Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced last Friday that the federal government will no longer provide funding through the Medicaid family planning program for the state of Texas. This comes after Governor Rick Perry’s decision to implement a law that would exclude Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid women’s health program, essentially cutting any government funding to Planned Parenthood. 11 clinics in the state have had to close as a result. Officials at the Medicaid federal agency said that states are not allowed to restrict patient’s access to particular providers and still receive federal funding. Cindy Mann, a top official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, stated, “Medicaid law is clear – patients, not state government officials, are able to choose the health-care providers that are best for them and their families.” The Medicaid women’s health program provides free birth control and exams to more than 130,000 women in the state. Texas will be the only state to have federal funding for this program withdrawn. Several states, however, such as Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Indiana, are considering similar action to Texas in cutting funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.
Author: Feminist Majority Foundation Blog
Obama Administration Moves Forward in Providing Women Contraceptive Services
The Feminist Majority Foundation welcomes and is encouraged by the release by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, of advance notice of proposed rule-making on preventive services policy that would ensure employees and students at religiously affiliated institutions receive the benefits of the Affordable Care Act preventive care package, including contraceptive coverage without co-pays or deductibles. The advance notice includes a 90-day comment period for input from the public. Once again the Obama administration shows its strong support for women’s preventive health care coverage and its skill in moving forward. The Obama administration is realizing the President’s commitment that “No woman’s health should depend on who she is, or where she works, or how much money she makes.” What’s more, the Obama administration is ensuring that students at religiously affiliated institutions have insurance coverage that includes the entire preventive care package, including contraceptives, without co-pays and deductibles. The released advance rule guidelines simply implement and provide options which ensure that religiously affiliated institutions who object to this preventive care will not have to pay for it or administer it. In addition, the Obama Administration announced today that under the Affordable Care Act, student health plans will have the same protections as required for individual insurance policies, including full coverage of preventive services without co-pays or deductibles and a prohibition on lifetime limits. Ninety-nine percent of women, at some time during their lives, need access to contraceptives, but approximately half of them today cannot afford it. Now finally the vast majority of insured women will have access without co-pays or deductibles. This is a win-win solution. We are determined that political opponents of the Affordable Care Act will not take the preventive care package away from women. The Affordable Care Act is ensuring that women are not discriminated against in health care. The Affordable Care Act preventive care package now includes the following without co-pays or deductibles: approved contraceptives both for birth control and for treatment of several illnesses, as well as annual well-woman visits and cancer screenings, counseling, such as for domestic and interpersonal violence, testing for HIV and STIs, breastfeeding support, and lactation services and supplies.
Catholic Bishops Prioritize Defeating Birth Control Access
After a “closed, two-day meeting,” Catholic Bishops made their top priority defeating birth control coverage in the preventive care package of the Affordable Care Act. The Bishops released a statement yesterday saying that they wanted to protect “religious freedom” and that “this dispute is not about access to contraceptives but about the governments forcing the church to provide them.” The Obama Administration, in an accommodation, however, made clear that if a religiously-affiliated institute objects, the insurance company will provide the coverage directly to the employee or student without institutional involvement. The regulation requiring birth control coverage without co-pays or deductibles as a part of the preventive care package goes into effect August 2012. Nevertheless, a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute indicated that 56 percent of people surveyed, including six in 10 Catholics, indicated that they do not believe that their religious liberty has been threatened. The study also found that “55% of Americans, including 58% of Catholics, agree that ’employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost.'” The US Conference of Catholic Bishops also announced plans to launch a broader campaign against state and local laws that they believe infringe on religious freedom, including restrictions limiting the rights of religious groups to use public schools as place of worship and those that limit religious organizations on college campuses. In August 2011, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new guidelines, developed by the Institute of Medicine, that will require private insurance plans under the Preventive Care package of the Affordable Care Act beginning on or after August 1, 2012 to cover without co-pays or deductibles a variety of services, such as an annual well-woman visit and cancer screenings, counseling, such as for domestic and interpersonal violence, and testing for HIV and STIs, as well as all FDA-approved contraceptives, breastfeeding support, lactation services, and supplies.
Charges Against Abortion Providers Dropped
The state attorney’s office in Cecil County Maryland dismissed charges against Dr. Steven Brigham and Dr. Nicola Riley for allegedly violating the state’s fetal homicide law and killing “five viable fetuses.” This is the first time that this law was used to charge medical doctors. Dr. Steven Brigham owns clinics in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Maryland, as well as the clinic that was firebombed in Florida earlier this year. He was arrested on December 28 in New Jersey, and Dr. Riley was arrested in Salt Lake City. Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation indicated that the state’s medical licensing board should have been responsible for determining whether the doctors had provided substandard care and that the fetal homicide laws “should not be applied…in this manner.”
International Women’s Day
Events will take place around the world in honor of International Women’s Day today, both documenting progress made for women’s rights and noting the remaining challenges to women’s equality worldwide.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated, “As we commemorate Internationals Women’s Day, 8 March 2012, gender equality and the empowerment of women are gaining ground worldwide. There are more women heads of state or government than ever, and the highest proportion of women serving as government ministers. Women are exercising ever greater influence in business. More girls are going to school, and are growing up healthier and better equipped to realise their potential. Despite this momentum, there is a long way to go before women and girls can be said to enjoy the fundamental rights, freedom and dignity that are their birthright and that will guarantee their well-being.”
In Washington DC, the World Bank, the Nordic Trust Fund, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, and the United Nations Foundation are holding events throughout the week on the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In addition, First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are hosting the annual International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony today.
VA Abortion Rights Protestors Arrested
On Saturday, Virginia Capitol Police arrested 31 people, 17 women and 14 men, who were protesting an ultrasound bill at the state Capitol in Richmond. The protestors were among some 1,000 people gathered in opposition to the measure. Although the protestors had a permit to conduct the rally in Capitol Square, Virginia Capitol Police Captian Raymond Goodloe indicated that the protesters could not gather on the Capitol steps.
The ultrasound bill passed the Virginia General Assembly after Republican Governor Bob McDonnell submitted an amendment to the bill requiring that women undergo an external, transabdominal ultrasound, as opposed to a transvaginal ultrasound, as originally stated in the bill. Governor McDonnell is expected to sign the bill into law.
Although McDonnell initially pledged his unconditional support of the transvaginal ultrasound bill, he revised his position earlier this week, saying that he would need to review the bill before signing it. The Governor claimed that he only recently learned about the invasiveness of a transvaginal ultrasound, which requires a probe being inserted into the vagina.
Maryland Governor Signs Marriage Equality Bill into Law
Maryland became the eighth state to legalize gay marriage on Thursday as Governor Martin O’Malley signed the marriage equality bill into law. The bill, called the Civil Marriage Protection Act, was passed in the Maryland House of Delegates on February 17th by a narrow vote of 72 to 67. The Maryland Senate followed suit less than a week later. The new law will go into effect January 2013.
Before signing the bill into law, the Governor said, “For a free and diverse people, for a people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the way forward is always found for the greater respect of the equal rights of all, for the human dignity of all.”
Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, and the District of Columbia currently allow and recognize gay marriage. Washington’s recently passed gay marriage law will go into effect this June. About 30 states have constitutional amendments that seek to prohibit same-sex marriage.
Opponents are already mobilizing against the new law in Maryland, pushing for a referendum as a way to reverse the change this fall. They will need to gather 56,000 valid signatures to put the measure on the November ballot.
Oklahoma Women Protest Personhood Bill
Hundreds of women gathered at the Oklahoma state Capitol on Tuesday to protest a personhood bill, SB 1433, which states that life begins at conception and would give rights to a fertilized egg. The bill proposes to give “unborn children at every stage of development all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents” of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Senator Judy McIntyre (D) stated, “I was so excited about the fact that the women in Oklahoma have finally begun to wake up and fight for their rights.” The measure, introduced by Senator Brian Crain (R-Tulsa), passed in the Senate and waits approve in the House, where it is expected to be passed. The Oklahoma State Medical Association has come out against the bill since it could ban women from accessing contraception.
If passed in the Senate and signed by the Governor, the law would directly challenge the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the US and perhaps Griswold v. Connecticut, which struck down state laws banning birth control.
Girls Learn International Delegates at UN Commission on Status of Women
A delegation of 20 high school and middle school student leaders of Girls Learn International chapters from across the country, together with 25 parents, teachers, GLI Board members and staff are participating in six full days of workshops, panels and presentations in and around the U.N. during the 56th annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW56).
On the opening day of CSW 56, delegates heard from Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women and former president of Chile, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee of Liberia. Both Bachelet and Gbowee emphasized the imperative to increase the representation of women at decision-making tables worldwide in order to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems, including widespread poverty, health crises like AIDS, and war and conflict. Along with other speakers throughout the day-long session, they also emphasized the critical need to address women’s and girls’ reproductive health and rights, including access to contraception and maternal health care.
During the week, GLI students will lead a Girl-Boy Dialogue on how gender inequality affects their everyday lives, their economic self-sufficiency, and the ways they can support and promote gender equality in the global economy. The students will also participate in sessions dealing with ending early and forced marriage, violence against women and militarism, elimination of violence against girls, and engaging young women and men in advancing gender equality. GLI delegates are also the leaders of an all-student committee to draft and debate a Girls Statement for presentation to the CSW on education, violence, and trafficking of women and girls. The statement will be read on the floor of the UN during the second week of the CSW meetings.
GLI will also partner with the US Mission to the UN in a session exploring strategies to increase girls’ political representation, activism and leadership in the US and globally.
GLI student delegations have come from Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Northern Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Girls Learn International is a program of Feminist Majority Foundation. Students active in GLI clubs at their schools learn about issues dealing with human rights and girls’ education and develop critical thinking and advocacy skills essential to effective leadership. Every year, GLI organizes an official delegation of students to attend the CSW. GLI co-chairs the Task Force on Girls’ Participation for the UN-affiliated Working Group on Girls with the Girl Scouts of the USA.
56th Commission on the Status of Women
This week, government officials, representatives from the United Nations, private sector officials, and rural women will convene at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW56). The focus of this year’s session will be on improving the situation of rural women and the elimination of hunger and poverty, as well as current challenges to development.
UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet stated, “Rural women and girls comprise one in four people worldwide and they constitute a large share of the agricultural workforce. Listening to and supporting rural women is fundamental to ending poverty and hunger and achieving peace and development that is sustainable…Research shows that empowering women is not just good for women. It is good for all of us – for peace, the growth of our economies, for food security, for human security – in short, for the well-being of current and future generations.”
Rural women face significant discrimination in terms of their access to public services, social protections, local and national markets, and employment opportunities. For instance, UN Women reports that women in rural sub-Saharan Africa have access to less than 10 percent of available credit. In addition, women make up the majority of the unpaid labor force.
CSW56 calls on policy makers and national governments to make greater investments in initiatives and community-based schemes to benefit rural women. According to UN Women, “If rural women had equal access to productive resources, agricultural yields would rise and there would be 100 million to 150 million fewer hungry people.”
Currently “925 million people were chronically hungry, of whom 60 percent were women.” Moreover, 884 million people in the world lack access to potable drinking water; 2.6 billion people do not have access to sufficient sanitation facilities; and 1 billion people to not have adequate access to roads and transportation systems.
Bulletin: VA Personhood Amendment
By a vote of 24 to 14, with all Democrats and four Republicans voting yes, the Virginia Senate voted to send a “personhood” bill back to the state Senate Health and Education committee. The bill passed out of committee this morning by a vote of eight to seven and was expected to pass the full Senate. Senator Richard Saslaw (D) filed a motion to send the bill back to committee, and Republican Tommy Norment seconded the motion. The bill will not be voted on until 2013, after the Presidential election. There is speculation that this decision was made based on input from Republican Governor Bob McDonnell. Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal stated, “This clearly shows the power of the women’s movement and that such an extreme amendment can’t stand the light of day. The strong public outpouring and silent protest Monday, the filling of the galleries Tuesday, and the rally Wednesday sent a powerful message to the Governor and the Republican leadership that this bill couldn’t be voted on before the national election.” The “personhood bill,” sponsored by Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), states that life begins at conception and would give rights to a fertilized egg. The bill proposes to give “unborn children at every stage of development all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth.”
VA House Passes Transvaginal Ultrasound Bill
The Virginia state House of Delegates voted 63 to 36 to pass a bill requiring that women seeking abortions undergo a transvaginal ultrasound, which requires a probe being inserted into the vagina. Delegate Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria) criticized the bill, saying “We’re talking about inside a woman’s body. This is the first time, if we pass this bill, that we will be dictating a medical procedure to a physician.” The House also voted down by a vote of 64 to 34 an amendment, which requires the women’s consent for the transvaginal ultrasound probe. This means a probe must be inserted into the woman’s vagina with or without her consent if she seeks an abortion. The bill will now go to the state Senate. Republican Governor Bob McDonnell indicated that he will sign the bill.
Catholic Students for Women’s Health Hold Press Conference to Support Birth Control
More information is forthcoming. View video of the event. You can find the press kit here: Media Advisory AU Students for Choice Press Release Catholic Students for Women’s Health Press Release Catholic University Students Press Release George Washington University Students Press Release Georgetown Law Students for Reproductive Justice Hoyas for Choice Press Release Joint Statement from Faith Groups Public Religion Research Institute Survey Raising Women’s Voices Blog Post
Catholic Students Stand Up for Women’s Health
Students spoke out today in favor of birth control access on college campuses in response to pressure from Catholic bishops to restrict contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Students from Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, Georgetown Law School, American University, and Fordham University spoke at the press conference this morning in Washington, D.C. in support of the Obama administration’s inclusion of birth control coverage without co-pays and deductibles under the ACA. Recognizing that the debate has largely excluded the voices of young women, the very people most affected by this inclusion, the students spoke about their own personal stories and how important it is to them and the women on their campus to have full and equal access to women’s health services. Students pledged to continue organizing around birth control access on their campuses with petition drives and a Valentine’s Day campaign targeting Congress. “We will not back down because we believe that the religious freedom of individual Catholics and students, no matter what their faith, and the need for comprehensive women’s healthcare must take priority to the demands of the Catholic Bishops,” said Callie Otto, of Catholic University. Sandra Fluke, of Georgetown Law Students for Reproductive Justice, stated, “At Georgetown Law, I and other women have struggled with a lack of contraceptive coverage that causes financial, medical, and emotional burdens. Unable to afford the $3,000 this costs students over their law school tenure, some women have gone without contraception, risking pregnancy and avoidable abortions. Others have spent hours in clinics, missing class, trying to find affordable birth control. In the worst cases, women who needed this medication for other medical reasons have suffered dire consequences. Just one example of many is a friend of mine. Her inability to access these prescriptions caused the loss of her ovary. These burdens are not shared by our male student colleagues.” Under the Preventive Care package of the ACA, all FDA-approved contraceptives will be covered without co-pays or deductibles, as will a variety of other health services, such as annual well-woman visits, cancer screenings, counseling, such as for domestic and interpersonal violence, and testing for HIV and STIs. The Obama administration has exempted from birth control coverage employers at some 335,000 houses of worship. Despite pressure from Catholic Bishops to expand the religious exemptions, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced in January that employees and students at religiously-affiliated institutions would have access to complete birth control coverage.
VA Bill Could Ban Same-Sex Couples from Adopting
Late last week, a bill that would enable state-funded private adoption agencies in Virginia to refuse placements on the basis of their religious or moral beliefs, including banning placements with same-sex couples passed the state House of Delegates by a vote of 71 to 28. The Virginia Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee also endorse the bill, and it is likely to appear on the state Senate floor for a vote this week. Republican Governor Bob McDonnell indicated that he would sign the bill, if it is passed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Leslie Cooper, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), stated, “It’s a license for child welfare agencies to make bad decisions based on their own religious beliefs rather than the child’s needs.” Senator Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) criticized the bill on the grounds that the private agencies contract with the state government and thus as recipients of state funding, should not be permitted to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) added, “I will listen to the arguments and try to understand what the rationale behind it is…but I’m not include to support discrimination or use of tax dollars to support discrimination.” If the bill becomes law, Virginia would be the second state, following North Dakota, to allow private agencies to refuse placements on the basis sexual orientation.
Anti-Gay Bill Reintroduced in Uganda
David Bahati, a member of the Ugandan Parliament and one of the leaders of the Family or Fellowship of C Street fame (see Jeff Sharlet’s latest book on C Street), reintroduced an anti-gay bill today. Bahati first introduced the bill in 2009. It called for the death penalty in cases of “aggravated homosexuality,” for engaging in same sex relations with someone who is HIV positive, and life imprisonment for having sex with someone of the same sex.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill went before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee in May but was dropped from the Parliament’s agenda following condemnation from the President, the Secretary of State, members of Congress, and human rights groups. Bahati has since indicated that he would be willing to drop the provision of the bill calling for the death penalty.
Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries with the exception of South Africa, which recognizes gay marriage, but even there, anti-gay practices such as “corrective rapes” of lesbians, are commonplace.
International Day of Zero Tolerance of FGM/C Day
For International Day of Zero Tolerance of FGM/C today, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme for the Acceleration of the Abandonment of FGM/C released a new report, Key Results and Highlights 2011, which indicates that approximately 2,000 African communities have abandoned female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, stated, “These encouraging findings show that social norms and cultural practices are changing, and communities are uniting to protect the rights of girls and women. We call on the global community to join us in this critical effort. Together, we can end FGM/C in one generation and help millions of girls and women to live healthier, fuller lives, and reach their potential.”
In 2011, the UNFPA reports that 18,000 community education sessions were held to discourage FGM/C. As a result, almost 2,000 communities renounced FGM/C practices that year alone in Burkina Faso, Dijbouti, Ethiopia, Gambia, Senegal, Kenya, and Somalia.
Internationally, an estimated 100 million to 140 million women and girls have undergone an FGM procedure, with the practice widely being regarded as a human rights violation. The procedure, which involves the partial or total removal of external genitalia, is designed to decrease women’s sexual desire and is seen in many cultures as essential for a women’s suitability for marriage. The practice is also known to both increase the risk of HIV transmission and infant and maternal mortality rates.
Departments of Labor and Treasury to Enhance Retirement Security
The US Departments of Labor and the Treasury announced, following the President’s State of the Union Address, two executive actions to help Americans save for retirement and to plan for longevity, as well as to increase transparency regarding their 401K plan options. According to the Departments of Labor and the Treasury, the executive actions are particularly important for women, who tend to live longer than men and thus need greater savings. The executive actions will revise a previous regulation to allow Americans to consider partial annuities, “which allow retirees to receive a steady stream of income for the duration of their lifetimes while also keeping a portion of their savings invested in assets with the flexibility to respond to liquidity needs.” The executive actions will also clarify lifetime income option policies for employees and their spouses. As a result of the first ruling, employees could obtain a low-cost annuity from their employer’s pension plan using a single-sum 401K payout. The second ruling will allow employers to give their employees the option of using their 401K savings “to purchase deferred annuities and still satisfy spousal protection rules with minimal administrative burdens.” Treasurer Secretary Tim Geithner stated, “When American workers take the responsible step of saving for retirement, we should do all we can to provide them with sensible, accessible choices for managing their hard-earned savings. Having the ability to choose from expanded options will help retirees and their families achieve greater value and security.” US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis added, “This common sense rule greatly benefits employers by enhancing the information service providers must disclose to them about the costs associated with providing workplace retirement plans. This rule, and its companion participant-level fee disclosure rule, bring transparency to retirement saving. The rules will enable businesses that sponsor retirement plans, and the workers who participate in the plans, to make better decisions about those plans, the fees they pay, and their investments, leading to cost savings for retirement savers nationwide.”
UN Secretary General Promotes Women’s Rights, Gay Rights
In a speech to the African Union Summit in Ethiopia, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the end to discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation. General Ban Ki-moon encouraged renewed efforts to ensure women’s greater representation in parliaments in African countries and stated the importance of ensuring that women are part of the peace process in Africa.
He remarked, “We must ensure that women are fully represented in in decision-making bodies, including in Egypt and Tunisia where they played a role” in the protests of the Arab Spring. He also described women as “champions of peace.”
The Secretary General denounced discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which is criminalized in many African countries, saying, “This has prompted some governments to treat people as second-class citizens, or even criminals. Confronting discrimination is a challenge.” Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries with the exception of South Africa, which recognizes gay marriage, but even there, anti-gay practices such as “corrective rapes” of lesbians, are commonplace.
Abortion Rate Stalls Worldwide
“Induced Abortion: Incidence and Trends Worldwide from 1995 to 2008,” a study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization and published in the Lancet, indicates that since 2008, the decline in the worldwide rate of abortions has stalled. According to the study, “between 1995 and 2003, the overall number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age (14-44) dropped from 35 to 29.” However since 2008, the rate as remained at 28 per 1,000.
Gilda Sedgh, the lead author for the study, stated, “The declining abortion trend we had seen globally has stalled, and we are also seeing a growing proportion of abortions occurring in developing countries, where the procedure is often clandestine and unsafe. This is cause for concern. This plateau coincides with a slowdown in contraceptive uptake. Without greater investment in quality family planning services, we can expect this trend to persist.”
The researchers also noted that approximately 50 percent of abortions performed in the world are unsafe, and 13 percent of all maternal deaths could be attributed to unsafe abortions in 2008. The findings also indicate that restrictive abortion laws do not necessarily result in lower rates of abortion.