Spotlight on....

November 7, 2012

Our board chair, Douglas Laube, MD, MEd, comments on the results of yesterday's elections—from the White House to the ballot initiatives in Florida and Montana. The following remarks are excerpted from his press statement, available in full here.

"My colleagues across the country and I are deeply relieved that, with the reelection of President Barack Obama, health care reform will continue to improve our patients' lives."

"We are thankful that President Obama will be able to fill any vacancies in the Supreme Court in the next four years, and help protect Roe v. Wade."

"The voters in Florida showed that they care about women's health. They resoundingly defeated a measure that would have prevented state government employees from using their health insurance to cover abortion."

"The teens of Montana deserve better than this. Because LR 120 has passed, pregnant adolescents in the state will be required to inform a parent before they can obtain an abortion. Studies show that such initiatives ... only hurt the most vulnerable teens, the ones who have good reasons for keeping their parents out of decisions about pregnancy for fear of abuse."

Read Dr. Laube's complete statement.

November 2, 2012

Amendment 6 would hurt women physically and financially by taking away all public insurance plan coverage for abortion, even in cases in which a woman’s health was threatened by her pregnancy or her fetus could not survive.

Read about Dr. Jennifer Kerns’ patient, a U.S. Postal Service employee with a nonviable pregnancy whose insurance wouldn’t cover her abortion. She struggled to cover the cost herself, forcing her to delay the care that she needed.

Insurance coverage for abortion is critical for women's health and well-being. This amendment would create impossible barriers for women like Maria. Don’t let politics trump medicine—vote no on Amendment 6.

November 2, 2012

If you’re a Montana resident, PRCH urges you to vote no on ballot initiative L.R. 120, a parental notification bill that would endanger already vulnerable young women.

PRCH supports confidential healthcare for minors. We oppose parental consent and notification laws, because they are harmful to the health of adolescents, as they result in delay and restricted access to timely medical care. Read our policy statement on parental involvement laws.

The majority of pregnant minors who decide to have an abortion voluntarily involve at least one parent. The young women who choose not to tell a parent do so for a number of good reasons, including fear of abuse or abandonment. The Montana initiative would hurt those teens. This November, vote no on L.R. 120.

October 31, 2012

PRCH board member and Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Education Project faculty member Michelle Forcier, MD, MPH, published a letter in the New York Times about the recent study showing that HPV vaccination does not lead to increased or earlier sexual activity in adolescents.

Dr. Forcier noted that parents play a key role in their children's sexual decision-making: "I often remind parents that their behavior, messages, and expectations play a key role in their children’s decisions regarding sex and relationships; the HPV vaccine has nothing to do with it." Read the rest of her letter.