South Dakota Planned Parenthood Advocate

What We're Watching...

While this video is now a few weeks old and thankfully the bills brought up in it appear to have been stopped for now, this video is still a must watch.

In the Huffington Post Live video you will hear from Ohio Senator Nina Turner, Delegate Jennifer McClellan from Virginia House of Delegates, Emily Shaw a patient of Planned Parenthood in Ohio, and the President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Great Ohio, Stephanie Kight along with host Alicia Menendez.

In the segment they discuss the bill in Ohio that was seeking to defund Planned Parenthood. The “heartbeat” bill also was briefly mentioned.

Americans Agree, Women Deserve Affordable Access to Birth Control

According to a new survey by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy 70% of adults believe that insurance should be required to cover birth control.

The survey also found that 81% of the people surveyed felt that using birth control is taking personal responsibility.

These findings show that Americans understand the importance of birth control coverage and availability in order to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

 

New Study Confirms What Women Already Know: Birth Control Is an Economic Issue

 

A new study recently released by the Guttmacher Institute confirms what women already know--- that birth control is an important, economic issue.

PPFA’s infographic  breaks down the key results for us:

National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

May 2 was the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, organized by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and observed each year in May.

Nearly 40% of teens aged 14 to 17 are using digital technologies to seek out health related information, including information on sexual health. In response, a growing number of sexual health organizations are creating online and Smartphone-based tools aimed at providing reliable information and helping teens and young people prevent unintended pregnancy.

GUEST: Why Birth Control Matters

I have never read The Feminine Mystique. Nor did I think of myself as a feminist. Coming to age in the “otts,” my life experience has been limited to a post-60/70s first world – where equality between men and women has shifted into normality. My generation is accustomed to women in the work place, family planning, and careers before marriage. We, or at least I, saw the fervent feminism of our mothers as a thing of the past. The bra burning sexually liberated “hippies” felt as a lost age, a time that no longer applies to my present day life.

Then I came to Ecuador.

The Team Roe Times March Issue!

We are excited to present to you the third issue of The Team Roe Times in 2012, a joint project between Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and NARAL Pro Choice South Dakota!

Packed inside this fabulous issue is a book review of "Any Mother's Daughter" about the HPV vaccine, a summary of the South Dakota Legislature, the Blunt Amendment vote, the debut of "Women Vote 2012", an introduction to our new intern, AND SO MUCH MORE! Please enjoy and share widely.

Download The Team Roe Times Vol 2 Issue 3

A High-Five, a Shout-Out, or a Thank You

By: Cecile Richards, President Planned Parenthood Federation of America

  Last week, the Senate rejected the Blunt amendment, a measure that would have allowed any employer to deny women who work for them insurance coverage for any essential health benefit, including birth control, for any moral or religious reason. After weeks of debate and an enormous outcry from Planned Parenthood supporters nationwide, the message is clear: birth control is basic health care, and your medical decisions should be between you and your doctor.

This is a huge victory for women's health, and I’m pleased to say that Senator Johnson voted to defend access to affordable birth control. Please take a moment to thank Senator Johnson for voting to protect women’s health and ask them to keep up the fight.

U.S. Senate Defeats Blunt Amendment 51-48

In an important victory, the U.S. Senate stood up today for women’s health and basic health care by defeating an extreme proposal sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that would have allowed any corporation or health plan to refuse to cover any health care service they object to, such as cancer screenings, maternity care, HIV/AIDS treatments and others.  

It’s up to us, ladies!

According to AP article, Obama gains with women: Jobs, social issues help, “It's looking like President Barack Obama may be back in the good graces of women.”

For Obama, there is no more crucial constituency than women. They make up a majority of voters in presidential elections, and a bit more of them identify with his party. He would not be president today without topping Republican John McCain in that group in 2008. ‘Women are used to making decisions and running their lives,’ said Linda Young, president of the National Women's Political Caucus, which favors abortion rights. ‘To hear their right to contraception questioned in 2012 is shocking, and it's gotten a lot of people's attention.’

This all ties into the Blunt Amendment that would allow health plans to deny coverage for any service that violates the employer’s beliefs, which could include HIV/ AIDS treatment, maternity care for unmarried women, or contraception.  Read the full article here.

~Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate

Rally for Birth Control!

Thank you to everyone who braved the snow in support of birth control for ALL women this afternoon in Sioux Falls! Our supporters are the BEST!

Congress is expected to vote as soon as next week on a measure introduced by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) that would not only overturn the birth control coverage benefit, it would undermine the entire notion of health insurance.

In short, the Blunt proposal says that employers and insurance companies do not have to provide coverage for ANY essential health service that they object to on the basis of personal religious belief or moral convictions.

That means employers and insurance companies can not only deny access to birth control, they can deny access to any essential health care service, including maternity care, HIV/AIDS treatment, mammograms, cancer screenings: you name it.

The Blunt proposal is designed to eviscerate critical protections included in the Affordable Care Act and to completely undermine a fundamental principle of the health care law—that everyone in this country deserves a basic standard of health insurance coverage.  

~ Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate