National Abortion Federation Blog: Saporta Reporter

Anti-abortion protester Walter Hoye was due in court today on four misdemeanor charges of violating an Oakland bubble zone ordinance.

The bubble zone ordinance protects patients, doctors, nurses, and other employees of reproductive health care facilities as well as volunteer escorts who assist people entering and exiting the facilities. The ordinance prohibits several different behaviors at reproductive health care clinics, including approaching closer than 8 feet for the "purposes of counseling, harassing, or interfering" with someone without the person's consent.

In February, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed the bubble zone ordinance. Hoye has been involved in legal challenges to the bubble zone, and last month became the first person cited for violating the ordinance.

>Learn more about state Clinic Protection Bills.

Labels: access, buffer zone laws, California

This week, the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) has accepted a recommendation and approved Plan B (also known as emergency contraception) for over-the-counter sale. Under current rules in Canada, women who want to buy Plan B have to ask pharmacy staff for the drug, a condition critics say may discourage some women from using it to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Allowing Plan B to be sold on drugstore shelves instead of behind-the-counter will give Canadian women the ability to easily access the medication in time for it to be an effective option.

NAPRA advises Canada's provincial regulatory authorities, which will have final say in adopting the new policy in their own regions.

>Learn more about emergency contraception.

Labels: access, Canada, Contraception, Plan B

This month, RH Reality Check is featuring a series on Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP) Laws, which single out abortion clinics for unnecessary, politically motivated, restrictive regulations.

The series examines how abortion opponents use legislation to restrict women’s access to safe, legal abortion care.

“The anti's strategy has been to allow abortion to remain legal, but to make it
unavailable,” says Bonnie Scott Jones, Deputy Director of Domestic Programs
at the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights. “Their goal is to make
abortion so difficult to obtain it's not really an option. They've also worked
to make it more difficult to be an abortion provider than any other kind of
doctor. TRAP laws work as a disincentive to becoming part of, or remaining in,
the abortion field.”

>Learn more about TRAP Laws.

Labels: access, TRAP bills

Although access to abortion care continues to be threatened in the states, this week, we celebrated the following defeats of new proposed restrictive legislation:

The Florida Senate failed to pass a bill, which would have required a woman seeking abortion care to have an ultrasound and view the results unless she signed a waiver. After 90 minutes of debate, the bill died on a 20-20 tie. This legislation was medically unnecessary, and an unwarranted intrusion into the relationship between a doctor and patient.

Anti-choice senators in Kansas failed to override the governor's veto of a bill imposing new restrictions on abortion care. Last week, Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) noted in her veto message that the bill, "endangers the health of women and is likely to be found in violation [of] the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Kansas."

>Learn more about abortion rights in the states.

Labels: access, anti-choice, Kansas, ultrasound laws

Last week, the Italian Health Ministry reported that nearly 70 percent of gynecologists in the country now refuse to perform abortions on moral grounds. Although Italy legalized abortion in 1978, the Vatican has pushed for doctors to claim a “conscientious objection” and refuse to provide abortion care. The number of gynecologists claiming such an exemption rose from 58.7 percent to 69.2 percent, from 2003 to 2007, according to the Ministry.

When presenting these findings, outgoing Health Minister Livia Turco called on Italy's various regional health authorities to "guarantee an abortion service" despite the growing number of doctors who have moral objections to the procedure.

The Health Ministry also reported an increase in immigrant women seeking abortion care, despite a decrease in the rates of legal and illegal abortions.

Labels: access, Europe

Today we released the following statement supporting the recommendation of the National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee (NDSAC) to the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) to allow Plan B (also known as emergency contraception) to be sold over-the-counter:

The recent NDSAC recommendation is an important endorsement to allow Canadian women the ability to easily access Plan B in time for it to be an effective option. In August 2007, NAF sent a letter to NAPRA supporting the request to allow Plan B to be sold over-the counter.

Changing the status of Plan B from behind-the-counter to over-the-counter would allow more women to prevent unintended pregnancies. Additionally, allowing Plan B to be sold over-the-counter would also reduce the cost, since a consultation with a pharmacist would not be required.

Plan B contains a concentrated dose of the progestin hormone found in daily birth control pills, and reduces the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent when taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse.

Labels: access, Canada, Contraception, Plan B

In Canada, training in comprehensive reproductive health care including abortion is not currently offered as part of the core training in undergraduate medical education or as a part of required training in all ob/gyn or family practice residency programs. This limits the ability of physicians to provide comprehensive reproductive health care to their patients. Medical schools must provide training opportunities for medical students and residents to ensure that future generations of Canadian women have access to quality abortion care.

RH Reality Check examines this issue today on their blog and notes, "Without properly trained doctors, compassionate medical staff, and adequate facilities, women in Canada are not able to access the abortion services that they need."

To address these issues, NAF is reaching out to medical schools and residency programs to offer NAF's educational resources to help ensure that abortion is included in their curricula.

Labels: access, Canada

Today, The New York Times published an editorial, which expressed concerns over the nomination of Grace C. Becker to the position of Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Civil Rights Division is responsible for overseeing the enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. This law is vital in protecting abortion providers and women seeking reproductive health care services from violence and threats of violence.

Labels: access, FACE act

This week the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit, which challenged the FDA’s approval of Plan B (also known as emergency contraception) for over-the-counter sales to adults. After years of politically-charged debate, the FDA made Plan B available without a prescription in August 2007, but only for adults.

Anti-choice groups were seeking a reversal of this policy, but they failed "to identify a single individual who has been harmed by Plan B's OTC (over-the-counter) availability," according to the ruling.

In a separate case, the Center for Reproductive Rights is also challenging the FDA’s policy concerning over-the-counter access to Plan B; however, their case argues that restricting the drug for girls under 18 was based on politics and not science.

Labels: access, anti-choice, Contraception, Plan B

The Education and Health Committee of the Virginia Senate rejected a handful of anti-choice measures today. Several of the bills were examples of Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws, which single out abortion providers for medically unnecessary, politically motivated regulations. Opponents said the bills would make abortions more expensive and less accessible.

These defeats come just one day after the Virginia Senate voted to stop state funding for Planned Parenthood of Virginia because it offers abortion care. After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) warned that the Senate was setting a bad precedent of singling out organizations because of ideological differences, according to The Washington Post.

>Learn more about TRAP laws.

Labels: access, anti-choice, state legislation, TRAP bills

The Order of Canada, the highest civilian honour, was established to recognize outstanding lifetime achievement and service. Please sign this petition to the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada, which has repeatedly overlooked Dr. Morgentaler for this distinguished award.

Take Action Now: http://www.nafresources.org/petition_can.html

About Dr. Morgentaler:Dr. Morgentaler, a survivor of the Holocaust, has made a positive lasting impact on the lives and health of Canadian women for more than 40 years as a physician and advocate. He came forward publicly in 1967 and testified that women should have access to safe and legal abortion care at a time when abortion was illegal and countless women were sacrificing their lives and health to end an unplanned pregnancy. For his beliefs and actions to ensure safe abortion care, he was imprisoned. In 1988, Dr. Morgentaler won a significant victory for Canadian women in the Supreme Court of Canada in R v. Morgentaler, the ruling that decriminalized abortion in Canada. This landmark decision, that changed the legal landscape in Canada, was named one of the most important and influential Charter cases of the last 25 years.
Dr. Morgentaler’s determination and tireless efforts on behalf of women have never ceased. Now in his eighties, he continues to provide leadership in current struggles to ensure that women have access to funded abortion care.

He has received several awards in his lifetime, but Canada’s highest award has never been bestowed upon him. This is a significant omission.

Labels: access, Canada, Dr. Henry Morgentaler

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on anti-choice Richard Honaker’s nomination for a lifetime appointment as a federal district judge to the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.

Throughout his career, Richard Honaker has worked to undermine a woman’s right to access abortion care. While in the Wyoming Legislature, Honaker introduced two bills that would have created a near total-ban on abortion in the state. When the bills failed, Honaker then served as counsel to an organization formed to place the abortion ban on the 1994 Wyoming state-wide ballot. Wyoming voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure.

Honaker has repeatedly stated his view that legal abortion is the equivalent of murder, and has criticized Supreme Court decisions establishing the legal right to an abortion. His statements and writings on the role of religion in the law also raise concerns about whether he would follow established precedent if the resulting decision would be inconsistent with his personal beliefs. Given his extensive history of anti-abortion activism and his extremist legal philosophy, Honaker is clearly an inappropriate judicial candidate and his confirmation to the court would threaten the reproductive rights of women in Wyoming.

Read NAF’s statement opposing Richard Honaker’s nomination.

Labels: abortion bans, access, anti-choice, ballot initiatives

Today, South Africa's Parliament passed a bill to increase abortion access. The proposed law would allow for increased hours at abortion facilities, remove the requirement of mandating pre-approval to obtain abortion care, and permit nurses to provide abortion services.

The legislation will now be referred to President Thabo Mbeki to sign into law.

>Learn more about reproductive rights in South Africa.

Labels: access, advanced practice clinicians, Africa

Today I am featured as a guest blogger on RH Reality Check. View my post on the 20th Anniversary of the R v. Morgentaler decision and our recent symposium in Canada.

>Learn more about abortion access in Canada.

Labels: access, Dr. Henry Morgentaler

Today we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of R v. Morgentaler, the Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion by striking down Canada's abortion law as unconstitutional. Since then, Canada has become one of a small number of countries without a federal law restricting abortion.

The Morgentaler decision has undoubtedly protected the health and saved the lives of countless Canadian women. However, as we reflect on this decision’s impact, we are reminded that in some provinces and territories women are still denied equal access to abortion care. Even though abortion is considered a safe, legal, and insured service, access is variable across the country. For example:

• There are no abortion services available in Prince Edward Island.
• In New Brunswick, a woman can only obtain a publicly funded abortion if provided by an ob/gyn in a hospital with written approval from two doctors.
• Abortion is not part of the inter-provincial billing agreement. Therefore students attending school in another province, or women who have recently moved and are in the process of transitioning their health care benefits, are forced to pay the full cost of their abortion care or incur additional expenses traveling back to their home province. Abortion is the only time sensitive service that is de-listed and its exclusion remains a significant barrier to care for many women.
• The majority of abortion care is provided in urban centres. Women living in rural communities often face challenges in accessing care.
  

Now more than ever, it is important that we don’t lose sight of the women who continue to face these obstacles in order to obtain the abortion care they need. We must continue to work together to ensure that women have the same access to abortion care regardless of where they live.

It is critical to the lives and health of Canadian women that abortion is safe, legal, and accessible. We must remain vigilant in preserving reproductive freedom so that we never have to return to the days of back alley abortions where our sisters, mothers, and friends had to risk their health—and sometimes even their lives—to end an unwanted pregnancy.

Labels: access, Canada, Dr. Henry Morgentaler

This week, a federal appeals court ruled that the state of Missouri must provide transportation for inmates who want to obtain abortion care.

In 2005, prison officials in Missouri went to extreme lengths to deny a woman prisoner abortion care. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked a court to require the prison to transport the woman for an abortion as they would for all other serious medical needs. When the court ruled that the prison must transport the woman to a nearby health care facility, the state unsuccessfully asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene; the woman received the care she needed. The American Civil Liberties Union then brought a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all incarcerated pregnant women in Missouri seeking abortions.

“Today’s decision is consistent with rulings from across the country that women prisoners do not lose their reproductive rights once they are incarcerated,” said Diana Kasdan, a staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “Prison officials must ensure that women have access to the full spectrum of pregnancy-related care, including abortion.”

Since Missouri law prohibits the use of state tax money to pay for abortions, the prisoner is still responsible for the cost of the procedure. A similar case was decided in Arizona last year.

Labels: access

Today marks the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion care in the United States. On this historic anniversary, it is important that we celebrate what we have achieved under the legacy of Roe while also assessing the challenges that lie ahead.

Roe has undoubtedly saved the lives and protected the health of countless women. As we mark this milestone of 35 years of safe, legal abortion care, we must remain vigilant in preserving this freedom so that we never have to return to the days of back-alley abortions when women had to sacrifice their lives and health to end an unwanted pregnancy.

In the 35 years since Roe, many new reproductive health care options have become available to women. These include a variety of safe and effective contraceptive methods, emergency contraception, early medical abortion using mifepristone (RU-486), and safe surgical abortion. Despite these advances in reproductive health care, a woman's fundamental right to make her own reproductive health care decisions continues to be eroded by politicians and the courts.

Women deserve to have access to safe abortion care, free from the interference of politicians. Legislative attacks on Roe and a woman's right to choose are all too common in state legislatures. In 2007 alone, more than 450 anti-choice bills were filed in states across the country. Although the vast majority of these bills were not enacted, several states passed extreme legislation that would ban all safe abortion procedures at all stages of pregnancy if Roe were overturned.

It is critical to the lives and health of millions of women that the protections of Roe not be further weakened. NAF will continue to work to ensure that abortion remains safe, legal, and accessible to promote health and justice for women.

Labels: abortion bans, access, anti-choice, medical abortion, Roe v. Wade, state legislation

On Friday, we released the following statement in response to the arson of the Office of Curtis Boyd, MD, in Albuquerque, NM on Thursday night:

As the professional association of abortion providers, National Abortion Federation (NAF) is extremely concerned about protecting our members from violence. NAF has been tracking incidents of violence and disruption since 1977. In that time, there have been seven murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 100 butyric acid attacks, 656 anthrax threats, and 175 arsons including this most recent incident in New Mexico.

We hope that the suspect(s) responsible for this crime will be swiftly apprehended and convicted. The visible prosecution and conviction of anti-abortion criminals who engage in violence have led to a decrease in major acts of violence against abortion providers in recent years. However, last night’s arson is a reminder that we must remain vigilant in protecting women's access to reproductive health care and the safety of the dedicated health care professionals who provide that care.

>Read the full statement.

Labels: access, Mexico, violence

Britain’s Department of Health confirmed this week that they are conducting trials to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of providing early medical abortion care in private doctors’ offices.

Under current regulations, abortions can only be provided at National Health Service hospitals and specialist clinics and require the approval of two doctors. Earlier this year, a House of Commons committee found women were experiencing unnecessary delays in obtaining abortion care and called for easier access. The committee also recommended the current law be liberalized to do away with the two doctors' signatures rule. The committee evaluation is expected to be completed in early 2008.

Labels: access, medical abortion

Millions of college students and low-income women have been drastically affected by the soaring cost of birth control, which has risen substantially this year because of a mistake made by Congress.

For nearly twenty years, pharmaceutical companies have been able to voluntarily provide low-cost birth control to university health centers and other providers. Unfortunately, last year Congress changed the law and inadvertently eliminated college and university health centers, along with some community health providers, from obtaining birth control at a low cost. As a result of this mistake, birth control prices have skyrocketed for over 3 million college students and approximately 750,000 low income women.

Congress need only make a small change to the law to permit pharmaceutical companies to once again offer low-cost drugs to university health centers and safety net providers. Call your Representative and Senators and urge them to support the Prevention through Affordable Access Act.

>Take Action and Save Birth Control Now!

Labels: access, Contraception

Yesterday, a federal judge ordered an anti-abortion extremist in Pennsylvania to remove threatening content from his website and blog. For years John Dunkle has harassed and threatened abortion providers in person and on the Internet. One posting to his website, which featured an abortion provider’s name, photo, and address, encouraged readers to kill her by shooting her in the head.

Prosecutors claimed the postings violated the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The FACE Act makes it a federal crime to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to prevent individuals from obtaining or providing reproductive health care services. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Golden said, “There’s no question threats were made.”

Dunkle is also banned from publishing similar messages containing names, addresses, or photographs of reproductive health care workers.

>Learn more about the FACE Act.
>Learn more about violence and disruption against abortion providers.

Labels: abortion bans, access, FACE act, violence

Since Mexico City legalized abortion in May, more than 3,400 women have obtained abortions at 14 of the capital's public hospitals. The availability of safe, legal abortion care has helped reduce the public health concerns and stigma associated with abortion.

"When people think of abortion, they no longer think of a hidden, shameful, illegal, clandestine and expensive procedure that is full of risks," said Marta Lamas, who founded Mexico's leading abortion rights group in 1992.

Illegal abortion is a serious public health issue in Mexico, resulting in the injury or death of thousands of Mexican women. According to the LA Times, more than 3,500 women die from illegal abortions each year in Mexico.

Abortion remains illegal in the rest of Mexico, and abortion opponents have petitioned Mexico’s Supreme Court to have Mexico City's law overturned on constitutional grounds. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on this early next year.

Labels: access, illegal, Mexico

On Tuesday, the Manassas, Va., City Council passed a resolution that would create a committee to study what regulations and guidelines abortion clinics in the city operate under and to determine if stricter guidelines are needed.

The resolution’s author incorrectly claims there are no health and safety requirements for the city’s one abortion provider, NAF member Amethyst Health Center for Women. However, the Amethyst Health Center adheres to federal standards, professional conduct requirements of the state's Board of Medicine and the Department of Health Professionals, and NAF’s Clinical Policy Guidelines, which set the highest standards for quality abortion care.

This resolution is an example of a Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP) bill, which singles out abortion clinics for unnecessary, politically motivated, restrictive regulations.

"Regulations such as these are calculated to chip away at abortion access under the guise of legitimate regulation," said Jennifer Blasdell, NAF’s director of public policy in today’s Washington Post.

Labels: access, TRAP bills

Tell Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt that family planning must remain a priority!

President Bush has just appointed Dr. Susan Orr as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA) in the Department of Health and Human Services. DASPA oversees Title X, the nation's family planning program, which provides high-quality family planning and preventive health care services to over five million low-income individuals annually.

This appointment raises serious concerns, as Dr. Orr previously served as the Senior Director for Marriage and Family Care at the Family Research Council (FRC), an organization that has advocated for limited access to contraception. She currently serves on the board of directors for Teen Choice, a nonprofit organization which advocates for abstinence in lieu of contraception.

Dr. Orr has spoken out against contraceptive coverage requirements in federal employees' health insurance. She has said, "…fertility is not a disease. It's not a medical necessity that you have [contraception]."

Dr. Orr should not be entrusted with the oversight of the federal family planning program and the health of millions of Americans.

Take action and speak-out against this appointment by signing NAF’s petition.

Labels: access, Contraception, Title X

NAF issued this press release today:

The National Abortion Federation (NAF) denounces the appointment of Dr. Susan Orr as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA). DASPA oversees Title X, the nation's family planning program, which provides high-quality family planning and preventive health care services to over five million low-income individuals annually.

This appointment raises serious concerns, as Dr. Orr previously served as the Senior Director for Marriage and Family Care at the Family Research Council (FRC), an organization that has advocated for limited access to contraception. She currently serves on the board of directors for Teen Choice, a nonprofit organization, which advocates for abstinence in lieu of contraception.

During her time at FRC, Dr. Orr spoke out in support of President George W. Bush’s proposed elimination of the contraceptive coverage requirement from federal employees’ health insurance. In 2001 she said to The Washington Post, “We’re quite pleased because fertility is not a disease. It’s not a medical necessity that you have [contraception].”

This is not the first time that President Bush has made a controversial appointment to this critical public health post. Last year, Bush appointed anti-birth control advocate Dr. Eric Keroack, who had previously managed Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) in Massachusetts, to this position. CPCs are designed to discourage pregnant women from seeking abortion care, and in many instances they misinform and intimidate women to achieve their goal. Dr. Keroack resigned in March 2007 following public outrage.

"This is just another example of the Bush Administration promoting politics over a sound health policy. Dr. Orr should not be entrusted with the oversight of the federal family planning program and the health of millions of Americans," said Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of NAF. "For more than 35 years, the Title X program has been a hallmark of quality preventive care, enabling practitioners to provide family planning services to low-income individuals."

Labels: access, anti-choice, Contraception, crisis pregnancy center (CPC), Eric Keroack, Title X

The Edmonton Sun published an article today detailing how women in Alberta are facing wait times of up to three weeks when seeking abortion care. This wait time can be attributed to the province’s growing population, a shortage of staff and facilities, and a lack of political will to make abortion more accessible.

Delaying abortion care can lead to increased risks and is often stressful for women, as one clinic administrator explains. “Once women have decided they want to terminate the pregnancy, they call the clinic and they want it tomorrow," said Celia Posyniak, executive director of the Kensington Clinic in Calgary. "It's always a shock for them to learn they have to wait."

Waiting times for abortion care continue to increase throughout Canada. Last week, an article in The Ottawa Citizen revealed that women in the province were being forced to wait up to six weeks in order to obtain abortion care.

Labels: access, Canada