Donde hay gana, hay maña – where there’s a will, there’s a way

I was fortunate to live in a home where I was raised by both parents. I wasn’t disciplined often, que mal hubiera sido eso. Bueno, tal vez, only a handful of times. But mom really preferred to give me la mirada, the evil eye, which almost twitched in formation as she squinted, or she would gesture her hand in a way that meant trouble. And I mean real trouble, like chanclas flying across the room and munuecas falling off the bed.

My mom knew I was a softie, too. And probably like your mom, mi mama wanted me to strike a perfect a balance between two extremes – queria que fuera fearless, borderline aggressive, yet loving and understanding, and compassionate. Latina moms, they’re quite the character. But I know what she meant. Queria que mis hermanas y yo tuvieramos a fearless approach toward life, a quench thirst to attain the things that we wanted to attain the most. I guess that’s why there is always something comforting, but frightening about hearing mom or abuelita say, donde hay gana, hay maña – “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Te acuerdas de este dicho? Dichos are part of our language, our ideology as Latinas, and we’ve come to understand and appreciate their meaning! Our stories and the ones of our family are the kind of stories that are told through dichos – including our accomplishments, our defeats, and our good fights, tu sabes.

This year Latinas are fighting the good fight. We are fighting the good fight in the new health care reform law to include birth control in the list of preventive services that the Department of Health and Human Services and The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is putting together. And our allies? One another, si senor! Y cuando quieremos algo, I don’t know how we do it, but we get things done. que no? Mujeres, we have until August to tell our government that women deserve to access birth control at no cost. Actualmente, birth control is not included in the list of preventive services, which means that women would have to pay for birth control under the new health law. Mujeres, we have until August to tell our government that women deserve to access birth control at no cost. Women should not have to pay for health services that are justifiably theirs. Porque?

Read Full Post »

Extending Medicaid family planning funding has clear positive impacts

Guttmatcher Institute recently released a report on the potential benefits of new changes in the rules regarding the expansion of family planning funding within Medicaid. The family planning extension under Medicaid has been around for fifteen years, but thanks to a provision in the March 2010 health reform law, the process by which state governments can extend this family planning funding has become more efficient. The program was meant to extend these services to low-income people who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but might still need these essential services.

Before the Health Care Reform law went into effect, if a state government sought to extend services, the process to do so was quite arduous, and could extend for a couple years before having to be re-approved. Now, the process can take as little as just a few months. For example, South Carolina sought to extend Medicaid family planning services to include more benefactors in September and had their application approved before the end of the year.

The Guttmacher report shows clearly that this expansion has historically done a lot of good, and that the improvements in process, as well as the new inclusion of men and adolescents in these expansions has the potential to extend the positive effects of this program widely. The program prevents unnecessary unintended pregnancies by providing low-income people with access to family planning tools like birth control.

Programs like this also have support from both sides of the political spectrum because, as the Guttmacher report clearly outlines, improving access to family planning services like birth control reduces costs in the long term. In addition to being a common sense policy, it’s also a common ground one, since family planning and contraception has been less controversial than other reproductive health services like abortion.

By Rosario Quiroz, Community Mobilization Intern

Read Full Post »

Bringing the FDA Court: The fight continues to make EC accessible to all women

By Hilarie Meyers, Development and Communications Intern

On November 16, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed a motion of contempt against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ignoring a court order from 2009 to review its restrictions on emergency contraception.  NLIRH is a co-plaintiff in the case, Tummino v. Hamburg, along with various other organizations and individuals, including the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, as well as a number of grassroots activists and concerned parents.

Advocates of reproductive health and justice have long fought to ensure that all women have access to emergency contraceptive pills, such as Plan B, Plan B One-Step, and Next Choice.  However, the FDA has repeatedly created unnecessary barriers and obstacles that prevent many women from fully exercising their right to access and use such forms of contraception.

Tummino v. Hamburg is the most recent development in a string of petitions and lawsuits spearheaded by CRR in order to make emergency contraceptives accessible to all women.  In 2001, CRR, along with numerous other medical and public health organizations, filed a Citizen’s Petition imploring the FDA to grant emergency contraception, which, at the time, was prescription-only, over-the-counter status.  For four years, the FDA ignored the petition.  In response, CRR filed a federal lawsuit, Tummino v. von Eschenbach, against the FDA in 2005.  Finally, on March 23, 2009, the federal court ruled against the FDA and ordered a review of the existing restrictions on emergency contraception.  On its website, the Center for Reproductive Rights explains:

The Court found that the FDA “acted in bad faith and in response to political pressure,” “departed in significant ways from the agency’s normal procedures,” and engaged in “repeated and unreasonable delays.” In addition, the court found that the FDA’s justification for denying over-the-counter access to 17 year olds “lacks all credibility,” and was based on “fanciful and wholly unsubstantiated ‘enforcement’ concerns.” While the FDA did extend over-the-counter access to 17-year-olds, it has largely ignored the 2009 court order and neglected to fully reevaluate its restrictions on emergency contraception as it initially promised. 

Read Full Post »

Rights of pharmacists versus the rights of women: Case study in Washington State

By Myra Guevara, Research Intern

According to the Guttmacher Institute only 17 states and the District of Columbia require hospitals emergency rooms to provide emergency contraception (EC) related services to sexual assault victims. In the state of Pennsylvania health service providers may refuse treatment based on religious or moral beliefs as long as they provide immediate transportation to the closest medical facility. In Texas the Medicaid Family Planning Expansion (Title X) explicitly excludes EC.

Washington State and the Board of Pharmacy are under pressure from one local pharmacy (Ralph’s Thriftway, Olympia) regarding a 2007 law put into place by Governor Chris Gregoire (WA). The law requires pharmacists to dispense all legal drugs, irrespective of moral or religious beliefs. This lawsuit is specific to the emergency contraceptive Plan B, but could have an impact on the dispensation of hundreds of legal drugs, such as HIV medication or birth control.

After the threat of a lengthy and costly lawsuit from Ralph’s Thriftway, the Board of Pharmacy fell to the pressure and has already voted 3-2 in favor of changing the statute. The pharmacy felt the rule infringed on their moral beliefs.

As the new law stands a pharmacist is allowed to deny distribution if they can “pass a patient to a co-worker.” The pharmacy is still under legal obligation to fill the prescription.

This new stipulation could limit access to not only emergency contraception, but birth control and HIV medication due to ‘conscientious reasons.’ The referral system, although a seemingly appropriate compromise in urban areas, becomes a challenge in rural areas where pharmacies are a long distance away or there is only one for miles. Not to mention women that may not have readily available access to transportation or the resources to cover transportation costs. The referral system becomes an additional challenge for time sensitive drugs, like Plan B which needs to be taken within the first 72 hours in order to be effective.

The public can comment on the proposed rule changes until November 30th.

To learn more about the facts of EC and find more about legislation in your state go here.

By Myra Guevara, Research Intern

Read Full Post »

Groundbreaking new developments in HIV prevention

By Hilarie Meyers, Development and Communications Intern

Over the course of the past year, several new and exciting advancements have been made in the realm of HIV prevention, particularly in the form of microbicides, “a new type of product being developed that people could use vaginally or rectally to protect themselves from HIV and possibly other sexually transmitted infections.”  In a recent New York Times article, “New Lines of Attack in H.I.V. Prevention,” Donald G. McNeil Jr. highlights the importance of various microbicides that are being developed and even tested.  The article primarily focuses on a vaginal gel to be used topically and prior to infection; however, it also describes other forms of microbicides, including a rectal version of the gel and a long-lasting vaginal ring.  According to McNeil, the vaginal gel could be available on the market as early as 2013.

There are approximately 1.1 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS and an estimated 56,000 new infections are reported each year in the U.S. alone. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Latinas account for 16% of new HIV infections among women and their HIV incidence rate is nearly 4 times the rate for white women.

Currently, prevention efforts often focus on promoting the use of condoms or abstinence, both of which may not be a viable option for many women and men.  A document put forth by Acción Mutua, a program of AIDS Project Los Angeles, explains:

Many women do not have the social or economic power necessary to insist on condom use and fidelity or to abandon relationships that put them at risk [for HIV infection]. Because microbicides would not require a partner’s cooperation, they would put the power to protect into women’s hands.

Read Full Post »

Jury is still out on potential for female condom

I recently came across a study conducted by Guttmacher Institute on how female condoms have allowed women to gain a new sense of independence. This newer form of contraception hasn’t gotten much attention, and the potential benefits have been slightly ignored. Compared to other female contraceptives like the birth control pill or diaphragm, it is the only one that helps prevent the transmission of STDs and HIV as well as pregnancy.

Female condoms give women the chance to protect themselves without relying on their partner’s compliance. The Guttmacher Institute research focused on sex workers in Central America and their experiences with the female condom.

If there are clients who don’t want to use the male condom, now we can protect ourselves with the female condom…Most women in the two El Salvador sites reported that they were very worried about contracting HIV, but thought it was completely within their control to protect themselves from infection.

The problem with the female condom is that it is not yet as widely available as the male condom. Another issue is the possible stigma associated with the female condom because of its size and how comfortable it is. It will take some time and more research to see the full potential of the female condom, as it becomes better known and more widely available.

More information about the female condom and how to use it is here.

By Stephanie Rodriguez, Policy Intern

Read Full Post »

Coverage of birth control under new health care law still in question

By Hilarie Meyers, Development and Communications Intern

As the buzz around midterm elections begins to die down, it’s time to revisit a topic that preoccupied NLIRH earlier in the year, contraception and health care reform.

First, let’s quickly review the facts and events leading up to today’s discussion.  During the Senate’s debates over health care reform, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) introduced the Women’s Health Amendment, which she authored with the intention of increasing women’s access to preventative care, including family planning and contraception. Despite opposition from both Republicans and members of her own party, Senator Mikulski fought hard and was ultimately successful: the Women’s Health Amendment was included in the health care reform legislation passed by Congress in March.  The Department of Health and Human Services has already released a list of preventative care services that will be covered 100% under the new law, meaning no cost to consumers.  This list includes many preventive care services essential to ensuring women’s wellbeing. However, in spite of the explicit intentions of the Women’s Health Amendment, birth control has so far been left off of the list’s provisions.

Read Full Post »

Colorado Ballot Initiative Threatens Women’s Reproductive Health and Freedom

By Hilarie Meyers, Development and Communications Intern

Tomorrow Colorado voters will determine the fate of Amendment 62, a ballot initiative with serious implications for women’s reproductive health and freedom.  If passed, the amendment, which is sponsored by Colorado Right to Life and PersonhoodUSA, would extend the definition of personhood as provided in Colorado’s state constitution to encompass every stage of fetal development, beginning with fertilization.  Specifically, the proposed amendment reads: “The term ‘person’ shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.”

According to Personhood Colorado’s website, the amendment is intended to ban abortion, certain contraceptives (i.e. birth control pills, rings, and patches; IUDs; emergency contraceptive pills; etc.), and embryonic stem cell research, as well as “reform” existing in vitro fertilization practices.

While the Amendment wouldn’t ban abortion directly, it would provide a legal framework that would easily allow anti-choicers to overturn the ruling and rights established in Roe v. Wade.[1] (http://www.seculargovernment.us/docs/a62.shtml#_edn12)  An editorial in The Denver Post explains:

Obviously, the intent of the [amendment] is to defeat the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, which defined a fetus as a person once it entered a pregnancy’s third trimester. That definition prevents states from arguing that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows them to outlaw abortion.

Read Full Post »

Missing: Reproductive health services on community college campuses

In preparation for last week’s summit on community colleges, the White House asked people to submit their ideas for community college reform. Overwhelmingly the participants voted in support of the idea submitted by a former teen mom and Community College student from Arizona who asked the following:

Educate students on healthy relationships and family planning…in order to help community college students finish their education and then plan for a family when the time is right.

This raises questions about why community colleges lack a comprehensive health system, and where services like contraception and family planning are available to students.

What more than half do not have, however, is what four-year colleges and universities have offered for years: comprehensive health services, including daily clinics and nurses who provide up-to-date health information, do physical examinations and prescribe or dispense contraception.

The apparent reasoning behind this gap in services is that lack of funding for community colleges, money which often goes instead to the four-year institutions. The Obama Administration has made it clear they’d like to put more of an emphasis on community colleges, but it’s not clear that they’re looking to address the need for better on-campus health services.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Latino undergraduates are more likely to be enrolled in a two year institution. This means that Latinas are being shorthanded when it comes to resources on family planning. By providing services to reduce unplanned pregnancies, Latinas will have a better chance in graduating from school and having the opportunity to continue on to a four-year institution.

By Stephanie Rodriguez, Policy Intern

Read Full Post »

NLIRH in the News: Supporting NYC Legislation Requiring Crisis Pregnancy Centers to Come Clean

Photo Credit: New York Times

 

On Tuesday, October 12, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health announced its support for a piece of legislation in New York City that would require crisis pregnancy centers, or limited-service pregnancy centers, to disclose on all signage and advertising that they do not provide contraception or abortion services, or referrals to either.  The legislation would also require the centers to disclose if they do not have a licensed medical provider on site, and would hold them to the same confidentiality standards as licensed medical centers.

Crisis pregnancy centers are often innocuously labeled: “Pregnant?  Need Help?”  What many of these signs do not say is that these centers have an explicit anti-choice agenda, and often spread misinformation about abortion, such as the outdated and clinically-disproved claim that abortion increases risk of breast cancer.  The bill follows an investigation by NARAL Pro-Choice New York, who released a report documenting the tactics of these centers.

NLIRH’s own Senior Policy Analyst, Verónica Bayetti Flores, was interviewed in Spanish by Telemundo regarding this story. Read the story here, or watch here.

Read Full Post »