Actions Taken On Contraception-Related Legislation In Maine, S.D., Va.

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 10 Feb 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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The following highlights news about contraception-related legislation.

• Maine: On Tuesday, the Senate voted 29-5 to pass a measure that instructs the bicameral Health and Human Services Committee to draft legislation that would require schools to obtain parental consent before allowing students to obtain prescription birth control, the Portland Press Herald reports (Carrier, Portland Press Herald, 2/6). However, the House Wednesday voted 75-67 to kill the request, effectively blocking the Senate's action, the AP/WMTW reports (AP/WMTW, 2/7). According to the Herald, the effort to mandate parental consent is a response to the decision last fall by the local school board to allow an independently operated city middle school funded by the Portland Division of Public Health to provide contraception. Students are required to get permission from a parent or guardian before being treated at the center; however, services provided at the clinic are kept confidential in accordance with state law (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/19/07). The Senate's vote is not binding unless the House approves it as well. The House is expected to vote Thursday, the Herald reports. Sen. Douglas Smith (R), who sponsored the proposal, said if the House approves the request then he will ask the committee to also consider a bill that would require children younger than age 18 to obtain parental consent before receiving prescription contraception in most cases. The bill would exempt emancipated children, as well as those whose history of family violence makes it harder for them to obtain consent, the Herald reports. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and the Christian Civic League of Maine support the efforts. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England opposes it, according to the Herald (Carrier, Portland Press Herald, 2/6).
  
  
• South Dakota: The Senate on Wednesday voted 12-22 to reject a bill (SB 164) that would amend a state law that allows pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs that cause an abortion or assist in suicide, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports. S.B. 164 sought to clarify that the refusal law does not apply to contraception. The bill would have barred pharmacists from using a current state law to protect them if they refuse to dispense birth control. Sen. Ed Olson (R), the bill's sponsor, said he believes pharmacists should dispense birth control pills and other contraceptives. "Families want to give their children adequate education, adequate health care," Olson said, adding, "The best way for them to do it is to decide how many children they want to have and when they want to have them" (AP/Sioux City Journal, 2/6).
  
  
• Virginia: On Wednesday, the Senate voted 22-17 to reject a bill (SB 155) that would have required instruction on the use of FDA-approved methods of contraception to be added to the Family Life Education curriculum in public schools, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Sen. Donald McEachin (D), the sponsor of the bill, said including instruction on contraception as part of the Family Life Education curriculum in public schools would help prevent unintended pregnancies. Opponents of the measure said it went too far and included explicit instruction that was inappropriate in the context of the program. Family Life Education currently includes instruction on abstinence education, family living and the benefits of postponing sexual activity, according to the Times-Dispatch (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/7).

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