PUSH JOURNAL MEDIA SUMMARY

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS

Washington State Rules in Favor of Pharmacists: On November 9, the Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton suspended Washington’s requirement that pharmacists sell the “morning-after” birth control pills despite any moral objection. Two pharmacists and a store owner sued Washington state claiming the requirement violated their civil rights. The ruling specifies that a pharmacist can refuse to sell the drug but must refer the patient to a nearby source. Read: Associated Press

Catholic Bishops Instruct U.S. Voters: On November 14 and 15, the Associated Press, New York Times and the Boston Globe reported that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is advising American voters how to access political candidates. The group wrote and approved ''Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” a 30-page document that highlights the church’s opposition to same-sex marriage, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research and abortion. The document does not name specific candidates for support or opposition. Read: Associated Press, The New York Times, Boston Globe

Pharmacists Defy Pope, Dispense Birth Control: On November 2, the Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico) reported that Roman Catholic pharmacists in New Mexico routinely dispense Plan B, an emergency contraceptive dubbed “the morning-after pill,” despite disapproval from the Catholic church. At the 25th International Congress of Catholic Pharmacists in October, the Pope urged pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions like birth control pills on moral grounds. A study requested by legislators earlier this year found that 360 of the 1,600 state pharmacies dispense Plan B. But Dale Tinker, executive director of the New Mexico Pharmacists Association, said he would not support legislation requiring it. Jane Wishner, executive director of Southwest Women's Law Center, said, “Health care providers shouldn't be imposing their own religion beliefs on patients." Read: Albuquerque Journal

Nicaraguan Doctors Fight Abortion Ban: On November 5, the Associated Press reported that Nicaraguan doctors are fighting a blanket abortion ban that went into affect in 2006 and has claimed the lives of an at least three women. Another 12 cases are under investigation by the Pan American Health Organization. Abortion rights groups and physicians have interrupted Congress several times to protest the ban but lawmakers who oppose the ban do not have enough votes to lift it. Read: Associated Press

Massachusetts Increases Buffer Zone for Abortion Clinics: On November 14, the Associated Press and The New York Times reported that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill establishing a 35-foot zone around abortion clinics that protestors cannot enter. The newly expanded zone is effective immediately and is the largest in the country. Protestors say the zone violates their free speech rights, but Patrick said it strikes the right balance between free speech and freedom of choice. Read: Associated Press, The New York Times

Chlamydia and Other STDs Rise in US: On November 13 and 14, the Associated Press and USA Today reported that U.S. chlamydia infections have hit an all-time high, with nearly 1,031,000 cases reported last year. Federal health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that gonorrhea and syphilis are also rising again after hitting record lows, and that an increasing number of infections are considered “superbugs” that resist standard antibiotic treatment. "Hopefully we will not see this turn into a trend," said Dr. Khalil Ghanem, an infectious diseases specialist at Johns Hopkins University's School of medicine. Read: Associated Press, USA Today

Birth Control Pills May Increase Risk of Cervical Cancer: On November 9, the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times reported that a new study by Dr. Jane Green of Oxford University found that women taking birth control pills for over ten years have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer than women who are not on the pill. But the risk decreases as soon they stop taking the drug. The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, examined 24 studies from around the globe on oral contraceptive use and cancer rates. Previously, the pill had been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer but decrease the risk of ovarian and womb cancer. "The small increases in risk for cervical and breast cancers are outweighed by reduced risks for ovarian and womb cancer," Dr. Green said. Read: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times

Birth Control Pill Linked to Heart Disease: On November 7, Agence France Presse reported on a study in Belgium that found that women who take birth control pills are more likely to develop artery-clogging plaque, which could lead to heart disease, heart attacks and stroke, than women who do not take the pill. The likelihood of hardening arteries jumped 20 to 30 percent with each decade on contraceptive pills. About 100 million women worldwide use synthetic hormones to prevent pregnancy, with 81 percent of women using it at some time in their lives. The average length of pill use was 13 years. Doctors said the news is discouraging but that many factors can lower one’s risk, such as maintaining a healthy weight and refraining from smoking. Read: Agence France Presse

 

SAVING WOMEN’S LIVES

Maternal Health Donations Increase Worldwide: On November 8, Womens Enews reported that as a result of Women Deliver, a large conference on maternal mortality held in London last month, donations to curb high rates of maternal mortality have been pledged by governments and foundations worldwide. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which has been denied $210 million by the Bush administration over the past seven years because of unfounded allegations, will receive more than $200 million from the U.K. over the next five years. Other European nations, including Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, have all pledged millions to help improve maternal mortality rates across the globe. Read: Womens Enews

Birth Complications Common in Developing World: On October 31, Newsweek reported on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia as often-overlooked killers of pregnant women. In the industrialized world, these conditions are usually caught early and do little harm, but an estimated 63,000 women and 300,000 newborns die from them each year. A woman in the developing world is 300 times more likely to die from pre-eclampsia and eclampsia than a woman in the Western world. Magnesium sulfate is a cheap prevention method for the two conditions but many pharmaceutical companies don’t sell it because the profit margin is small. Read: Newsweek

Pregnancy Disorder Linked to Heart Disease: On November 2, the Guardian (UK) reported that according to two new studies published in the British Medical Journal, women who suffer from pre-eclampsia during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease later in life. Pre-eclampsia, a life- threatening condition for mother and baby which involves sudden-onset high blood pressure, is responsible for 12 percent of maternal deaths worldwide. The study found that women who had had pre-eclampsia were twice as likely to develop heart disease, stroke and blood clots later in life and four times as likely to develop high blood pressure. Read: The Guardian

 

POPULATION

Preference for Sons High in Vietnam: Several media outlets reported on a new report from UNFPA,  the United Nations Population Fund, on Vienam’s increasingly unbalanced sex ratio as a result of a preference for boy babies over girls. Preferring sons to daughters is a deep-rooted tradition in Asia where men often carry on the family name, inherit family wealth and take care of elders. China and India have long been affected by skewed sex ratios, which have created a shortage of brides and an increase in violence and sex trafficking. The latest figures show that sex ratios in Vietnam are 110 boys to 100 girls, with ratios as high as 120 to 100 in some provinces. The UN report warns that without proper action, increased violence, sex trafficking and a “marriage squeeze” similar to the one in China are likely to occur. Read: Time Magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France Presse, U.P.I.

 

HIV & AIDS

Gates Foundation Increases Aid to China: On November 14, the Associated Press and National Public Radio (NPR) reported that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have committed $50 million to HIV programs in China, in partnership with the Chinese government and nongovernmental organizations. An estimated 650,000 people in China are HIV-positive, less than .1 percent of the population. The aid will go to those who are most vulnerable to infection, including injected-drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men. Dr. Nick Hellmann, a senior AIDS official with the Gates Foundation, told NPR “The problem is a small problem now and you really have an opportunity to nip it in the bud to prevent it from becoming a much greater problem.” Read: Associated Press, National Public Radio (NPR)

New Vaccine May Increase HIV Risk: On November 8, the Associated Press and The New York Times reported that data from the failed tests of an experimental new AIDS vaccine showed that participants actually had an increased likelihood of contracting HIV than those who received placebo shots. Some 3,000 volunteered to be test subjects for the vaccine and 24 of 741 volunteers who got the vaccine in one segment of testing later developed HIV, compared to 21 of 762 participants who got dummy shots. "In my mind, this doesn't damn anything," Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said of the vaccine's failure. "It tells you you need to be very careful with every aspect" of vaccine design and testing. Read: Associated Press, The New York Times

China to Relax HIV Foreigners Ban: On November 12 and 13, The Washington Post and BBC News reported that China will relax a longstanding measure that can deny HIV-positive foreigners entry to the nation. Roughly 650,000 people live with HIV in China and advocates have long since criticized the government for banning HIV visitors. "The change is correct and significant. It will benefit international cooperation on HIV/AIDS and will eliminate most Chinese people's concept that AIDS comes from foreigners," said Wan Yanhai, a Chinese activist for AIDS awareness and effective public health policies. Read: The Washington Post, BBC News

 

EDITORIALS and COLUMNS: On November 9, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a letter to the editor by Wendy C. Wolf and Cathy Raphael, members of the Women Donors Network, on the October 18th ruling by Pennsylvania's Independent Regulatory Review Commission that allows health-care facilities with religious affiliations or moral objections to claim an exemption from a law that hospitals must inform rape victims of their right to emergency contraception, and must provide the medication if requested. “This is hardly compassionate care; it is a form of moral condemnation that may, in the end, result in what would have been a preventable pregnancy. It's time for Pennsylvania to ensure that the full range of health care is available to all women who come through the emergency room doors for treatment after rape - without any religious exemptions” Read: Philadelphia Inquirer

On November 11, The Dallas Morning News (Texas) published an editorial about the state’s failing sex education system. Texas schools teach abstinence-only sex education which provides little to no information about contraception, while Texas has the highest number of teen pregnancies and multiple teen pregnancies in the United States. In comparison, California, which deals with the same problem of high immigration, teaches comprehensive sex education, and its teen pregnancy rates are considerably less. The Morning News wrote: “The subject of sex education is an emotional one that weaves religious, moral and political beliefs into public policy. It's time, though, for Texas to take a more dispassionate view and consider approaches that have strong track records.” Read: The Dallas Morning News

On November 3, the Chicago Sun Times published two op-eds on whether schools are encouraging kids to have sex by providing them with contraceptives. Shaunti Feldhahn, a conservative Christian author and speaker, said yes: “Unfortunately, many American schools are not helping children stay abstinent -- the only real solution for emotional and physical health. Instead, school actions often undermine abstinence with lip service and send the message that, really, everyone is doing it.” Andrea Sarvady, a writer and educator specializing in counseling, said no, adding that school systems need to acknowledge the reality  of teens and sex today “You want to hear a real joke? Try the government's continued push for abstinence-only education, despite years of research indicating that it has no statistical impact on teens' age of sexual initiation or eventual number of partners.” Read: Chicago Sun Times

On October 31, USA Today published an op-ed by Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley, authors of Restless Virgins: Love, Sex, and Survival at a New England Prep School, about the debate over abstinence-only sex education and their experience interviewing high school students about their sexual experiences. Jones and Miley said they found that teens engage in casual and extreme sexual behavior across the board, so that the debate should be about the best way to provide them with the information they need to form safe, healthy, sexual relationships. “More comprehensive national and local sex-ed programs are needed that include teaching students about birth control, diseases and safe sex. Sexual health is not just physical but emotional, too. Kids need to learn how to develop healthy sexual relationships, whether or not they are forever.” Read: USA Today

On October 31, the San Jose Mercury News published an editorial chastising Pope Benedict for calling on Catholic pharmacists to refuse prescriptions like birth control pills and euthanasia on moral grounds. The Mercury News said such refusals, coupled with tacit approval from President Bush, had already affected U.S. patients seeking birth control. “A handful of states, including Georgia and South Dakota, have joined the president in allowing pharmacists to follow their conscience at the workplace. That should be viewed as unacceptable, particularly in rural states where the nearest alternative pharmacy may be more than an hour's drive away. Pharmacists who cannot bring themselves to fill a prescription for moral or religious reasons should find a new profession.“ Read: San Jose Mercury News

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The above summary is produced by the Communications Consortium Media Center, 401 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20004, 202.326.8700. Redistribution is encouraged with credit to CCMC.

 

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