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Candidate Information Sheet |
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General Assembly Candidate Questionnaire 2008 Information Sheet
- PREVENTING UNINTENDED PREGNANCY
STATE FUNDING FOR FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES
In Pennsylvania, over 700,000 low-income women are at risk of unintended pregnancy and qualify for subsidized family planning services, but just 326,000 received services in 2006. Family planning services include screening for conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sexually transmitted infections and cancers (including breast and cervical cancer), as well as a variety of birth control methods. By preventing unintended pregnancies, subsidized family planning services prevent 70,000 abortions in Pennsylvania each year. Family planning also allows women to plan their pregnancies. Women who utilize family planning services seek prenatal care earlier and have healthier babies.
These services save taxpayers money. Often, an unintended pregnancy will cause a woman to lose her job and precipitate an episode of welfare dependency. Nationally, an annual family planning examination and provision of birth control for one year costs a patient between $300 and $400 per year, while the birth of a child costs between $8,000 and $12,000.
Currently, subsidized family planning services are supported by federal grants, limited state funds, patient fees, and private donations. A "Medicaid Waiver", known as SelectPlan for Women, put in place this year expands eligibility for coverage of family planning services to more low-income women in PA. The present network of providers is still, however, unable to totally meet the current need.
Federal grants support confidential services to teens. The effectiveness of these services in reducing teen births and abortions has been demonstrated over twenty years, as has their effectiveness in preventing and treating sexually transmitted diseases among youth. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), without family planning services, the number of teenage pregnancies would likely increase by 20 percent. In Pennsylvania, 46 out of one thousand teenagers become pregnant each year. The Journal of Pediatrics has noted that 85% of teens said they would not seek care for a sexually transmitted disease if parental consent or notice were required. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the provision of confidential family planning services for teens without requiring parental consent, as does state and federal law. Although reports have noted a decline in teen pregnancy, a recent study by AGI found that 80% of this decline is attributable to an increased use of more effective methods of birth control.
COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION
"Abstinence-only-until-marriage" sexuality education programs teach a "just say no" approach to sexuality and exclude information about birth control and safe sex practices. Under the existing federal guidelines for abstinence-only funded programs, teachers are forbidden from discussing contraception or sexually transmitted disease prevention, even in response to students' questions. Comprehensive approaches to sexuality education include discussions of abstinence, work to build self-esteem and enhance refusal skills, and provide age-appropriate information about the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Recent studies have repeatedly shown that quality, comprehensive sex education helps teens delay sexual activity, prevent unintended pregnancy, and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. In a 2007 Susquehanna Research and Polling survey of Pennsylvania voters, 83% supported the teaching of responsible, age-appropriate, medically-accurate sexuality education, including information about both abstinence and contraception, in public schools. Abstinence-only programs are funded at the detriment of comprehensive sex education programs that receive no funding.
REFUSAL CLAUSES: A THREAT TO REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Alarmingly, an increasing number of pharmacists and physicians are refusing to dispense birth control or write women prescriptions for contraceptives. These health care professionals cite their religious, moral, ideological, and personal objections to the use of contraceptives. Prescription refusal is a disturbing trend that can jeopardize woman's reproductive health. Denying women their rights to timely access to health care is an act of discrimination that could lead to an increased number of unintended pregnancies.
EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION ACCESS
Emergency contraception (EC) can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse. EC can be used if the primary form of contraception fails, if you have unplanned sex, or if you are forced to have sex. It is often known as "the morning after pill," but this name is misleading because EC can prevent pregnancy up to 120 hours (five days) after unprotected sex. However, the sooner it is taken, the more effective it is. Emergency contraception does NOT interfere with an already established pregnancy as defined by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Women who have been sexually assaulted have a particularly compelling need for quick and easy access to EC. More than 300,000 women are sexually assaulted each year in the U.S. Of these an estimated 25,000 will become pregnant as a result. About 22,000 of these pregnancies could be prevented if all women who were raped used EC.
Alarmingly, as many as 50% of hospitals in PA are not routinely providing EC to sexual assault survivors. This practice is counter to the standards outlined by the American Medical Association, which state that women who have been sexually abused should be counseled about the risk of pregnancy, and offered EC.
INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR BIRTH CONTROL
Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and nearly half of those unintended pregnancies end in abortion. Contraceptives have a proven track record of enhancing the health of women and children, preventing unintended pregnancy, and reducing the need for abortion. Although contraception is basic health care for women, many insurance policies exclude this vital coverage. A recent study found that only 29% of Pennsylvania insurers typically include contraception in their prescription plans. As a result of this type of inequity, women of reproductive age spend 68% more out-of-pocket for their health care then men do. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and one federal district court have ruled that not providing for equitable contraceptive coverage is a violation of federal anti-discrimination laws. As reported in HealthPlan, an industry magazine for health insurers, cost-effectiveness studies show that "every dollar spent on contraception saves several dollars in costs associated with unintended pregnancy." (HealthPlan, Nov/Dec 2001) Twenty-two states have now passed Contraceptive Equity legislation requiring insurance companies to cover prescription contraceptives in the same way they provide coverage for other prescription drugs and devices.
- SAFE, LEGAL ABORTION
Planned Parenthood believes in access to family planning and reproductive healthcare and choice. We believe that every woman — regardless of income, age or marital status — has the fundamental right to decide when and whether to have a child. It is Government's role to support personal childbearing decisions by making available medically accurate reproductive health information, comprehensive sexuality education, access to contraceptives, and safe, legal abortion.
RIGHT TO CHOOSE ABORTION
In 1973, the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision established a framework to regulate the provision of abortion services in the United States. Roe and subsequent Supreme Court decisions stated that government may not ban abortion before the point of fetal viability. After the point of fetal viability, Roe allowed the government to prohibit abortion except when it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman. In a 2007 Susquehanna Polling and Research survey of Pennsylvania voters, 67% agreed that Pennsylvania's current restrictions on abortion are sufficient, that government interference in private, personal medical decisions should be limited and politicians should instead focus their efforts on pregnancy prevention programs.
ABORTION METHOD BAN
Anti-choice organizations have tried to erode the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision (which ensures a woman's constitutionally protected right to choose) by banning specific abortion procedures. Abortion method bans interfere with a physician's ability to choose the safest method when abortion must be performed to protect a woman's life or health. This type of legislation also interferes with a woman's right to choose, in consultation with her physician, the method of abortion that will best protect her life and preserve her health. The Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act already prohibits all methods of abortion at 24 weeks of pregnancy or later while providing exceptions to preserve the woman's health and life.
PENNSYLVANIA'S ABORTION CONTROL ACT
Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act, which was designed to restrict and limit access to abortion, went into effect in March of 1994. Since the first year of implementation, women, hospitals, and reproductive health care providers reported an increase in the number of adult and teenaged women who left the state in order to choose abortion and an increase in the number of women unable to exercise their right to choose at all.
- Mandatory 24-Hour Delay and State-Mandated Lecture
Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act requires a woman to receive a state-mandated lecture and then delay her decision at least 24 hours before having an abortion. There is no public health rationale for these restrictions, which were designed solely to make abortion more difficult to obtain. The mandatory 24-hour delay often causes a wait of up to a week that can result in riskier procedures.
- Mandatory Parental Involvement for Minors Seeking Abortion
Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act requires that a teen seeking an abortion obtain the written consent of a parent. In order to give consent, the parent must also listen to a state-mandated lecture and wait at least 24 hours. If the minor and her parent cannot meet this requirement, the teen must appear before a judge to obtain a court order, often a difficult and traumatic process, or leave the state to obtain an abortion. Reproductive health providers work to help teens involve their parents in these decisions, and most do. Forced parental consent, however, does not encourage family communication; rather it puts teens at risk. Such statutes cause later abortions and may contribute to self-induced or illegal abortions. The law also places teens from dysfunctional families at risk of physical, emotional or psychological harm. In other states, an adult other than a teen's parent, such as her minister, rabbi, aunt or uncle, may consent to her abortion.
STOP CLINIC VIOLENCE
In recent years, a campaign of violence, intimidation, and harassment has been waged against reproductive health providers, patients, and their families. Planned Parenthood believes that all levels of government should take an aggressive role in enacting and enforcing laws to deter these illegal acts, and in prosecuting the perpetrators of such acts.
FETAL PERSONHOOD
Legislation and regulations have been introduced that would elevate the status of the fetus, at any stage of development, to that of an adult. This is an effort to establish fetal "personhood" to create a conflict with a woman's right to choose.
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