Articles about Policy
October 9th, 2008 • Contributed by Dino Corvino
[From Guttmacher]
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) instructed its staff this month to pressure at least six African governments to withhold U.S.-funded contraceptives from London-based Marie Stopes International (MSI), one of the world’s leading providers of family planning services in developing countries. This is the latest move by the Bush administration in a progression of increasingly restrictive family planning policy decisions that put politics first and women’s needs last.
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No Comments • Posted in: Policy, Action, Birth Control
October 8th, 2008 • Contributed by Dino Corvino
Woman Fired After Supporting Co-worker’s Harassment Charge Gets Her Day in Court
By Gillian Thomas
This is the story of Vicky Crawford, a payroll administrator whose case will be argued today before the Supreme Court: At a meeting with representatives of her human resources department, she learned that her boss had been accused of sexual harassment. The investigators asked Ms. Crawford what she knew. Reluctantly, she disclosed that the same supervisor had harassed her, too. She explained that she had not come forward previously because, under office policy, he was the person to whom she was supposed to complain. Within weeks, Ms. Crawford learned that her boss was reprimanded for “inappropriate behavior.” But she also found out that her employer was investigating her job performance, and not long after, she was fired as were the other two women who spoke to the investigators. (The case is Crawford v. Metropolitan Gov’t of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee.)
No Comments • Posted in: Policy
October 6th, 2008 • Contributed by Dino Corvino
[From Luci Manning]
SAN FRANCISCO – Hospitals, clinics, medical students and educators around the nation will hold activities this week and throughout October to encourage health care providers to routinely assess patients for domestic violence. October 8 is the tenth annual Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day (HCADV Day), organized by the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF). Educational sessions by, and for, the health care community will continue throughout October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
For the fourth year, the American Medical Students Association (AMSA) is partnering with the FVPF to organize medical school campuses nationwide around this issue.
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No Comments • Posted in: Policy
September 25th, 2008 • Contributed by Dino Corvino
[From Guttmacher Institute]
September 26 marks World Contraception Day, which highlights the many ways using modern birth control methods benefits women and their partners. Access to contraceptives allows couples worldwide to make responsible decisions about when to become parents and also helps secure women’s full and equal participation in modern society. Using any form of contraception dramatically reduces a woman’s chance of getting pregnant and either having an abortion or giving birth to a child she did not intend. The most effective methods virtually eliminate that risk.
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No Comments • Posted in: Policy, Emergency Contraception, Birth Control
September 23rd, 2008 • Contributed by Lon Newman
In a classic Grimm brothers’ fairy tale, the fisherman’s wife uses wishes given her to gain more and more riches and greater power, until finally she wishes to be the ruler of the universe. The fable teaches the consequences of greed, pride, and it is the ultimate “be careful what you wish for” allegory.
Reproductive health care advocates and providers have written extensively the last few weeks about proposed HHS “conscience protection” regulations — the period for public comment ends this Thursday, September 25.
In Wisconsin, approximately one-third of all health care organizations are religiously affiliated and many workers sign a contract promising to follow the Unit
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3 Comments • Posted in: Policy, Action
August 28th, 2008 • Contributed by Dino Corvino
As you know, President Bush recently signed into law H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (PL 110-293), which reauthorized the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at $48 billion over five years. In reauthorizing this legislation, Congress voted to eliminate the federal law that banned non-U.S.citizens living with HIV and AIDS from entering the United States, whether as visitors or immigrants. This is an important first step in restoring the human rights and dignity of people living with HIV and AIDS that were compromised by the ban.However, HIV still appears on the list of “communicable diseases of public health significance” that automatically prohibits entry into the United States. The Administration has the power to remove HIV from this list, which would allow for the full elimination of restrictions on travel and immigration for people living with HIV and AIDS who wish to enter the U.S.
Why Take Action?
For the last 20 years, U.S. law has prohibited HIV-positive non-citizens from entering the United States, violating their human rights and perpetuating stigma and discrimination. The law, driven by fear and stigma, was written at a time when many people had little understanding of how HIV is transmitted and when homosexuality was still grounds for inadmissibility to the U.S. (Gay Men’s Health Crisis). Under the travel ban, all HIV-positive travelers seeking to enter the U.S. must undergo an onerous waiver process that can dissuade people - including activists seeking to inform U.S. policy - from even trying.
Contact Congress TODAY!
We urge you to contact your Representative to endorse a Dear Colleague letter urging the Administration to completely eliminate the discriminatory travel ban. Click here to take action!
Thank you for contacting Congress and for spreading the word! For more information about U.S. restrictions on HIV-related travel and immigration, click here.
In solidarity,
Kimberly Whipkey
Advocacy and Outreach Associate
Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
kwhipkey@genderhealth.org
301-270-1182
No Comments • Posted in: Sex Ed, Policy, Action
July 31st, 2008 • Contributed by Lon Newman
How would you feel if you called a federally-funded family planning clinic and the person who answered the phone refused to make an appointment for you until you prove that you’re married? How do you feel about asking for emergency contraception at a public health clinic and being told by the public health nurse that you have to go somewhere else because Plan B is the same as having an abortion? What if these employees were protected by federal regulations so they couldn’t be fired, transferred, or disciplined?
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No Comments • Posted in: Abortion, Policy, Action
July 31st, 2008 • Contributed by Dino Corvino
As you can see, in the post titled “Send a Thank You” 104 Members of Congress signed a letter directed to President Bush in regards to HHS Regulations that they objected to. We here at Below The Waist think it is significant that we post those original HHS documents, as well as the letters that resulted.
You can see the links to the documents here, in this post, and we would encourage you to download them, and read them.
You can also see the names of the 104 Members of Congress that openly opposed these regulations. Please feel free to contract them with your support.
HHS Regulation
Senate Letter
ACOG Letter
The House Letter
AMA Letter
No Comments • Posted in: Abortion, Policy, Action
July 31st, 2008 • Contributed by Frances Irwin
On July 23, 2008 members of the House and Senate sent letters to President Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Leavitt protesting the proposed rule change that would define most types of birth control as abortion. Here you’ll find a list of all the Representatives and Senators who signed the letters. Please take a moment to say thanks by clicking on their name.
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4 Comments • Posted in: Policy, Emergency Contraception, Action, Birth Control
July 30th, 2008 • Contributed by Dino Corvino
Millions of Dollars to Failed Programs and Crisis Pregnancy Centers
New York, NY - Today, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) released a special report on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Kentucky. The report, which compiles data on the major federal funding sources of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs as well as vital health statistics and outcomes in the state, paints a picture of a state that uses some of the worst, fear-based abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula and lags behind national averages on many important adolescent indicators related to teen pregnancy and STDs.
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No Comments • Posted in: Sex Ed, Policy, Abstinence, Action, Birth Control
