Read the week's best commentary from bloggers at Care2 and Mother Jones.
ABORTION-RIGHTS MOVEMENT:
"With more abortion laws blocked, have we turned a corner on access?" Robin Marty, Care2: Marty examines a changing tide in the fight over abortion rights by highlighting positive developments in a legal challenge to several abortion restrictions in Louisiana following a Supreme Court ruling striking down provisions in Texas' omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2). She explains that not only has the high court's ruling helped "put to rest" Louisiana's admitting privileges requirement "for good," but the state also has agreed not to enforce several antiabortion-rights laws being challenged by local providers -- including a 72-hour mandatory delay law (Act 97) and a ban (HB 1081) on a medically proven method of abortion -- pending a final ruling. According to Marty, the 72-hour mandatory delay "ruling ... is the biggest sign of a changing tide on abortion rights." Noting that no one has yet challenged mandatory 72-hour delay laws in other states, she explains that the "decision to do so" in Louisiana "shows a growing confidence on the pro-abortion rights side of the aisle." Marty writes, "As we get further from the Whole Women's Health decision, it is likely that even more of these laws will get challenged," concluding that "there is nothing to lose for abortion rights activists ready to win access back one state at a time" (Marty, Care2, 8/2).
CONTRACEPTION:
"Why does birth control require a prescription?" Emily Zak, Care2: Zak discusses factors preventing over-the-counter (OTC) access to birth control pills, noting that while three states have authorized pharmacists to dispense the pills, U.S. women still are required to meet with a medical professional before accessing the drugs. Zak explains that not only have several medical groups -- including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians -- "recommended the U.S. stop requiring a prescription for birth control," but U.S. regulators already have made "the more strongly dosed Plan B emergency contraceptive ... available [over the counter] nationwide." Further, debunking common arguments against OTC access for hormonal contraception, Zak explains that other OTC drugs can lead to side-effects and pose "a risk of overdose that hormonal birth control doesn't." She also cites research showing that "most women are just as adept [as health providers] at screening themselves for risk factors related to taking birth control." Pointing out that "the only FDA-approved male birth control -- condoms -- is widely available, while the majority of female birth control methods require a doctor's approval," Zak concludes that "the nation's refusal to remove the prescription requirement for birth control seems partly grounded in good, old-fashioned misogyny, alongside a cultural fear of sex" (Zak, Care2, 8/4).
ZIKA:
"Florida tried to shut down women's health clinics. Then Zika came along," Nina Liss-Schultz, Mother Jones: Citing news of locally transmitted cases of Zika in Florida, Liss-Schultz questions, "How ready is [Florida] -- where almost two-thirds of pregnancies are unintended and the state government has attempted to block state funding for reproductive health clinics -- to take on Zika?" She explains that while Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has outlined several Zika response efforts, including plans to collaborate with OB-GYNs and distribute Zika prevention kits, Planned Parenthood clinics in the state have not yet "received any Zika kits from the Florida Department of Health, nor has it received any guidance from the department about how to serve pregnant women during a possible outbreak." Further, Liss-Schultz points to a recently signed bill (HB 1411) that "would block state funding for many reproductive health clinics." She notes that while the law "is not currently being enforced," Laura Goodhue -- a vice president at Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida -- noted that Scott "'has placed barriers on affordable health care, birth control, and contraception.'" In addition, Liss-Schultz writes that options are limited for pregnant women with Zika, as Florida "restricts public insurance coverage for abortion, ... prevents health insurance providers on the [Affordable Care Act's (PL 111-148) marketplace] from covering abortion, with no exception for fetal anomaly," and bans abortion care after 24 weeks (Liss-Schultz, Mother Jones, 8/5).
What others are saying about Zika:
~ "Some good news about Zika, for a change," Erica Langston, Mother Jones.
