Blogs Comment On Planned Parenthood Ad Campaign, Sex-Selective Abortion, Other Topics

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 22 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "A Radical Notion: Women's Health Care as Mainstream," Cecile Richards, Huffington Post blogs: "To hammer ... home" the message that "Planned Parenthood and other essential community providers are the affordable, local access to basic preventive care that saves lives," the Planned Parenthood Action Center has introduced advertisements "educating the policy folks involved in fixing our health care system" about "why women's health care needs to be taken care of in this mega-reform effort," Richards writes. She writes, "From cancer screenings to contraception to immunizations, the majority of women who go to women's health care centers consider them their primary health care provider," adding, "In fact, more than 90% of what Planned Parenthood health centers do is preventive and primary care." According to Richards, "Essential community providers, including those who provide women's health care, need to be part of any newly established health care system." She adds that "the three million patients who came to Planned Parenthood health centers last year can testify to it." Richards writes that "[f]amily planning and reproductive health care are unfortunately still not fully part of mainstream health care, even though 98% of women use contraception at some point in their lives -- there's nothing more universal!" The "fact that women reproduce and, therefore, have different types of health care needs makes some folks on Capitol Hill go pale and start to sweat," Richards writes. She concludes, "Maybe one day we won't need a special campaign to support women's health," but "until then, Planned Parenthood is here to make sure women aren't worse off after health care reform than before" (Richards, Huffington Post blogs, 6/18).

~ "The Role of Medical Education in Preserving Abortion Access," Our Bodies, Our Blog: In response to a recent Salon opinion piece that examined whether there will be a next generation of abortion providers, the blog post discusses a few organizations that are "working to increase access to (accurate) abortion-related training." The blog includes links to Medical Students for Choice -- a group that "does student organizing and advocacy to influence medical school curricula, workshops ... and lectures on abortion techniques" -- and The Ryan Program -- which offers "funding, technical expertise, curriculum, workshops and other resources to support training opportunities in abortion and contraception for ob-gyn residents." The blog entry also highlights the work of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, which partners with members of the American Medical Student Association "to provide 'project in a box' materials for medical students wanting to access and influence their schools' curricula on sexual and reproductive health" (Our Bodies, Our Blog, 6/18).

~ "Regulating Abortion May Be OK But Not To Avoid Sex-Selection," Marianne Mollmann, Huffington Post blogs: "Sex-selective abortion raises a multitude of overlapping ethical concerns regarding eugenics, population control and provider privilege or knowledge," according to Mollmann, advocacy director for the Human Rights Watch's Women's Rights Division. Mollmann writes that recent media reports indicating that sex-selective abortion occurs among some ethnic communities in the U.S. "has generated new discussion about what to do -- indeed what to think -- about the practice here." She continues that the "effect of abortion regulations depends on the context and motivation," adding that "[f]rom a human rights perspective, the regulation of medical procedures and interventions is legitimate and indeed often necessary so long as they are based on full respect for the full range of human rights." It is "perhaps tempting to hope that banning sex-selective abortions would safeguard the gender balance of future generations," but the "criminalization of abortion for whatever reason has in the past led only to underground and unsafe practices," according to Mollmann. Criminalizing sex-selective abortion "would put the full burden of righting a fundamental wrong -- the devaluing of women's lives -- on women," Mollmann writes. The "solution" to sex-selective abortion "is to remove the motivation (emotional or real) behind the procedure by advancing women's human rights and their economic and social equality," Mollmann writes (Mollmann, Huffington Post blogs, 6/18).

~ "Suspense Surrounds Obama Team's Abortion Plan," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report's "God and Country": The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships' plan to "reduce the need for abortion" through "common ground" initiatives is "so sensitive that it's the one part of the faith-based office's mission that's being handled entirely by White House staff," Gilgoff writes. The plan, which Gilgoff has reported is expected to be released as early as this summer, "appears to be the top priority," as "[a]ll other aspects of the faith-based office's mission ... are being led by the outside Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships," he continues. The White House's "curtain-raising on its plan around abortion is expected to come first" and "will be a huge moment for the administration," according to Gilgoff, who also includes his recent column, in which he "explores the process behind developing the plan and the anxiety among abortion-rights supporters and opponents as they await word on its release" (Gilgoff, "God and Country," U.S. News & World Report, 6/16).

~ "Exposing Fake Women's Health Clinics: My Visit to a Local Crisis Pregnancy Center," Myra Duran, RH Reality Check: "So-called crisis pregnancy centers lure women into their facilities with promises of free pregnancy tests and options counseling," Duran, a student at the University of California-Los Angeles and an executive board member of Bruin Feminists for Equality, writes. She adds that "once inside, most provide women with false or misleading information about abortion, birth control" and sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, she writes, the "real zinger is many of these CPCs receive our federal tax dollars to carry out their deception." Duran describes her experiences visiting a CPC, noting that staff members advised her against abortion and declined to provide birth control or contraceptives. "So much for options counseling," she writes. Duran also notes that during the past eight years, "the federal government pumped millions of dollars into CPCs" as part of various abstinence-only initiatives, while "funding for family planning has remained static or been decreased." She continues that President Obama "seems interested in returning to evidence-base sexual health and pregnancy prevention programs." Duran urges advocates to "speak out now to end federal funding for these fake clinics." It is "high time to end the dark ages of the Bush era," she says, concluding that policymakers "can no longer afford to believe ... that abstinence-only education and CPCs merit hard-earned tax dollars" (Duran, RH Reality Check, 6/16).

~ "Planned Parenthood Ad Emphasizes Primary Care," Deborah Kotz, U.S. News & World Report's "On Women": On Wednesday, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America launched an advertising campaign on cable news networks in Washington, D.C., emphasizing that the organization provides cervical cancer screenings, breast exams, immunizations and contraception, Kotz writes. According to Kotz, the ad says that "'90% of what Planned Parenthood does is provide preventive and primary care to keep women healthy.'" Kotz writes that "the other 10% -- abortions -- goes unmentioned." She continues that she discussed the ad with PPFA President Cecile Richards. According to Kotz, Richards "says the ad is aimed at policy folks involved in health care reform, those old guys in Congress (my words, not hers) who think the clinics only provide abortions." The campaign's goal is to "get Congress to consider women's health clinics as an integral part of the health reform package," Kotz writes, adding that Richards "wants these lawmakers to know that Planned Parenthood clinics also 'provide prenatal care and adoption referrals' for pregnant women." According to Kotz, PPFA's approach is "very much in line with what President Obama is promoting for his 'common ground' reproductive health proposals," which include "[f]ewer unintended pregnancies, increased access to adoption, better pregnancy care, reduced need for abortion." She adds that Richards "would like legislators to know that Planned Parenthood clinics are in favor of those common ground approaches" (Kotz, "On Women," U.S. News & World Report, 6/17).

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