the Department of Psychology at Guy's College London.
"Some of the studies show that while people may be in favour of the general principle of reproductive choice, they feel that they would not use sex selection themselves," says Hall.
The surveys cover a range of time from 1971 to 2005. Sixteen were carried out in the USA, 4 in Germany and 1 in the UK. Attitudes were particularly negative in Germany.
"People's attitudes become more negative when the methods used to select the gender of a child are explained - eg the cost and effort involved, the unreliability of sperm sorting or the need for termination of pregnancy following prenatal diagnosis," says Hall. "People are particularly reluctant to endorse prenatal diagnosis and abortion for sex selection."
Earlier this month MP Caroline Flint declared that choosing the sex of a baby for social reasons would be banned and the Department of Health has been conducting a review of the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act - the legislation governing human fertilisation.
"Such debates need to consider the way that policy, guidelines and legal frameworks drawn up to work with Western attitudes and cultures will impact regions of the world that have more positive attitudes toward sex selection such as India and China," says Hall.
Review Title: Hall, S: Attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons: a review, DOI: 10.1002/pd.1472
###
Notes to Editors
1. Special Issue: Prenatal Diagnosis: Fetal sexing: global perspectives on practices, ethics and policy.
2. Prenatal Diagnosis: The aim of the journal is to communicate the results of original research in a variety of clinical and scientific specialities concerned with in utero diagnosis of fetal abnormality in humans (and in animal models) resulting from genetic and environmental factors. Prenatal Diagnosis can be accessed online at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-07/www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/pd
3. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., with its headquarters in Chichester, England, is the largest subsidiary of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., provides must-have content and services to customers worldwide. Its core businesses include scientific, technical, and medical journals, encyclopaedias, books, and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley has publishing, marketing, and distribution centres in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb. Wiley's Internet site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com/
4. The Special Non-Invasive Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Evaluation Network (SAFE) is a Network of Excellence established under the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme which aims to implement routine non-invasive prenatal diagnosis and cost effective neonatal screening through the creation of long-term partnerships.
The SAFE network will develop a series of measures to enable the rapid introduction of Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis (NIPD) and Neonatal Screening (NS) throughout the EU and beyond. At present NIPD , based on a pioneering observation that circulatory cell free fetal DNA is present in maternal plasma and serum, has already begun to impact clinical practice. It started on 1 March 2004, will run for 5 years and has 53 partners from 19 countries currently participating. One of the reasons for the setting up the network is that relevant knowledge is dispersed across many disciplines, including molecular biology, medical genetics, bioinformatics, social justice, and ethical studies. SAFE brings together leading experts from the key disciplines in a programme designed to achieve intellectual and practical integration with a view to enhance the efficacy of NIPD and NS for genetic disorders within and beyond the European Community. For more information please visit: http://www.safenoe.org/
Contact: Polly Young
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Federal Judge Rules Missouri Must Provide Transport For Pregnant Inmates Wishing To Have Abortions
U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple on Tuesday ruled that the state must provide transportation to clinics for pregnant inmates who wish to have abortions, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Mannies, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/19). The Missouri Department of Corrections in July 2005 adopted a policy barring the use of tax dollars to transport prisoners to undergo abortions. Attorneys for a state prison inmate -- identified as "Jane Roe" in court papers -- filed a lawsuit in October 2005 asking a federal court to order the corrections department to transport the woman to a clinic for an abortion. Whipple agreed to the request. Attorneys for the Missouri Office of the Attorney General unsuccessfully appealed the ruling to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. The woman was about 17 weeks' pregnant and had been seeking an abortion for about seven weeks before she received one (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/25/05). The American Civil Liberties Union filed for a federal ruling to make the Jane Roe decision applicable to all pregnant women in the state, which Whipple agreed to, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Salter, AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/18).
Ruling, Reaction
According to the Kansas City Star, state officials cited security risks when setting the policy barring state-funded transport, but Whipple wrote in his ruling, "In this case, the undisputed evidence shows that inmates who chose to terminate a pregnancy and must be transported outside of prison for that purpose pose no greater security risk than any other inmate that requires outside medical attention." The state also had argued that paying for transport violated a Missouri law that says the state cannot assist in abortions. Whipple noted an 8th Circuit Court ruling in a previous case that said, "We cannot accept the conclusion that 'assisting' an abortion encompasses driving or escorting the patient to the location where the procedure is to take place." A spokesperson for state Attorney General Jay Nixon (R) said officials were examining the ruling and do not know if they will appeal it (Rizzo, Kansas City Star, 7/19). Gov. Matt Blunt (R) in a statement said, "This ruling violates our traditional Missouri values and is an affront to everyone that values the sanctity of human life. I urge the attorney general to fight this ruling that prevents the state of Missouri from protecting innocent human life." ACLU attorney Tom Blumenthal said, "This ruling reaffirms that the state's effort to curtail a woman's constitutional rights are futile and they're wasting time and money when they attempt to do so" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/19).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Trial Postponed For Advocate Who Challenged China's One-Child Policy
Human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng's trial has been postponed, his attorney, Li Jinsong, said on Thursday, Reuters AlertNet reports (Beck, Reuters AlertNet, 7/20). Chen on July 17 was scheduled to go to trial in Linyi, China, county court in the country's Shandong province, Li said earlier this month. Chen is scheduled to face charges of "willfully harming public property" and "gathering masses to disturb traffic order" after attempting to expose alleged human rights abuses associated with the enforcement of the country's one-child-per-family policy. The policy seeks to keep China's population -- now 1.3 billion -- at around 1.7 billion by 2050. Ethnic minorities and farmers are the only groups legally exempt from the rule. Chen recorded testimony from men and women in communities in and around Linyi who have experienced forced abortions and sterilizations, as well as had family members captured and tortured after they tried to hide or run from authorities. He was attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against the Chinese government for alleged human rights abuses associated with the enforcement. Chen in September 2005 was placed under house arrest for speaking with journalists, government officials and other advocates about the one-child policy. Chinese police formally arrested Chen in June for his attempts to challenge the policy (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/11). According to Li, the county court judge postponed Chen's trial because prosecutors demanded more evidence, Agence France-Presse reports (Agence France-Presse, 7/20). "This shows the Yinan county prosecuting court already realizes the evidence in the existing suit against Chen Guangcheng ... is not enough and needs supplementing," Li said (Reuters AlertNet, 7/20). He added that a new court date has not been scheduled (Olesen, AP/Boston Globe, 7/20). Authorities in Shandong have declined to comment on Chen (Agence France-Presse, 7/20). The U.N. Population Fund has raised Chen's case with the Chinese government several times, and senior U.S. officials also have urged the government to release him (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/10). The New York Times on Thursday profiled Chen and his legal struggle (Kahn, New York Times, 7/20).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Antiabortion Group Protesting For Closure Of Jackson, Miss., Abortion Clinic Denied Restraining Order Against Police
U.S. District Judge William Barbour on Tuesday denied a request by the antiabortion group Operation Rescue/Operation Save America for a temporary restraining order against the Jackson Police Department for alleged First Amendment violations during the group's eight-day protest targeting the Jackson Women's Health Organization, the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports (Cogswell/Rupp, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 7/19). Six abortion clinics have closed in Mississippi in the past decade, according to National Organization for Women Jackson Chapter President Michelle Colon. The Jackson clinic opened in 1995 and sees about 4,000 women a year, according to NOW President Susan Hill. OSA has said it is targeting the clinic this year to "send a message" to antiabortion advocates "that the battle to end abortion can be won" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/17). OSA filed for the restraining order because it said the police department was treating abortion-rights opponents differently than abortion-rights supporters and did not take action when they received a complaint about violence against an OSA member. Barbour ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove the need for a restraining order. Stephen Crampton, an attorney representing OSA, said he plans to appeal the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 7/19).
Protests
Police since the protest began on Saturday arrested 14 protesters, the AP/Biloxi Sun Herald reports. There have been reports of slashed tires, a bomb threat and other clashes between abortion-rights opponents and supporters (AP/Biloxi Sun Herald, 7/20). OSA members have been carrying signs and driving a bus that depict pictures of "bloody aborted fetuses," WLBT.com reports (Suares, WLBT.com, 7/19). Protestors on Tuesday outside the state capitol tore up copies of U.S. Supreme Court rulings related to abortion rights, religion in public schools and sodomy, as well as a gay pride flag and a copy of the Quaran, and later burned the items outside the Making Jesus Real Church in Pearl, Miss., according to OSA volunteer Pat McEwen (Gordon, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 7/20). OSA on Wednesday in small groups protested at 23 locations in the Jackson area -- including the clinic, the police department, Millsaps College, a high school and the Clarion-Ledger office (Gates et al., Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 7/19). The group on Thursday planned to bury a fetus in a local public park, according to the Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life. Jackson police did not say if such a burial was legal, but Cmdr. Lee Vance said, "How somebody would come into possession of a fetus is a legal issue." The clinic on Thursday saw patients from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., according to the Clarion-Ledger (Cogswell/Rupp, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 7/20). However, National Women's Health Organization security consultant McCoy Faulkner said patients and staff had been verbally mistreated (Rupp/Gates, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 7/20).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Kansas City Star Examines Pregnancy Prevention Program Aimed At Drug Users
The Kansas City Star on Wednesday examined Project Prevention -- a program that offers financial incentives to illicit drug users if they agree to take long-term birth control or undergo sterilization surgery. The group's founder, Barbara Harris, started the program in 1998 in California under the name Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity, or CRACK. According to the Star, Project Prevention now has chapters in 27 states and has paid incentives to almost 1,900 drug users -- most of whom were white, female clients -- in 39 states. Clients can receive $300 annually if they agree to remain on Depo-Provera, a long-birth control shot that is administered every three months, the group says. Project Prevention also pays the same amount to female drug users who agree to undergo sterilization surgery, the Star reports. About 700 women have undergone sterilization surgery as clients of Project Prevention, according to the group. Clients are paid after the group receives paperwork proving they have followed through with the agreement. About 200 clients have enrolled this year in the program, and the group is seeking to end the year with at least 2,006 paid clients, the Star reports. Some critics are concerned the program "is racist, disproportionately focusing on minority women, and preys on people ill-prepared to make life-altering decisions, or those easily swayed by an offer of fast cash," according to the Star. Harris said, "People say we don't have a right to tell them how many children they can have," adding, "I disagree" (Shultz, Kansas City Star, 7/19).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
April 16, 2007
New Test Spares Couples With Familial Cancer The Trauma Of Termination
A new way of sparing couples the trauma of having to decide between having a baby with a high risk of developing a form of colorectal cancer later in life, or terminating the pregnancy, will be revealed in June 2006 at the 22nd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Prague, Czech Republic. Professor Stephane Viville, director of the biology of reproduction service at Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France, will tell the conference that, using his team's new test, it will be possible to offer preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to almost all cases of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), an adult-onset cancer which represents 1% of all cases of colorectal cancer.
PGD was originally proposed for couples at risk of having a child affected by severe genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, which manifest themselves at birth or in very early childhood. However, it is now possible to test for some diseases that occur at a later stage in life, such as Huntington's disease and some hereditary cancers. "Because the child will carry only a risk - albeit it a high one - of developing these conditions during adulthood, many parents, as well as clinicians, have doubts about terminating such a pregnancy," Professor Viville says. "In fact some couples would prefer not to have children in these circumstances."
Twelve couples with a risk of passing on FAP to any children were referred to Professor Viville and his team between 2000 and 2005. At first the team worked on tests to detect the most common FAP mutation, but then, by carrying out double and triple diagnostic tests on each cell, were able to detect the many rarer mutations that are involved in familial cases. "Because the pathology is dominant, and only one member of the couple is affected and at risk of transmitting the disease," said Professor Viville, "we only have to look for one mutation at a time.
"But there are a number of these mutations and therefore it is necessary to develop a different test for each if we are to be sure that PGD will be effective. Our test is very robust as well as being technically innovative - for the first time in this disease we have been able to use molecular technology at the single cell level, which allows us to detect mutations that are otherwise very difficult to identify."
The team started eleven IVF cycles, of which nine gave rise to embryo biopsy and eight had an embryo transfer. From these, one boy has been born and two other pregnancies are on-going. Reanalysis of eleven un-transferred embryos confirmed PGD results for FAP mutations.
"We are now able to propose PGD to most couples at risk of transmitting a familial form of FAP to their children", says Professor Viville. "With our experience growing all the time, we hope that we will shortly be able to develop new protocols which will enable us to offer PGD for all mutations involved in FAP, including those which occur for the first time."
###
Contact: Mary Rice
European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology
PGD was originally proposed for couples at risk of having a child affected by severe genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, which manifest themselves at birth or in very early childhood. However, it is now possible to test for some diseases that occur at a later stage in life, such as Huntington's disease and some hereditary cancers. "Because the child will carry only a risk - albeit it a high one - of developing these conditions during adulthood, many parents, as well as clinicians, have doubts about terminating such a pregnancy," Professor Viville says. "In fact some couples would prefer not to have children in these circumstances."
Twelve couples with a risk of passing on FAP to any children were referred to Professor Viville and his team between 2000 and 2005. At first the team worked on tests to detect the most common FAP mutation, but then, by carrying out double and triple diagnostic tests on each cell, were able to detect the many rarer mutations that are involved in familial cases. "Because the pathology is dominant, and only one member of the couple is affected and at risk of transmitting the disease," said Professor Viville, "we only have to look for one mutation at a time.
"But there are a number of these mutations and therefore it is necessary to develop a different test for each if we are to be sure that PGD will be effective. Our test is very robust as well as being technically innovative - for the first time in this disease we have been able to use molecular technology at the single cell level, which allows us to detect mutations that are otherwise very difficult to identify."
The team started eleven IVF cycles, of which nine gave rise to embryo biopsy and eight had an embryo transfer. From these, one boy has been born and two other pregnancies are on-going. Reanalysis of eleven un-transferred embryos confirmed PGD results for FAP mutations.
"We are now able to propose PGD to most couples at risk of transmitting a familial form of FAP to their children", says Professor Viville. "With our experience growing all the time, we hope that we will shortly be able to develop new protocols which will enable us to offer PGD for all mutations involved in FAP, including those which occur for the first time."
###
Contact: Mary Rice
European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology
Catholic Cardinal McCarrick Restates Policy Leaving Decision To Refuse Communion To Politicians Who Support Abortion Rights To Local Bishop
Washington, D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick on Thursday at a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Los Angeles reiterated a policy approved by the bishops in 2004 that the decision to deny communion to Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion rights is up to the local bishop, Reuters/ABC News reports (Serjeant, Reuters/ABC News, 6/15). The USCCB in June 2004 at a closed meeting in Colorado voted to approve a statement saying that Catholic politicians should work against legalized abortion "lest they be guilty of cooperating in evil and in sinning against the common good." However, the statement also said the decision to deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be left to individual bishops (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/20/04). A task force on Catholics in public life, which McCarrick chairs, has been investigating the issue. McCarrick said there is "no substitute for the local bishop's pastoral judgment and his vital relationships with Catholic public officials in his own diocese." He added, "My concern is the fear that the intense polarization and bitter battles of partisan politics may be seeping into the broader ecclesial life of our Catholic people and maybe even of our conference. Our concern is not politics, nor just particular policies, but their faith and even their salvation. These dialogues are not about winning votes but saving souls." The task force has written a booklet, "Readings on Catholics and Political Life," that has been distributed to every Catholic member of Congress. The church also is arranging education and information sessions on Capitol Hill about Catholic teachings. McCarrick said the church needs "more, not fewer Catholics in political life" and announced that the task force is ending its work (Reuters/ABC News, 6/15).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Women's Health Policy Issues Related To 2006 Elections
The following highlights recent election-related news on women's health issues.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
- Arkansas: State Sen. Gunner DeLay (R), who is running against state Rep. Dustin McDaniel (D) for Arkansas attorney general, recently said McDaniel "wants to interject himself into the legislative process," because of recent comments McDaniel made about abortion rights, the AP/Memphis Commercial Appeal reports (DeMillo, AP/Memphis Commercial Appeal, 6/15). McDaniel during a 30-minute radio debate last week with Paul Suskie (D), who was challenging McDaniel in the Democratic primary, said he thinks the attorney general's office plays a role in keeping abortion accessible to women in the state. "I do believe a woman has a right to make her own medical decisions," McDaniel said, adding, "I will provide as much counsel and leadership to the [state] Legislature as possible" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/14). McDaniel -- who narrowly defeated Suskie in the primary -- on Wednesday said DeLay wants to focus the campaign on "divisive issues," adding, "There's nothing Gunner DeLay would love more than spending the next five months talking about abortion" (DeMillo, AP/Memphis Commercial Appeal, 6/15).
- Iowa: Secretary of State Chet Culver (D) and Rep. Jim Nussle (R) on Saturday formally received their respective parties' nominations for governor, the AP/WQAD.com reports (Glover, AP/WQAD.com, 6/17). Nussle during an interview with Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" said that he supports requiring minors to receive parental consent before undergoing an abortion. He added that the focus should be on trying to reduce the number of abortions performed in the state (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/13). Culver -- who won the Democratic nomination for governor against former U.S. Rep. Mike Blouin and state Rep. Ed Fallon -- has said he would favor retracting a law signed in 2002 by Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) that bans human embryonic stem cell research (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/8).
- Maine: State Sen. Chandler Woodcock last week won the Republican nomination for governor, beating former Rep. David Emery and state Sen. Peter Mills, the Bangor Daily News reports. Meanwhile, Gov. John Baldacci won the Democratic nomination over Chris Miller (Bangor Daily News, 6/14). Woodcock during a debate earlier this month with Emery and Mills said he opposes abortion rights except in cases of rape or incest or if the woman's life is in danger, adding that his position on the issue has not changed throughout the campaign. Baldacci has said he supports Maine's abortion-related laws in their current form (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/8). Emery and Mills have pledged to assist Woodcock in his campaign, the Daily News reports (Bangor Daily News, 6/14).
- Michigan: Jerry Zandstra (R), who recently withdrew his name from the U.S. Senate race, on Saturday in a message to his supporters said that he plans to establish a political action committee that will work toward banning abortion in the state, AP/MLive.com reports. Zandstra earlier this month withdrew from the race -- against Oakland Country, Mich., Sheriff Mike Bouchard (R) and Minister Keith Butler (R) -- after the Board of State Canvassers ruled that he was 712 signatures short of the 15,000 required to qualify for the Republican primary in August. Zandstra has supported an effort by Citizens for Life to put on the November ballot an issue that aims to legally define human life as beginning at conception. Right to Life of Michigan has said Citizens for Life's campaign is unnecessary because the state has a law that could ban abortion if Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that effectively outlawed state abortion bans -- is overturned. Zandstra has criticized RTL for its position, which led the organization to remove him from its endorsement list, despite initially endorsing all three Republicans in the race. Butler has signed the Citizens for Life petition and remains on RTL's endorsement list. Bouchard's campaign says he has not signed the petition because he supports RTL's stance on the issue. The winner of the primary will face U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) in November (Barks Hoffman, AP/MLive.com, 6/17).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Canadian Sales Of Plan B Since Nonprescription Access Granted Have Almost Doubled, Figures Say
Canadian sales of Barr Laboratories subsidiary Duramed Pharmaceuticals' emergency contraceptive Plan B -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse -- have increased since nonprescription sales of the drug were approved in the country, according to figures released on Monday by DoctorSolve Healthcare Solutions, a company that sells drugs through its Web site, the Boston Globe reports (Henderson, Boston Globe, 6/21). Canada's national health agency, Health Canada, in April 2005 approved Plan B for use without a doctor's prescription, allowing the pills to be sold at pharmacies nationwide (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/21/05). Duramed in January 2005 sold 23,000 pills to retail pharmacies, compared with 41,000 pills currently sold by Canadian pharmacies monthly, the DoctorSolve figures say. A Barr spokesperson said the company does not track product transfers to Duramed but added that inventory figures corroborate DoctorSolve's figures. Judith Soon -- an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia who is in the process of evaluating EC use -- said data from the health care information firm IMS Health also confirms an increase in sales of Plan B in Canada after nonprescription access was granted in Canada. Soon said, "As many states border on Canadian provinces, it is likely that [U.S.] women obtain Plan B treatments by crossing the border or though Internet pharmacies." Soon said it is not possible to measure that potential trend (Boston Globe, 6/21).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
South Dakota Abortion-Rights Supporters Discuss Plan To Overturn State Law Banning Procedure
South Dakota abortion-rights advocates on Thursday at a Planned Parenthood Federation of America-sponsored panel discussion in Washington, D.C., outlined a strategy for overturning a ban (HB 1215) that bars abortion in the state except to save a woman's life, CNS News reports (Burchfiel, CNS News, 6/23). South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson (R) on Monday certified that petitioners of the state ban had submitted more than the 16,728 signatures required to place the law on hold and put it on a statewide ballot in November. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, a coalition of opponents of the ban, last month filed the petition. Nelson needed to validate the signatures in order to suspend the law pending the outcome of the referendum. Opponents gathered more than 38,000 signatures out of 500,000 registered voters in the state (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/21). Abortion-rights advocates on Monday said they were hopeful for a successful outcome of the referendum (CNS News, 6/23). "We believe this is the moment for us in South Dakota," Sarah Stoesz, president of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said, adding that the group will "pursue a legal battle if we lose, because we intend to keep our clinic." Al Quinlan, a Democratic pollster who has conducted research for PPMNS, said South Dakota is divided about the ban. He added that PPMNS plans to "make sure people know this is going to put South Dakota in the middle of a terrible, national political debate that is going to cost the state a lot of money." Leslee Unruh, president of the Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, said, "It's too late to worry about us being in the spotlight. Our polling shows that South Dakotans will stick to their values" (Jalonick, AP/Yankton Daily News, 6/22). Jim Sedlak, vice president of the American Life League, said he thinks PPMNS has "absolutely zero" chance of defeating the ban, noting that "[e]very legislator who supported the abortion ban and was challenged won their primary and four legislators who were opposed to the abortion ban lost their primary elections" (CNS News, 6/23).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Warren Buffet To Give About $3B To Susan Thompson Buffet Foundation, More Than $30B To Gates Foundation
Berkshire Hathaway Chair Warren Buffett on Sunday in a letter disclosed that he plans to donate stock currently valued at about $3 billion to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is named after his late wife and supports reproductive health and rights, family planning and college scholarship programs, the Wall Street Journal reports (Richardson, Wall Street Journal, 6/26). Warren Buffett's donation will be added to the $2.5 billion bestowed to the foundation in the will of Susan Thompson Buffett, who in 2004 died of a stroke (Loomis [1], Fortune, 6/25). The Buffett Foundation has been a "quiet force" in population control and has made "substantial donations" to organizations that support abortion rights, according to the Journal (Wall Street Journal, 6/26). In the past, the Buffets' philanthropic efforts reportedly have contributed to the Center for Reproductive Rights in support of its court battle to overturn Nebraska's ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortion; the ban was overturned in 2001. Their foundation also has given money to Ipas, the Population Council, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Family Health International, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Catholics for a Free Choice and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. In addition, they funded millions of dollars to help mifepristone, which causes a medical abortion when taken in conjunction with the drug misoprostol, win FDA approval (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/25/03).
Donation Given To Gates Foundation
Many observers had expected Buffett to give most of his money to the Buffett Foundation, but on Sunday he disclosed that his biggest donation will be stock valued at $30.7 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which works on global health and poverty issues, the Chicago Tribune reports (Miller, Chicago Tribune, 6/26). Buffet said, "If I had died before Susie and she had begun to distribute our wealth, this is the foundation that would have scaled up to a much bigger size," adding, "I came to realize that there was a terrific foundation that was already scaled up ... and that could productively use my money now." Buffett Foundation President Allen Greenberg has "done an excellent and thoughtful job of running it," Buffet said, adding, "His results-to-cost ratio is as good as I've ever seen. And he'll keep on that same path now, not just with Susie's money, but with mine too" (Loomis [2], Fortune, 6/25). Buffett also announced that he plans to give $1.07 billion each to foundations run by his three children -- the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, the Susan A. Buffet Foundation and the NoVo Foundation, according to the Tribune. The foundations support the arts, child protection, education and the environment (Chicago Tribune, 6/26).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Los Angeles Times Examines Unintended Pregnancy Among Low-Income Women
The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined unintended pregnancy among low-income women in the U.S. According to a report released earlier this month by the Guttmacher Institute, a disparity exists between low-income and affluent women in their ability to control their fertility. The report finds that while unintended pregnancy and abortion rates have decreased among teenagers, college graduates and women in the middle or upper class, the rate has increased almost 30% among low-income women, the Times reports. Researchers found that low-income women are four times as likely to have an unintended pregnancy and three times as likely to undergo an abortion as women who are more affluent, according to the Times. Guttmacher analysts believe that a lack of affordable contraception is one of the main reasons for the disparity. However, some public health officials have said that increased funding for contraception is not necessarily the solution, according to the Times. Contraception alone, provided at no cost, will not lower the rate of unintended pregnancies, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said, adding that low-income women also must build confidence and self-esteem, so they will want to prevent unintended pregnancies. "To gain control of these issues, you really have to get beyond sex," Satcher said, adding, "You have to dig deep and look at what's happening in their lives, their relationships and their minds." According to the Times, even when low-income women have access to birth control, "they are often ambivalent about using it -- or too disorganized to remember." Cynthia Harper, an assistant professor at the Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy at the University of California-San Francisco, said, "To get people to use contraceptives is an effort." In addition, "you'll find almost no intervention or prevention programs targeted at older women," even though women age 20 and older account for about 80% of all unintended pregnancies, according to Laura Gaydos of Emory University. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates devote 30% of a $49 million educational budget to women age 20 and older, and the rest of their budget is geared toward teens, the Times reports (Simon, Los Angeles Times, 6/26).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Appeal Regarding 'Choose Life' License Plates
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by abortion-rights advocates to block states from producing and selling "Choose Life" specialty license plates, the Los Angeles Times reports (Savage, Los Angeles Times, 6/27). The justices refused to look at lawsuits from Louisiana and Tennessee, thereby closing the cases -- Keeler v. Stalder, New Life Resources v. American Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union v. Bredesen -- and allowing lower court rulings to stand, according to the AP/San Jose Mercury News (Holland, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 6/26).
Louisiana
In the Louisiana case, attorneys from the Center for Reproductive Rights in March 2003 filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's entire specialty license plate system. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval in July 2003 ruled that the system violates the First Amendment right to free speech because the state Legislature "chooses who gets specialty tags -- along with part of the money from their sales." A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in April 2005 reversed the decision, saying that the case is a state tax dispute that must be decided by state courts and sent the case back to Duval with instructions to dismiss it. Abortion-rights advocates in May 2005 asked the entire appeals court to reconsider the panel's decision. The 5th Circuit Court in December 2005 split 8-8 on whether to review a decision that allows Louisiana to sell the plates in the state, leaving the prior ruling intact (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/22/05).
Tennessee
In the Tennessee case, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati in March voted 2-1 to uphold to uphold a state statute authorizing the production and sale of Choose Life plates, which was enacted by the state Legislature in 2003. Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) allowed it to become law without his signature. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and ACLU in November 2003 filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to prevent the state from distributing the plates, arguing that the manner in which the state approves license plates is unconstitutional and allows the state to endorse some political issues while ignoring others. U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell in September 2004 ruled that the law is unconstitutional because the government is engaging in "viewpoint discrimination." New Life Resources, a group associated with Tennessee Right to Life and a beneficiary of the money collected through the sale of the plates, appealed Campbell's ruling. The group contends the plate's message is similar to government-sponsored public service announcements urging people to quit smoking or students to stay in school (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/31).
Next Steps
The Supreme Court's refusal, which was made without comment, to consider the appeals means the plaintiffs have no more opportunities to appeal in the federal court system, according to Bill Rittenberg, an attorney representing CRR, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Rittenberg said the next step is to bring a state challenge to Louisiana's system of allowing specialty tags only for groups allowed by the state Legislature, according to the Times-Picayune. Kris Wartelle -- a spokesperson for the Louisiana attorney general's office, which has defended the law in federal court -- said that the state is prepared to do the same in a state court challenge. She added that the sale of Choose Life plates resumed in Louisiana in January after the 5th Circuit Court's Decision (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 6/27).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Warner Receives Patent Challenge On Oral Contraceptive
U.K. pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott on Friday said Watson Pharmaceuticals has issued a patent challenge to the company for its oral contraceptive Loestrin 24 FE, the AP/MSNBC.com reports. According to the AP/MSNBC.com, Warner released Loestrin 24 FE in April and holds a patent that does not expire until 2014. Watson has given Warner notice that it is filing an application to make a generic version of Loestrin, which means that Watson is claiming either that it is not infringing on Warner's patent by producing a generic version of the drug or that the patent is invalid, the AP/MSNBC.com reports. Warner has 45 days to file patent litigation (AP/MSNBC.com, 6/23).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
NPR's 'Morning Edition' Examines Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation's Contributions To Organizations Supporting Abortion Rights
NPR's "Morning Edition" on Tuesday examined the work of the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which has operated "quietly" as a "major funder of abortion-rights-related causes," and the implications of Berkshire Hathaway Chair Warren Buffett's plans to donate stock currently valued at about $3 billion to the Buffett Foundation (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 6/27). Buffett on Sunday in a letter disclosed that he would give the stock to the foundation, which is named after his late wife and supports reproductive health and rights, family planning and college scholarship programs. Warren Buffett's donation will be added to the $2.5 billion bestowed to the foundation in the will of Susan Thompson Buffett, who died of a stroke in 2004. In the past, the Buffetts' philanthropic efforts reportedly have contributed to the Center for Reproductive Rights in support of its court battle to overturn Nebraska's ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortion; the ban was overturned in 2001. Their foundation also has given money to Ipas, the Population Council, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Family Health International, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Catholics for a Free Choice and the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy. In addition, they funded millions of dollars to help mifepristone, which causes a medical abortion when taken in conjunction with the drug misoprostol, win FDA approval. Many observers had expected Buffett to give most of his money to the Buffett Foundation, but on Sunday he disclosed that his biggest donation will be stock valued at $30.7 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which works on global health and poverty issues (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/26).
Funding for Training, Research and Policy
Ellen Chesler, author of "Women of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America" and board member of the PPFA, said that the Buffett Foundation's donations have trained a new generation of physicians to perform abortions "at a time when the first pioneering generation of doctors who did it out of a sense of moral obligation is retiring and not being replaced." Chesler said that in addition to funding for research and training, the Buffett Foundation provided funding for policy efforts to bolster abortion-rights supporters' efforts in the U.S. political debate, "which was being heavily influenced by huge amounts of money being poured into conservative institutions that were opposing abortion rights and family planning." The NPR segment also includes comments from Jeff Krehely, deputy director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and Frances Kissling, president of CFFC ("Morning Edition," NPR, 6/27).
The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Chinese Legislative Committee Drops Provision That Would Have Criminalized Fetal Gender Identification For Nonmedical Reasons
The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, the country's legislature, recently voted to remove a provision from an amendment to the country's criminal law that would have criminalized the act of identifying the gender of embryos and fetuses for nonmedical reasons, Xinhua/People's Daily Online reports (Xinhua/People's Daily Online, 6/26). Chinese lawmakers in March 2005 proposed criminalizing the detection of a fetus' gender for nonmedical reasons in order to prevent sex-selective abortion and ease the resulting gender imbalance in the country. Although sex-selective abortion is banned in China, the increasing availability of technologies such as ultrasound procedures has made it easier to learn the sex of a fetus early in pregnancy. Currently, physicians who help patients determine a fetus' sex for nonmedical reasons face only administrative penalties. According to the latest government statistics, 119 boys are born for every 100 girls born in the country, and the disparity is even greater in some rural areas (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/1/05). The worldwide ratio is about 105 boys to 100 girls (AP/China Post, 6/25). Zhou Kunren, vice chair of the Law Committee of the standing committee, said disagreements remain between lawmakers over the proposal, which would have punished people involved with sex-selective abortion with three years in prison. According to the China Daily, some family planning officials and legislators support the proposal because of the gender imbalance, but other experts say that pregnant women should have the right to know the sex of the fetus (Sun, China Daily, 6/26).
Advocate Who Challenged China's One-Child Policy Formally Arrested
In other China news, Chinese police have formally arrested human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng, who has spoken out against China's one-child-per-family policy, his wife, Yuan Weijing, said Saturday, the Washington Post reports (Washington Post, 6/25). The one-child policy seeks to keep China's population, now 1.3 billion, at around 1.7 billion by 2050. Ethnic minorities and farmers are the only groups legally exempt from the rule. Chen, who is blind, recorded testimony from men and women in communities in and around Linyi, China, who have undergone forced abortions and sterilizations, as well as had family members captured and tortured after they tried to hide or run from authorities. He is attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against the Chinese government for alleged human rights abuses associated with the enforcement. He was placed under house arrest in September 2005 for speaking with journalists, government officials and other advocates about the one-child policy (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 2/6). Chen has been in police custody since March under charges of "willingly harming public property" and "disturbing social order," according to advocate Zeng Jingyan (Agence France-Presse, 6/24). Li Jinsong, one of Chen's attorneys who has been briefly detained himself, said a policeman warned Chen that in prison "it is easy for people to die" and that if he did not confess he would not "come out alive." Li on Sunday said that Chen's defense team is unable to sue over threats to his life (Graham-Harrison, Reuters AlertNet, 6/25).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
New York Times Features Author's Abortion Experience, Decision To Remain Pregnant
Kathryn Rhett, author of the memoir "Near Breathing," on Sunday in a New York Times opinion piece wrote about her experiences undergoing an abortion in college and choosing not to have the procedure during a subsequent pregnancy. According to Rhett, the first time she sought an abortion was after neglecting to use birth control one "unexpected and regrettable" night in college. The second time she considered abortion, she was age 40, married and the mother of two children. Rhett said that after making appointments in two cities, she decided not to undergo the procedure. She said that after her combined experiences, other women "comforted me with their stories as I came to accept my secret and commonplace plight." She concludes, "If I'd had a second abortion, almost no one would have known. ... [A]nd, however much I might have to say, I wouldn't tell the story" (Rhett, New York Times, 6/25).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
AP/Washington Post Examines Role Of Abortion-Related Issues In Elections
The AP/Washington Post on Friday examined the efforts of groups that oppose abortion rights to "ensure that President Bush's sagging popularity won't harm" midterm re-election campaigns for incumbents who oppose abortion rights. Karen Cross, political director for the National Right to Life Committee, speaking on Friday at the group's annual conference in Nashville, Tenn., said, "It's going to be a difficult year. ... We're going to try to protect our pro-life incumbents and win open seats and defeat pro-abortion candidates or incumbents." According to the AP/Post, some abortion-rights opponents "credit Bush with doing all he can to reshape the federal courts with antiabortion-rights judges." Bush on Friday by recorded video message to NRLC's conference attendees applauded the group for its efforts to ban abortion and cited his own efforts to ban so-called "partial-birth" abortion. "Human life is the gift of creation, and it deserves protection at all its stages," Bush said. Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that she expects abortion rights to be a pivotal issue in the midterm elections and that a reaction against Republicans could harm the campaigns of candidates who do not support abortion rights. "We are confident that America's pro-choice majority will go to the polls in November to elect candidates who share their mainstream values," she said (French, AP/Washington Post, 6/23).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
Summaries of articles on abortion-related election issues in South Dakota appear below.
- Democrats: The state Democratic Party on Saturday at its convention approved a resolution saying how to vote on a November ballot measure related to upholding the state's ban (HB 1215) on abortion is a matter of individual choice, the AP/Rapid City Journal reports. According to the resolution, state Democratic Party members should thoroughly examine the issue before voting. The party on Sunday also approved a resolution saying that Democrats think that with regard to birth- and death-related issues, the state should respect the "conscience" of individuals, families and doctors. State Rep. Dale Hargens, the House Democratic leader, said the party believes people should be permitted to decide individually on abortion, adding, "We encourage you to vote your conscience" (Kafka, AP/Rapid City Journal, 6/27).
- Republicans: The state Republican Party on Friday at its convention approved a resolution urging voters to uphold the abortion ban through the support of the ballot measure, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports. State Delegate Talmadge Ekanger said the state party cannot compromise on abortion rights, adding that the party's stance against abortion rights "is the reason I'm Republican" (Brokaw, AP/Contra Costa Times, 6/23).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
House Republicans Plan Floor Votes On Fetal Pain, Human Cloning Measures
House Republicans this summer plan to bring to a vote a series of bills they are calling the "American Values Agenda," which include a bill (HR 356) that would require some women seeking abortion to be told the procedure can cause fetal pain and a bill (HR 1357) that would ban human cloning, the AP/ABC News reports (Espo, AP/ABC News, 6/27). The fetal pain bill would require abortion providers to tell women seeking the procedure at 20 weeks' gestation or later that there is "substantial evidence" that fetuses can feel "substantial pain" during abortion procedures (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/24/05). Both of the bills are expected to be debated on the House floor "in the coming weeks and months," according to the office of House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) (CongressDaily, 6/28). "Through this agenda, we will work to protect the faith of our people, the sanctity of life and freedoms outlined by our founding fathers," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said (Hastert release, 6/27).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Issues In Various States
The following highlights recent state news on women's health issues.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Abortion
- Michigan: The state Department of Community Health recently announced that in 2005, 25,209 abortions were performed in Michigan, the lowest number of recorded abortions since the state began detailed recording of the procedure in the 1970s, the Detroit Free Press reports. According to the health department, 11.9 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 were performed in 2005, compared with 12.8 abortions per 1,000 women in 2004. Health department spokesperson Geralyn Lasher said that the agency attributes the decline to programs aimed at reducing unintended pregnancies. In 1987 the number of abortions and the abortion rate peaked at 49,098 and 22 abortions per 1,000 women, respectively. Since 1988, when state voters approved a measure that banned Medicaid coverage for abortions among low-income women, the number of abortions performed annually in Michigan generally has declined, according to the Free Press (Bell, Detroit Free Press, 6/24).
Emergency Contraception, Birth Control
- New Jersey: The state Senate on Monday voted 31-6 to approve a bill (S 1195) that would require pharmacists to fill prescriptions for any drug, including contraceptives, the AP/Cherry Hill Courier Post reports. The bill also would require pharmacies to refer patients immediately to another pharmacy and have the prescription transferred if the drug is not in stock. The bill now goes to the state Assembly for consideration (AP/Cherry Hill Courier Post, 6/26).
Other
- New York City: Women giving birth in New York City hospitals are two-and-a-half times as likely to die during childbirth than women giving birth nationwide, according to a report from the New York state chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published in Crain's New York Business, the New York Post reports. According to the report, the city's maternal mortality rate in 2002 was 22 deaths per 100,000 births, compared with the national average of 8.9 deaths per 100,000 births the same year. The report also says that in 2004, New York state recorded 21.2 deaths per 100,000 births (Strunsky, New York Post, 6/26). According to researchers, the higher maternal mortality rates likely are because of complications associated with obesity and diabetes, which are common among recent immigrants and women who lack access to adequate prenatal care (Hutchinson, New York Daily News, 6/26). The figures were calculated from hospital surveys given as part of an effort to reduce maternal mortality rates statewide to three deaths per 100,000 births (New York Post, 6/26).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
PPRM Plans To Distribute EC At No Cost In Colorado
The Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains on Friday plans to provide emergency contraception -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse -- at no cost at its Colorado clinics in protest of Gov. Bill Owen's (R) veto of a bill (HB 1212) that would have given pharmacists the authority to write prescriptions for EC, the AP/Colorado Daily Summit News reports (Squires, AP/Colorado Daily Summit News, 6/27). Owens in April vetoed the bill, which was sponsored by state Sens. Betty Boyd (D) and Jennifer Veiga (D) and would have allowed pharmacists who object to EC on moral grounds to decline to prescribe the drug (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/5). According to the AP/Summit News, PPRM last year after Owens vetoed a bill (HB 1042) that would have required all hospitals in the state to inform sexual assault survivors of the availability of EC distributed 1,186 doses of EC at no cost. The group this year expects to dispense about 1,500 doses, the AP/Summit News reports. According to the state Department of Regulatory Agencies, Colorado law permits some prescriptions to be given without full exams. PPRM says that girls and women who request EC will undergo a "brief screening" and their charts will be reviewed by a nurse practitioner or a physician, the AP/Summit News reports. Opponents of PPRM's plan say that EC could be unsafe for minors (AP/Colorado Daily Summit News, 6/27).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Cardinal Expresses Concern That Vatican Someday Could Be Charged With Crimes For Opposing Abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Roman Catholic Church leaders are concerned that the Vatican someday could be charged with a crime because of its opposition to abortion, human embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Roman Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for the Family, said in an interview published Wednesday in Italy's Famiglia Cristiana, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports. "The church is at risk of being brought before some international court, if the debate becomes any tenser, if the more radical requests get heard," Trujillo said (Sanminiatelli, AP/Los Angeles Times, 6/28). He added, "We fear above all that, faced with current legislation, speaking in defense of life and the rights of the family has become in certain societies a sort of crime against the state, ... discrimination against women" (Agence France Presse, 6/28). Trujillo reiterated a church rule that says women who undergo abortion, nurses and doctors who assist in the procedure and men who consent to the abortion of fetuses they helped conceive are excommunicated from the church. He added that people taking part in embryonic stem cell research should be excommunicated (AP/Los Angeles Times, 6/28). "Destroying an embryo equals abortion and that excommunication goes for the woman, the doctors and the scientists who eliminate the embryo," Trujillo said (Pomeroy, Reuters, 6/29). Trujillo's comments come before the church's World Meeting of Families, which this year will take place in Valencia, Spain, from July 1 to July 9 (AP/Los Angeles Times, 6/28).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Issues In Various States
The following highlights recent state news on women's health issues.
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Abortion
- Minnesota: There were 13,362 abortions performed in the state in 2005, a 3% drop from 2004 statistics, according to an annual report released Friday by the state Health Department, the AP/Duluth News Tribune reports. The report finds that 3,849 procedures in 2005 were covered by public health programs, compared with 3,950 in 2004. The report also finds that 12,220 of the abortions performed in the state occurred during the first three months' gestation. According to the report, 4,091 women in 2005 underwent the procedure because of economic reasons, compared with 2,647 in 2004 (Lohn, AP/Duluth News Tribune, 6/30).
- South Dakota: The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council on Thursday voted 9-5 to replace Tribal President Cecelia Fire Thunder for allegedly soliciting donations on behalf of the tribe for a proposed abortion clinic without the council's approval, the AP/Washington Post reports (Walker, AP/Washington Post, 6/30). Fire Thunder in March in response to the approval of the South Dakota law (HB 1215) that bans abortion except to save a woman's life said, "I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land, which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the state of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction." However, Fire Thunder last month said she had not intended to open a clinic that would perform the procedure but rather one that would provide family planning information and emergency and regular contraception (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/2). "The bottom line is the Lakota people were adamantly opposed to abortion on our homelands," Will Peters, the council member who filed the complaint against Fire Thunder, said, adding, "The president was involved in unauthorized political actions." Fire Thunder said the council did not properly handle the action and plans to challenge the decision. She said the decision is "not about abortion," adding that many of the council members "have personal stuff toward me." Alex White Plume has replaced Fire Thunder as tribal president, the AP/Washington Post reports (AP/Washington Post, 6/30).
Minors
- Texas: The AP/CNN on Sunday profiled a program in Garland, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, that uses a mobile clinic to provide prenatal and postpartum care for teenagers who are pregnant or have infants. According to the AP/CNN, the 33-foot mobile clinic, which is funded as part of the family practice residency program at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, parks near one of four Garland high schools each month so that girls can walk from class to receive medical services and information about ways to prevent future unintended pregnancies. Prior to the mobile clinic, teenagers had to seek care at a county hospital and miss a day of school, Gayle Millican, a grant facilitator in the Garland school district, said. Kathy Bennett, a social worker with Baylor Family Practice Residency Program, said the clinic tries to provide girls with prenatal care earlier in their pregnancies. According to administrators, since the program's inception in 2000 about 650 teens and 230 infants have received medical care at the clinic. There have been nine unintended pregnancies among the girls in the program, Bennett said. The teens' medical bills are covered by private insurance or Medicaid, and teens can pay for services on a sliding scale based on household income, according to Bennett (Stengle, AP/CNN, 7/2).
Stem Cell Research
- New Jersey: The state Senate on Friday voted 26-9 to put on the November ballot a referendum for the state to borrow $230 million for stem cell research projects, Gannett/Cherry Hill Courier-Post reports. The state Assembly has not acted on the measure and is not expected to do so by the Aug. 29 deadline to place referendums on the statewide ballot, according to Gannett/Courier-Post (Gannett/Cherry Hill Courier-Post, 7/1). The state Senate last year voted to approve a similar proposal, but the state Assembly did not consider the measure (AP/Long Island Newsday, 6/30).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.