Repro Health Hub

Since the spring of 2007, women of New Orleans have had a new place to access much- needed, affordable women’s health services. The New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic (NOWHC), a project of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence New Orleans, opened its doors in May of 2007 with the mission:

“To equip marginalized and underserved women with the means to control and care for their own bodies, sexuality and reproduction through a holistic, community-centered well women approach to healthcare which integrates sexual health and reproductive justice.”

Their opening came in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which left many previously marginalized and underserved women with even less access to basic women’s health services. Not surprisingly, recovery efforts have been slow (one year after the storm, all the public family planning and STD clinics remained closed leaving 15,000 without care). However, the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic has been proactive—not waiting for a previously lacking healthcare infrastructure to be rebuilt. 

Instead, they are challenging the accepted norms of sub-par care and offering an alternative comprehensive model of care to the women of New Orleans, regardless of their ability to pay. Since opening less than two years ago, NOWHC has served over 350 clients, offering a sliding scale for services through their Women’s Health Fund. The sliding scale at NOWHC puts health services within the reach of many women who otherwise could not afford them. Currently NOWHC offers a range of women’s health services including pap smears, pelvic exams, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy testing, preliminary obstetric visits, and contraceptive services. Recent partnerships with the Latino Health Outreach Project and CAMP ACE have also allowed for Spanish language services as well as free HIV testing at the clinic on a weekly basis.  

In addition to the health services offered, NOWHC is more than a place to access affordable care. As Shana Griffin, organizer with INCITE! New Orleans explained in an August 2006 interview:

“It’s more than providing healthcare services it’s also about challenging the conditions that limit our access and our opportunities, such as poverty, racism, gender-based violence, imperialism, and war. We see it as more than just a clinic, we want it to also be an organizing center that can meet immediate needs while also working for racial, gender, economic, and environmental justice.”

If you’re interested in advancing the goals and efforts of NOWHC, send an email to nowhc_info@yahoo.com for more information on ways you can help. 

Yesterday marked the 12^th annual Nation Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers and we’d like to say a very big thank you to all of the reproductive health care providers out there. 

 The day was initiated in 1996 following the beginning of violent attacks against health physicians and doctors who worked to provide American women with safe and accessible procedures. It began as a tribute to the death of Dr. David Gunn of  Florida in 1993, the first of many killings of physicians by anti-abortionists. This sad history of violence and prosecution perpetuated by ideological extremists is a reality that abortion providers still face and risk every day, so we say thank you. 

We’d like to take the opportunity to highlight some organizations and clinics that work hard to provide women with accessible reproductive health services, from birth control to safe abortion procedures. Their efforts and services are the core to making the right to choose possible for women everywhere. 

 California – The Women’s Community Clinic
Colorado – Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center
Georgia – The Feminist Center
Iowa – The Emma Goldman Clinic  
Maine – Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Clinic  
Minnesota – Midwest Health Center for Women   
New Jersey – Women’s Choice Medical Center  
Washington – Cedar River Clinics
West Virginia – Women’s Health Center of West Virginia  

If you would like to show your support for American health care providers, please sign the National Abortion Federation’s online petition.  

Don’t have plans the first weekend of April? Craving some inspiring talk about reproductive and social justice? Then you should take a trip to Amherst, Massachusetts! Hampshire College (haven for the free spirited, pro-active and socially conscious) is hosting a free weekend conference called From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom.  

The event is part of a project by the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program, “a reproductive rights organization that trains, educates, and inspires new leaders, organizers, and supporters nationwide.” The action-packed weekend will be full of great opportunities to participate in workshops, hear some great musical performances, and listen to some awesome discussions about reproductive freedom in the context of other social issues such as racial equality, health care reform, economic justice, and LGBTQ rights (to name a few!).  

From Abortion Rights to Social Justice:
Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom
April 4-6, 2008
Hampshire College, Amherst, MA 

 It’s free, so register now!

U.S. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana finally got his discriminatory bill passed on February 26, 2008, a bill that essentially does nothing but verify that pro-life politicians have the wrong idea on how to decrease abortion rates.   

The Vitter Amendment limits abortion funding by Indian Health Services (IHS), which is the government-funded source of health care for Native Americans.  The Hyde Amendment already prohibits Indian Health Services from providing funds for abortions, as it does for federally funded Medicaid, except in cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment.  Basically, the Vitter Amendment was put into place to absorb the language of the Hyde Amendment into a more specific context, if in fact Hyde becomes overturned in the future.   

Vitter explains his amendment as an effort to “close the loophole” of the Hyde Amendment, which “has allowed [abortion funding] to continue in certain instances.”  However, the amendment maintains the same three exceptions as under the Hyde Amendment. As a redundant bill, the Vitter Amendment does nothing to introduce new anti-abortion legislation, nor does it do anything to actively address the fact that Native American women have some of the highest teen pregnancy rates.  Worst, Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted. 

Good work on not assessing the matter at hand and taking away help from women that need it the most, Vitter.  American democracy at its finest. 

 With so much positive and progressive work going on around the country, those of us at the Repro Health Hub would like to take a moment out of each week to give the spotlight to some of the awesome organizations that are working hard to promote equality and reproductive health, rights and justice by initiating our Hero of the Week!   Without further ado, our first Hero of the Week is (drumroll please!)… 

The Pro-Choice Public Education Project!   Based out of  New York City, the project is an empowering resource for young women looking to develop their leadership skills and become more active in the promotion of reproductive justice. Just check out their mission statement: 

To educate young women and the organizations that serve them about reproductive health, rights, and justice in order to develop a new generation of leaders. 

Aside from leadership development and effective pro-choice campaigning, the Public Education Project (PEP) also conducts research initiatives in reproductive health. Their latest undertaking (which comes out this spring! We can’t wait!) will focus on African-American,  Latina, and Asian Pacific Islander women and provide a quantitative study on these populations’ perspectives regarding reproductive health, rights, and activism.  Be sure to check out their website for volunteer opportunities near you or to download some of their great campaign material! 

A big cheers and thanks from your friends here at the Repro Health Hub!

A little over a week ago, the U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton made emergency contraception even more difficult to gain access to in Washington State.   

It all started last year with a lawsuit filed by a couple of pharmacists who claimed the state law requiring EC distribution from pharmacies violated their civil rights. Leighton issued an injunction in November which implemented a “refuse and refer” policy throughout the state. The policy is exactly as its name implies - pharmacists are legally able to refuse to give out EC as long as they refer their patients to other distributors of the contraceptive. Earlier this month, Leighton refused to lift this injunction that stifles reproductive health access.  

But thanks to NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, it has become easier for women in the state to avoid having their rights be refused and referred at all. In response to a survey  they conducted which found that 10% of Washington pharmacies turn away women seeking emergency contraceptives, the local chapter of the women’s rights advocacy organization just released an interactive map informing Washington residents on the status of pharmacies throughout the state. You can find out which pharmacies stock and offer Plan B, those which stock and refuse Plan B, and of course those which do not stock the birth control at all. So if you’re a Washington resident and ever need to back up your birth control, make sure to visit the site so you aren’t denied access to EC!

Our young and determined friends over at Choice USA and Advocates for Youth always make us so proud! The two organizations have been hard at work to make Emergency Contraception (EC) available to everyone, and they need your help!  

At this very moment the Center for Reproductive Rights has a lawsuit against the FDA to reverse its decision that limits women’s access to EC without prescription, claiming that the decision was based around political agenda rather than science. The heat is on the FDA right now- and with your help, we can change their policy.  

A petition is available online so be sure to sign it, send it to your friends, send it to your family -  in fact, send it to everyone you know and tell them to pass it along too!  You can also collect signatures the old fashioned way. Simply download the Petition Kit PDF and ask your neighbors and loved ones to put down their names and contact info. Just be sure to return the petition to Choice USA by March 7^th, 2008. 

The goal is 10,000 hard copy signatures by March 7^th, 2008 - so act fast and spread the word.

Ever since the pivotal, nail biting 2006 vote to kick out the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, we had high hopes for the future of reproductive rights in South Dakota.  

Until this week.  

The progressive interest in women’s health that South Dakotans beautifully displayed over a year ago apparently went unheard by the state legislature as they struck down the “Birth Control Protection Act” 12-22. If passed, the bill would have protected reproductive rights by amending the existing law that gives immunity to pharmacists who deny their patients birth control. Instead, pharmacists and health care providers remain free to impose their own moral beliefs on those seeking contraceptives and block access to medication.

Efforts to counter the measure have been supported by the local chapter of Planned Parenthood. Sarah Stoesz, the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota responded to the decision by saying: 

 “The Birth Control Protection Act  would have ensured that women and couples had greater opportunities to prevent unintended pregnancy by making birth control accessible and limiting government intrusion into personal, private health matters. This is a missed opportunity to take a positive, concrete step toward reducing unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion in South Dakota.”  

 The organization maintains the Stand Up South Dakota campaign to petition the state to protect accessibility to contraceptives and comprehensive sex ed in South Dakota. Make sure to check it out.

The past couple of weeks have seen quiet a few legislative initiatives regarding reproductive rights all over the country, some for better and others for worse. Here’s a rundown of what’s going on state by state:

• A round of applause for South Dakota whose Health and Welfare Committee sent a bill (SB 164) to the state Senate amending previous law that allowed pharmacists to refuse writing prescriptions for birth control.

Despite these progressive efforts, several state legislators have sadly taken more regressive courses of action.

• The Indiana Senate passed a bill (SB 146) requiring physicians to provide information regarding the possibility of fetal pain and the medical opinion on when life begins to pregnant women considering an abortion at least 18 hours prior to her procedure.

• In Pennsylvania, Senator John Eichelberger has introduced “The Conscientious Objection Act” that would allow medical professionals in the state to refuse their patients contraceptives and abortions out of moral or religious objection.

• And in South Dakota, both the House and Senate have approved bills that would require physicians and clinics to offer patients seeking an abortion to view sonograms of their fetuses. Although women would not be forced to see the sonogram (the other option being to sign a statement of refusal), the measure still stands as a guilt-inducing obstacle in the abortion process.

And people say that reproductive choice isn’t an issue to worry about anymore. Sigh.

 The Repro Health Hub has talked about the many reasons why we heart reproductive rights, health and justice, and now you can discuss why you do too at the I Heart Choice event tomorrow night! The men and women of the Young Professional’s Council for Choice will be hosting a swanky shindig from 9-11pm at Runway in New York City, and you’re invited for free cocktails and a chance to schmooze with other fellow choice lovers. So if you’re in New York City, come have a Mai-Choice-Tai and enjoy the wonderful company of other reproductive choice advocates! Click here to buy tickets.