Family Planning Use in East Africa

Family Planning Use in East Africa

by Faith OtewaNo Comments
Family planning (FP) is critical in the promotion of community health. It is an intervention that is proven to save lives and foster development. Research supports the notion that family planning is directly linked to improvement in maternal and child health in addition to socio-economic progress. Understanding the unmet need for family planning services is key to improving worldwide reproductive health. During the last three decades in East Africa, research shows that Kenya and Rwanda are clear leaders in regards to access to and use of contraception. These two countries have a history of implementing targeted and focused programs to improve access to FP services. FP differs in each country in ways such as the amount of methods offered and the extent to which each method is available. Across the sub-region there is an increase in the use of modern contraceptives. But, a steady proportion of women in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania are still using traditional methods. While short-term contraception is frequent in the sub-region, there is...
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California Governor Vetoes Abortion Bill

California Governor Vetoes Abortion Bill

by Jessica WilliamsNo Comments
Governor Jerry Brown recently vetoed a bill that would have required all health centers at University of California and California State University schools to offer prescription abortion pills. Introduced in February 2017, Senate Bill 320 would have made California the first state to require access to medication abortion at public universities. Medication abortion was approved by the FDA in 2000, and currently accounts for one-third of abortions in the United States. A combination of two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, allows the patient to undergo the procedure in their own home. In spite of years of research deeming the procedure safe, thirty-four states heavily regulate medication abortion by requiring licensed physicians, rather than midwives or nurse practitioners, to administer the drugs. In spite of living in a state with otherwise progressive abortion legislation, women at public universities in California often have restricted access to abortion options. More than 500 women at California's public universities seek the abortion pill at off-site healthcare providers every...
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Oregon Ballot Measure 106 would ban public reproductive healthcare coverage

Oregon Ballot Measure 106 would ban public reproductive healthcare coverage

by Jessica WilliamsNo Comments
A state with a long history of supporting abortion rights, Oregon will have a constitutional amendment to limit state funding for abortions on the ballot this November. After narrowly gaining enough signatures to head to the ballot in late July, Measure 106 has inspired intense activism on both sides of the issue. Oregon is one of seventeen states that uses its own funds to provide abortions; the federal government prohibits the use of Medicaid funding. If Measure 106 passes, the state would only be able to fund abortion in cases necessary for the safety of the mother — as in ectopic pregnancies — or in situations of incest or rape. Although the Oregon Health Plan paid $2 million for abortions for 3,600 women in the last year, the official cost analysis of Measure 106 states that passage of the initiative could cost the state an additional $10 million each year. An estimated 271,833 women of reproductive age are covered by the Oregon...
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Receiving an abortion not associated with mental health harms, study confirms

Receiving an abortion not associated with mental health harms, study confirms

by Anna KatzNo Comments
The notion that abortion causes poor mental health outcomes is often used to defend laws and policies that limit access to the procedure. So-called crisis pregnancy centers--fake health clinics that seek to dissuade women from receiving an abortion, often through manipulation and misinformation--sometimes tell patients that abortion causes depression, anxiety, and regret. They even warn of "post-abortion syndrome," a mythical condition that has been dismissed by scientific authorities. While reviews of scientific literature have found no evidence to suggest that abortion harms mental health, the existing research had limited generalizability. But thanks to the groundbreaking longitudinal Turnaway Study by Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), scientists can conclusively assert that having a wanted abortion is not associated with mental health harms. The study compares the effects of women who have and women who are denied an abortion and follows them for five years. In addition to finding that having a wanted abortion is not associated with poor mental health outcomes, the...
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No remaining abortion providers in Guam

No remaining abortion providers in Guam

by Anna KatzNo Comments
The Guam Women's Clinic is no longer performing abortions, seemingly leaving the small island without any abortion providers. Though the clinic is still operational, Dr. Jeffrey Gabel, unlike his retired predecessor Dr. William Freeman, does not perform abortions. Jamie Ward of The Guam Daily Post contacted several clinics searching for an abortion provider to no avail, and one of her contacts within the Guam women's health community confirmed that there is nobody on the island that women can be referred to for an abortion. Abortion access in Guam could be further restricted by a proposed bill that would permit abortions only up to 20 weeks, unless the life of the pregnant person was at risk. Guam's current law allows for abortions up to 26 weeks if the fetus has a serious physical or mental defect or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Abortions are allowed throughout at pregnancy if the pregnant person's life or health is seriously...
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Walgreens pharmacist denies woman medication to end unviable pregnancy

Walgreens pharmacist denies woman medication to end unviable pregnancy

by Anna KatzNo Comments
Arizona resident and first grade teacher Nicole Arteaga took to Facebook after a Walgreens pharmacist refused to fill her prescription for misoprostol, a medication that can be used to end a failed pregnancy. Nine weeks into her pregnancy, Arteaga learned that there was no fetal heartbeat--her pregnancy would end in miscarriage. Rather than undergo a surgical procedure to remove the fetal tissue from her uterus, Arteaga opted to take misoprostol, which can end a pregnancy up to 10 weeks in what is known as a medical abortion. Her doctor wrote a prescription, but when Arteaga went to pick the medication up, the pharmacist refused to give her the misoprostol, citing his ethical beliefs. "I stood at the mercy of this pharmacist explaining my situation in front of my 7-year-old, and five customers standing behind only to be denied because of his ethical beliefs," Arteaga wrote in her post, which has since been shared over 60,000 times. "I left Walgreens in tears, ashamed...
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