SB1338: Understanding the data and the debate

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Diana Taylor and Amy Levi and has no comments yet.

newspaper headlines on California SB1338In late February 2012, California Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) introduced SB1338—Early Access to Care Bill in the California state senate. The bill called for removing the restriction on Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) performing early aspiration abortions. The intention was to allow women to obtain safe, early abortion care—in their own communities and from their current health care providers. In the course of debate in two policy committees, abortion rights opponents put forth a great deal of misinformation about these types of health care providers in their attempt to kill the bill.

We want to set the record straight about the role that Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) play in health care broadly, as well as in the routine provision of minor invasive procedures. (more…)

Categories: ANSIRH, general interest, legal, policy & regulation, research, training
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Passionate engagement:
Two doctors speak about their abortion activism

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Carole Joffe and has 2 comments.
Dr. Pippa Abston speaking about health care reform

Screenshot of leftinalabama.com video of Dr. Pippa Abston speaking about health care reform

“I thought I might get in over my head and I might have done so! But I’m glad I did it anyway and in the process got connected to some folks I might not have met otherwise, it is definitely worth doing.”

Speaking is Dr. Pippa Abston, a pediatrician in Alabama, recounting for a journalist her decision to become involved in the fight against Alabama’s forced ultrasound law—an involvement that has included interviews with local media, making a Youtube video condemning the law, speaking at a prochoice rally, and drawing up a new “right to medical judgment” bill that stipulates health care providers should not be forced to perform medically unnecessary or unwanted procedures.

(more…)

Categories: general interest, historical, legal, policy & regulation
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Take Root: Finding reproductive justice in my (very red) home state

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Natalie Ingraham and has 1 comment.

Natalie Ingraham is a UCSF graduate student researcher working at ANSIRH with Dr. Tracy Weitz on weight stigma, obesity and reproductive health.

In late February, I had the opportunity to travel back to my home state of Oklahoma to represent ANSIRH at Take Root: Red State Perspectives on Reproductive Justice, a conference held at the University of Oklahoma. The conference goal was for advocates and community members in and around Oklahoma (or other red states) to be able to connect with each other and with other social justice movements that share concerns about inequality and injustice. (more…)

Categories: general interest, policy & regulation
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Abortion clinics’ public relations problem

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Katrina Kimport and has 7 comments.

Screenshot from the movie Juno, discussed below

Whether or not we’ve ever actually been to an abortion clinic—and, in fact, sometimes despite our experiences inside clinics—we are all familiar with its social myth. The abortion clinic, as depicted in pop culture, is a lonely place. At best, it is dark, unfriendly, and emotionally sterile. Think of the scene in Juno where the title character walks into a clinic and is met by a distracted receptionist behind (presumably bullet-proof) glass who makes her feel as if she’s just another “number.”

At worst, clinics and those who work in them are presented as profit-hungry and willfully unfeeling. Often, the clinic is depicted as a place of violence, like in If These Walls Could Talk. Clinics can also be portrayed as places where politics intrude on patient/provider interaction, as shown on the television show Friday Night Lights.

It is easy to dismiss these portrayals as simply frivolous fiction. But there is evidence that myth of the abortion clinic has resonance outside of film and television. (more…)

Categories: general interest, media misinformation, policy & regulation
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Introducing a resource on provider “conscience” issues in reproductive health care

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Shayna Lewis and has no comments yet.

St. Pauls HospitalEarlier this month, Lori Freedman wrote about reactions to the initial version of the HHS rule, which would have mandated contraceptive coverage for the majority of employer-based health insurance plans. As she mentioned, the U.S. bishops were outraged by the possible effects the rule would have on Catholic-affiliated institutions. Women’s health advocates, however, cheered the decision as an example of policy based on science rather than politics.

Late last week, the Obama administration announced a change that would allow religiously affiliated institutions to opt out from providing contraceptive coverage, instead requiring their insurance companies to reach out to do so by contacting employees individually. Again, after initial hesitation, the bishops declared themselves outraged and women’s health advocates cheered. The final rule is expected in August 2012. No matter the language or compromises made between now and then, this debate is far from over.

Yet, despite the recent flurry of discussion at dinner tables and in blogs, this topic is not new. In fact, people have been talking about issues of conscience, more specifically conscience in reproductive health care, for decades. (more…)

Categories: general interest, policy & regulation
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