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On the July 21st O’Reilly Factor, while debating whether or not birth control should be available without co-pays, Bill O’Reilly made a jaw-dropping assertion about women: “Many women who get pregnant are blasted out of their minds when they have sex. They're not going to use birth control anyway.”
(The offending comment takes place during the discussion between 2:56-4:07)
Continue reading "[VIDEO] O’Reilly says women won’t use birth control because they’re too drunk" »
Volunteer with Planned Parenthood this summer at Pride in the Park or Pride Parade - or BOTH! Fun in the sun with rainbows and condoms- what could be more fun!?! Planned Parenthood MN, ND, SD (PPMNS) is excited to support Fargo Moorhead Pride taking place August 11th – 14th. F-M Pride celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) in Fargo-Moorhead.
Proposed Federal Rule Could Help Millions of Women Avoid Unintended Pregnancy
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) today hailed the Institute of Medicine (IOM)’s recommendation on including prescription birth control as a woman’s preventive health service, which would be covered without co-pays by new insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. If adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the policy could eliminate cost barriers that keep many American women from using birth control consistently.
Millions of women, especially young women, struggle every day to afford prescription birth control,” said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of PPMNS. “Today’s recommendation brings us a step closer to ensuring that all newly insured women under the health care reform law will have access to prescription birth control without out-of-pocket expenses. This would be a tremendous stride forward for women’s health in this country.”
A 2010 survey by Hart Research found that more than a third of female voters struggled with the cost of prescription birth control at some point in their lives, and as a result, had used birth control inconsistently. On average, a woman spends 30 years of her life trying to prevent pregnancy.
“Covering birth control without co-pays is one of the most important steps we can take to prevent unintended pregnancy and keep women and children healthy,” said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “The IOM recommendation confirms that prescription birth control, along with other key health care services, such as annual exams and HIV screening and counseling, are critical preventive services that improve the health of communities across the country. These services need to be accessible for women
Co-pays for birth control pills typically range between $15 and $50 per month. Other methods, such as IUDs, often cost several hundred dollars, even with health insurance.
In 2010, HHS asked the IOM to consider what services should qualify as a preventive service under the Women’s Health Amendment to the Affordable Care Act. The act authorizes HHS to set national policy on the issue. The agency’s ruling is expected in August.
According to a recent Thomson Reuters-NPR Health poll, 77 percent of Americans believe that private medical insurance should provide no-cost birth control and 74 percent believe that government-sponsored plans should do the same.
During the 2011 session the North Dakota Legislature passed a bill to ban many safe, legal, early first trimester abortions from being performed in North Dakota. The law violates women’s constitutional rights and puts some women’s health at risk by requiring doctors to follow an outdated protocol regarding medication abortions. Speakers against the bill included the Red River Women’s Clinic, The North Dakota Council on Abused Women’s Services, Planned Parenthood MN, ND, SD, The North Dakota Women’s Network and several individual women representing themselves. All provided powerful testimony as to the devastating impacts of the passage of HB 1297; all were disregarded when the bill passed.
Continue reading "Women's Rights are in the Courts...again." »
Women make up 49.8% of North Dakota’s population. Women Electing Women (WEW), a newly developed organization dedicated to building a pipeline of women leaders in the Fargo-West Fargo metro area, believes government should reflect our population- which isn’t the case. In fact, in 2010, if every woman who ran for office in North Dakota won women would still be below 50% representation.
WEW asks ‘If we are truly looking for the best and brightest to lead our communities why would we limit ourselves to only half the population?’ Female leaders serve as great role models for future women leaders and bring diversity to the policy making process.
Representative Kathy Hawken (R), one of the twentyone women serving in the North Dakota Legislature, is passionate about seeing the number of women leader grow. The ND Legislature is 14.9% female, the lowest level since 1992! Rep. Hawken invited Melissa Sobolik and Amy Jacobson from WEW to join her on the Mike McFeely Show and discuss what WEW is doing to recruit women to elected office. Listen to the podcast here.
By: Amy Jacobson, North Dakota Public Affairs Manager for Planned Parenthood MN, ND, SD Action Fund
