Reproductive Rights Prof Blog

India: New Delhi High Court Decriminalizes Gay Sex

NY Times (7/2): Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban, by Heather Timmons & Hari Kumar:

In a landmark ruling Thursday that could usher in an era of greater  freedom for gay men and lesbians in India, New Delhi’s highest court decriminalized homosexuality....

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861, when British rulers codified a law prohibiting “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal.” The law, known as Section 377 of India’s penal code, has long been viewed as an archaic holdover from colonialism by its detractors...

Thursday’s decision applies only in the territory of India’s capital city, but it is likely to force India’s government either to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, or change the law nationwide, lawyers and advocates said.

Ignoring the Octomom

Kimberly D. Krawiec (Duke University) has posted Why We Should Ignore the 'Octomom' on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Thanks to the “Octomom” - a single, low-income, California mother of six, who recently gave birth to octuplets conceived through IVF - the American public this year turned its attention to assisted reproductive technology. In this essay, I take issue with one set of proposals to arise from the controversy: embryo-transfer limits, variations on which have been proposed in Georgia, Missouri, and, most recently, by Naomi Cahn and Jennifer Collins. Examining national and international multiple-birth rates, as well as similar limits in other countries, I argue that government-mandated embryo-transfer limits would produce fewer benefits and higher costs in the United States than proponents assume. First, the Octomom is a sad and disturbing, but aberrant, case. Second, questions of embryo transfer and multiple birth inevitably intersect with other politically contentious issues, including the moral and legal status of embryos and abortion. These political minefields render it highly unlikely that the United States will implement comprehensive embryo-transfer regulation effectively designed to reduce multiple births anytime soon.

Generic Version of Plan B

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Approves Generic Version of Plan B, by Brian Kalish:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a generic version of the controversial Plan B morning-after contraceptive.

For now, the generic version, made by a unit of Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., is available by prescription only for women 17 years old and younger, the FDA said in a press release.

The generic version will become available for women 18 and older without a prescription on Aug. 24, the date the marketing exclusivity for nonprescription use held by Duramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., subsidiary of Barr Pharma, maker of the original Plan B pill, ends.

The Plan B contraceptive has been shown to reduce the risk of pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after sexual intercourse.

Julie Graves Krishnaswami

Baby Gender Test: Parents File Suit

New York Post: 'Boy Blunder ' Gender Test, by Dareh Gregorian:

Congratulations -- it's a boy! Or a girl!

A group of New York moms has filed suit against the makers of a "99.9-percent accurate" baby-gender test, claiming the results they got were 100 percent wrong.

The product was advertised as "infallibly accurate in foretelling the gender of a healthy baby," and its Web site said the "prediction of your baby's gender is unmistakably correct or we will double your money back."

The Baby Gender Mentor is touted as allowing women as little as five weeks pregnant to tell if they're expecting a boy or a girl, the suit says.

That's nine to 13 weeks sooner than parents normally find out from a sonogram or amniocentesis and typically the cutoff point for abortions -- although no one suggested in the court papers that was the reason they took the test.

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, six New York women claim they were given incorrect results from the $275 test, and claim the company, Acu-Gen Biolab, Inc., made them jump through hoops to get their refunds . . . .

Julie Graves Krishnaswami

Obama Seeks to Develop Common Ground on Abortion Policy with Faith-Based Office

U.S. News and World Report: Obama Seeks Common Ground on Abortion by, Dan Gilgoff

Over the last month or so, the Obama administration has met with ... dozens of ... activists on both sides of the abortion issue as it seeks what it calls "common ground" on thorny reproductive issues, including its goal of reducing demand for abortion. Now, as the White House begins drawing up a policy plan, advocates on both sides are jittery. . . .

The administration is expected to announce its plan as early as this summer, according to those involved in the process. Whether those proposed policies can satisfy the president's pro-abortion rights base while also winning over more conservative religious groups is the biggest test yet for Obama's vow to be a peacemaker in the nation's culture wars.

When Obama rolled out the revamped White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in February, he tasked it with exploring how to "support women and children, address teenage pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion." Crafting policy around those goals has been a joint project of the faith-based office and the new White House Council on Women and Girls. Both report to Obama's domestic policy adviser, Melody Barnes, who has led some meetings with outside groups.

Julie Graves Krishnaswami

Power Dynamics Within Relationships and Sexual Risk-Taking

Guttmacher Institute news release: Power Dymanics Within Relationships May Play a Role in Sexual Risk-Taking:

Power dynamics in heterosexual relationships—which partner has the higher income, greater control over sexual and contraceptive decisions, and the stronger commitment to the relationship—may play a role in couples’ decisions to engage in risky behavior, according to “Sexual Risk-Taking Among Adult Dating Couples in the United States,” by John O. G. Billy et al., published in the June 2009 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. The authors measured risky behavior by looking at whether couples had had recent anal sex and whether they had done anything to protect themselves from STDs.

According to the new analysis of data collected from 335 dating heterosexual couples participating in the National Couples Survey, couples’ sexual behaviors are not completely controlled by either partner. Several characteristics of each partner are related to risk-taking. However, some of these—having known someone with AIDS, having had an STD and perceiving that getting AIDS would be bad—are linked to risky behavior only if the partner reporting these characteristics has enough power in the relationship to influence the sexual situation. . . .

A Different Perspective on Alexia Kelley

Huffington Post: The New Pro-lifer, by Cristina Page:

In our pain, anger and profound sadness over the murder of Dr. Tiller, pro-choice people risk losing an opportunity to see a better day as a country and a movement. In the wake of our loss, it is tempting to continue to categorize in one fixed way all who oppose abortion. To do so would be easy, but also foolish. We must admit and accept that not all who are opposed to abortion are the same. Especially since a new movement of pro-lifers has extended a hand in search of a better way.

Yesterday offered a unique opportunity to make this distinction. Alexia Kelley, co-founder of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, was appointed Director of Faith-based and Community Partnerships at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)...

Moments after the announcement, John O'Brien, president of the pro-choice group Catholics for Choice, released a statement calling the Kelley appointment "a defeat for reason and logic."...

O'Brien's complaint is that the choice of Kelley, given her previous role overseeing a Catholic, anti-abortion organization, puts important social policies in danger of being hijacked by those same Bushian forces. But Kelley is not the Bush-styled pro-lifer of yore. Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, which Kelley founded, is a progressive organization that has also played a primary role in instigating a nationwide discussion of common ground on abortion. Her group has championed policies aimed at preventing the need for abortion, policies that have been identified as those pro-choice people can support too. It would be a mistake to group Kelley among anti-abortion operatives who snub opportunities to improve the relationship between pro-choice and pro-life communities, and who refuse to do anything to reduce the need for abortion.

Spain Plans to Offer Emergency Contraception Over-the-Counter Without Age Restrictions

Feminist Wire Daily Newsbriefs (Ms. Magazine): Spain to Make Emergency Contraception Available Over-the-Counter:

Spain announced plans to offer emergency contraception over-the-counter today with no age restrictions. Spain's Health Minister, Trinidad Jimenez, said "It is an emergency method of contraception, not to be used except in emergencies....We don't want it to become another means of contraception," according to the Agence France Presse.

Emergency contraception is effective up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex, birth control failure, or rape, but it is most effective (95 percent) if taken within 24 hours. Because of the time-sensitive nature of EC, over-the-counter access is crucial to its effective use.

Currently, there is also movement in Spain to reform abortion laws as part of the social change program undertaken by Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Study Shows Effectiveness of Hormonal Birth Control For Men

The Independent: Birth control for men in one injection, by Jerome Taylor:

Scientists believe they are one step closer to developing an effective male contraceptive jab after successfully carrying out the largest feasibility study to date.

Researchers at the National Research for Family Planning in Beijing injected 1,000 healthy, fertile male patients with a testosterone-based jab over a two-year period and found only 1 per cent went on to father a child. The men were all aged between 20 and 45 and had fathered at least one child in the two years before the testing began. They were also all involved with healthy female partners between the ages of 18 and 38 who had no reproductive problems of their own.

The trial was the largest effectiveness study of a testosterone-based male contraceptive ever undertaken.

Obama Addresses Pregnancy Prevention and Abortion at Press Conference

Washington Wire blog (Wall St. Journal): Live-Blogging Obama’s Press Conference, by Susan Davis:

...8:33: Eighth question on abortion, and his support of legislation easing state and local restrictions. “My position on abortion has been very consistent,” he says. His goal is to reduce pregnancies, particularly among teems. Notes he has a taskforce that is working with groups that support and oppose abortion rights to reach consensus. The Freedom of Choice Act “is not my highest legislative priority,” he said. We need to focus on areas where we agree.

The transcript of this portion of the news conference is available here.

FDA Approves Access to Emergency Contraception for 17-Year-Olds

NY Times: 'Morning After' Pill Cleared for 17-Year-Olds, by Gardiner Harris:

Seventeen-year-olds will soon be allowed to buy morning-after contraceptive pills without a doctor’s prescription after federal drug regulators complied with a judge’s order and lowered the age limit by a year.

The decision on Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration, which overturns one of the most controversial health rulings of the Bush administration, was scorned by anti-abortion advocates and hailed by their abortion rights counterparts.

The long-running controversy involving Plan B has had more of a political impact than a public health one. The drug consists of two pills that can prevent conception if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, and is not related to RU-486, the abortion pill. Since 2006, when Plan B became widely available to women 18 and over without a prescription, it has had no measurable effect on the nation’s abortion or teenage pregnancy rates.

Like their older counterparts, 17-year-old women will now be able to go to almost any pharmacy, clinic or hospital and, after showing proof of age, buy Plan B without a prescription. Men 17 and older may also buy Plan B for a partner.

US at the UN: Strong Support for Family Planning

Via RH Reality Check, by Ariana Childs Graham:

This week is the 42nd session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) at the United Nations headquarters in New York.  It is taking place fifteen years into the Programme of Action (PoA), adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, and government officials, representatives from international organizations, advocates, and program implementers are taking stock of our progress.  The theme for the CPD this year is "The contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals."  

...The last eight years have been marked by a U.S. presence at the United Nations that was mostly unfavorable to SRHR, often aligning with some of the most conservative governments on SRHR related issues.  The new Administration, however, has demonstrated a renewed commitment to upholding many of the goals expressed in the ICPD Program of Action.  Margaret Pollock, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration, Department of State and head of the U.S. delegation, delivered the much anticipated U.S. statement to the Commission on March 31. The statement expressed the commitment of the United States government to "ensuring safe and voluntary family planning," delivering "comprehensive and accurate information on sexuality," linking "HIV/AIDS and voluntary family planning programs," and to moving towards ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Britain May Allow Media Ads for Condoms and Abortion Advice

AFP: Britain could allow abortion advice, condom ads:

Britain could change media rules to allow abortion advice to be advertised on television and radio, as well as easing rules for condom ads, officials said on Thursday.

The moves would aim to cut high levels of teenage pregnancy, but anti-abortion campaigners said they would "sexualise young people" and lead to greater promiscuity, as well as killing unborn children.

Ads for pregnancy advice would be allowed on prime-time television and radio slots, under changes being considered by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee on Advertising Practice (BCAP) watchdogs.

Support Funding For International Family Planning

Via EngenderHealth:

EngenderHealth has released a short animated video that poses the provocative question, "If you had $1 billion to change the world, what would you spend it on: easing world hunger, reducing global instability, or preserving natural resources?"

Their answer is that you don't have to choose: Spend $1 billion on family planning and we can make a difference in all of these areas. The cost? Less than 1/20th of 1% of the proposed federal budget (.03%) -- less than a penny per day per american. EngenderHealth has set up a site (http://www.3for1.org) where you can tell Obama that international family planning is a priority for you and it should be one for him, too.

Back Up Your Birth Control

Via the Back Up Your Birth Control Team:

The 2009 Back Up Your Birth Control Day of Action is TODAY, March 25!

Today is our chance to raise awareness about and increase access to emergency contraception (EC). This year's Day of Action is especially important in light of Tuesday's federal decision to open EC over-the-counter access to 17-year-olds.

With media attention sparking public interest in EC this week, now is the perfect time to spread the word about how EC is a safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy after sex. Participate in our Campus Challenge, join our on-line community, blog about the importance of EC access, or just learn the facts and talk to your friends! Every bit of activism helps!

Provider Shortages Loom As Abortion Clinic Workers Near Retirement

The New York Times: Where to Pass the Torch? by, Michael Winerip:

WHEN Anne Baker graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1975, she was pleased to be hired as a birth control counselor for a Planned Parenthood clinic, though it was not her dream job. “I wanted to be an abortion counselor,” she recalled. “I wanted it so bad.”

Ms. Baker was thrilled when the Supreme Court legalized abortion in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision...

And so, the following year, in 1976, when a counseling job opened at the abortion clinic here, a 30-minute drive across the Mississippi River from her home in St. Louis, Ms. Baker grabbed it and never left, becoming the head of counseling at the Hope Clinic for Women...

But here is the question: As Ms. Baker’s generation approaches retirement — women whose commitment to abortion was forged in the pre-Roe v. Wade days — will younger women take their places at the clinics?...

A recent survey of 273 abortion clinics published in the journal Contraception found that 64 percent of their doctors were at least 50 years old, and 62 percent were men. Abortion advocates like Kelli M. Conlin, president of Naral Pro-Choice New York, say that while it’s not a problem finding younger doctors and support staff to work in clinics in large urban areas like New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, it is an issue in more conservative places, like upstate New York; smaller Midwestern cities; Southern states, including Texas; and rural areas.

FDA Approves New, Lower-Cost Version of Female Condom

Reuters/Center for Health and Gender Equity press release: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approves New Female Condom:

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) granted regulatory approval to the FC2 female condom, a lower-cost, second generation product manufactured by the Female Health Company -- a move widely praised by HIV/AIDS and women's health and rights advocates globally.... 

The female condom is currently the only method available to prevent HIV
infection and unintended pregnancy that is designed for women's initiation.
FDA approval of the FC2 is significant since the new product will sell for
about 30% less than its predecessor, the FC1.  Female condoms have been
relatively expensive in many parts of the world, due to a constellation of
factors including manufacturing costs, bulk purchasing, and government and
donor investment.  Reduction in manufacturing costs, therefore, is one of many
important avenues for making the new female condom more affordable and
accessible to women and men in the U.S. and internationally.

Senate Restores Affordable Contraception For Community Health Centers and College Clinics

RH Reality Check: And the Beat Goes On: Senate Passes Omnibus, Including Affordable Birth Control Act, by Jodi Jacobson:

The Senate tonight passed the $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill, originally passed by the House of Representatives two weeks ago. Included in the bill was a provision, known as the "Affordable Birth Control Act," that will make birth control more available and affordable for women who obtain contraceptives at community health centers and college clinics....

Access to contraception has been adversely affected in recent years both by politics and by cost. According to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA):

"In 2005, Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which tightened eligibility for nominally priced drugs.  In doing so, Congress inadvertently cut off safety-net providers and every college and university health center from obtaining contraception at a low cost, and passing on those savings to their patients. As a result, women have been paying up to 10 times more each month for basic contraception."

Help Reverse Former President Bush's Midnight Regulation

You can sign a letter supporting President Obama's decision to overturn President Bush's last-minute religious refusal regulation.  This dangerous measure authorized religiously based limitations on a broad range of reproductive health and other services.  Visit the Planned Parenthood Action Center to add your name to the letter.

Responses to Saletan's Op-Ed on Abortion and the Culture Wars

Today's New York Times letters to the editor include responses to William Saletan's op-ed, "This is the Way the Culture Wars End."  See Letters to the Editor: Abortion and Family Planning: An Endless Debate?