past media summaries

May 1-15, 2010

PUSH JOURNAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS May 1 – 15, 2010

TOP STORIES

Save the Children Ranks Best and Worst Countries for Mothers: Voice of America reported May 11 and IRIN and USA Today reported May 4 that in Save the Children’s 11th Mothers Index, Norway was ranked the best country in the world to be a mother, and Afghanistan the worst. The survey ranks countries based on factors that affect the health and well-being of women and children, including access to health care, education and economic opportunities. Read: Voice of America , IRIN and USA Today

Birth Control Pill is 50: Multiple media outlets reported and published columns and blogs May 5-9 reflecting on the 50th anniversary of FDA approval of the birth control pill. Articles involved the social changes, technological advances and barriers that women face in access to family planning, including the cost of the pills and the Catholic Church’s ongoing opposition to contraception. Watch: NBC Read: IPS , Washington Post, NPR, McClatchy, Los Angeles Times and Huffington Post

Mothers Day Sparks Calls to Action on Maternal Health: The New York Times published a column by Nicholas Kristof; The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington) published an op-ed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on May 9; and New Jersey Newsroom published an op-ed May 5 by Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, marking Mothers Day. Obaid called for doubling the global investment in services to improve maternal health. Read: The New York Times, The News Tribune and New Jersey Newsroom

New Research Suggests Surprise Hope for Maternal Health: The Christian Science Monitor reported May 11 and The Lancet published a column by its editor Richard Hortonon new research finding substantial and unexpected declines in global maternal mortality. IPS focused on dramatic reductions in India, despite a weak health system, while Horton argued that the global figures “provide robust reason for optimism. More importantly,'' he added, ''these numbers should now act as a catalyst, not a brake, for accelerated action on MDG-5, including scaled-up resource commitments. Investment incontrovertibly saves the lives of women during pregnancy.” Read: The Christian Science Monitor and The Lancet

OTHER NOTEWORTHY ARTICLES AND OPINIONS BY SUBJECT

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

World Bank Announces Maternal Health Initiative: IPS reported May 12 that the World Bank plans to increase investment in measures to improve maternal health. The initiative, part of the bank's Reproductive Health Action Plan, focuses on 58 countries where maternal mortality remains high. It  targets measures that have been proven to reduce maternal and newborn mortality, including improvements in contraceptive access and provision of antenatal care.

Rep. Lois Capps Introduce Global MOMS Act: The Ventura County Star reported May 12 that Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) introduced the Global MOMS Act to the House of Representatives. The act calls for U.S. global health policy to include a comprehensive strategy to reduce maternal mortality around the world. Read: Ventura County Star

Canadian Government Debates Maternal Health Agenda: Multiple media outlets reported and published columns and op-eds May 4–13 addressing the Canadian government’s claims about its investment in maternal health and its reluctance to address the issue of unsafe abortion. Some called for moving beyond the debate to concentrate on the full spectrum of indirect and direct causes; others renewed calls for a measure that funds ways to address unsafe abortion. One issue is whether officials will accept an invitation to attend Women Deliver, the global conference that will draw 3,500 policy makers, advocates and experts from around the world to Washington in June to discuss solutions for maternal mortality and the connections between maternal health and other economic and health issues. Read: The Globe and Mail (May 13), The Globe and Mail(May 10), Calgary Sun, The Globe and Mail (May 4), The Globe and Mail (May 4) and Canwest

Health Care Reform Could Reignite "Conscience Clause" Fight: The Washington Post reported May 11 that as health care reform legislation is implemented, provisions allowing health providers to refuse to take part in procedures they find morally objectionable could return to a prominent place in public debate. Soon after President Barack Obama took office, he suspended a provision granting providers the right to refuse to perform, take part in or refer patients to other providers for procedures or services they find morally objectionable, but he has yet to make a final decision on whether to permanently repeal, change or reinstate the provision, which radically extended long-standing conscience clauses. Read: Washington Post

Abortion Could Shape Supreme Court Nomination Fight: The Washington Post reported May 11 that abortion rights activists have had mixed reactions to President Obama's nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan for a position on the Supreme Court. The Post suggested that a 1997 Kagan memo recommending that President Bill Clinton endorse a compromise measure banning most late-term abortions could raise doubts about Kagan's commitment to abortion rights. Read:Washington Post

Uganda's First Lady Says Men Key to Reducing Maternal Deaths: The New Vision reported May 10 that First Lady Janet Museveni marked the launch of Uganda's Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), which is sponsored by UNFPA, the Ministry of Health, Save the Children and other organizations. Her speech emphasized the critical role that husbands and male relatives can play in ensuring that pregnant women have access to the nutrition, services and information they need for healthy pregnancies and safe childbirth. Read: The New Vision

At Conference, African States Push for UN FGM/C Ban: IRIN reported May 5 and AFP reported May 3 that human rights campaigners and representatives of 27 African States attended a conference in Dakar, Senegal, committed to supporting a UN resolution banning female genital mutilation/cutting. Read: IRIN and AFP

In Ecuador, Model Law Improves Mothers’ Chance of Survival: IPS reported May 4 that thanks to provisions such as one establishing user committees to hold health providers accountable to the women they serve, Ecuador’s Law of Free Maternity and Child Care, approved in 1994 and codified in 2006, has contributed to a steep decline in maternal mortality. Read: IPS

Survey Finds Women Pay for Most Abortions: The Wall Street Journal reported May 4 on a survey by the Guttmacher Institute that found that nearly 90 percent of women surveyed had paid for their own abortions. Read: Wall Street Journal

Kenyan Church Leaders Jeopardize Constitutional Reform Over Abortion: The New York Times reported May 13 and the Associated Press reported April 30 that Church leaders in Kenya threatened to oppose planned constitutional reform over a provision permitting abortions in cases where women’s lives are at stake. The Times reported that although the U.S. Embassy's official stance includes only support for the reform process, three U.S. congressmen opposed to abortion rights claim statements by the U.S. Ambassador backing the reform violate a law that prohibits the use of foreign aid to lobby on abortion. Read: The New York Times and Associated Press

States Advance Abortion Restrictions: The New York Times published a column by Charles Blow on May 1 and the Washington Post published a column by Kathleen Parker April 30 on the significance of state-level restrictions on abortion. These include Oklahoma and Florida laws requiring women to undergo ultrasounds before being allowed to have abortions. Parker claimed the Oklahoma law constituted “informed choice,” while Blow argued that the restrictions were symptomatic of national battles to come. He expressed hope that President Obama's Supreme Court nominee would uphold women’s abortion rights. Read: The New York Times and Washington Post

WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Clinton Pledges Support For Women's Rights in Afghanistan Reconciliation: The Associated Press reported May 14 that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in Kabul, pledged the United States would not abandon Afghanistan in its quest for peace and long-term stability. ''And I make the same pledge to the women of Afghanistan. We will not abandon you. We will stand with you always." Read: Associated Press

In Nigeria, Child Marriage is Persistent Threat to Girls' Education: The Vanguard reported May 13 that as a senator's marriage to a 13-year-old Egyptian girl prompted demands for his recall, children's and women's rights advocates condemned the practice of child marriage as a threat to girls' health and education and a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Nigeria is a signatory. Read: The Vanguard

past media summaries