Read the week's best commentary from bloggers at Bustle, American Civil Liberties Union's "Speak Freely" and more.
CRIMINALIZING PREGNANCY:
"We need to talk about women and opioid use disorder," Lauren Holter, Bustle: "This country needs to be talking about prescription drug abuse, because opioid use disorder -- the abuse of painkillers or heroin -- is a major women's health issue that could drastically be improved by simply raising awareness," Holter writes. She states, "Women are the fastest growing demographic for substance addiction, with most misusing medicines given to them by a doctor -- up to 4.5 million women in the United States have a substance [use] disorder, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence." According to Holter, "About 18 women die every single day in the United States from opioid overdoses -- a 400 percent increase since 1999, compared to a 265 percent increase in men." She explains that this "huge gender gap in opioid use boils down to the differences in how women deal with physical pain and doctors." Holter writes that women are more likely than men to experience or report chronic pain to their physicians, which means women are more likely to obtain painkillers from their doctor and "far more likely" to visit several doctors to obtain multiple prescriptions. People with opioid use disorder need medical care, Holter writes, but "[w]omen often face more extreme obstacles in seeking help because they're pregnant or have kids," including harsher social stigma and potential legal ramifications. She explains, "Currently, 18 states legally consider drug addiction while pregnant child abuse and Tennessee specifically criminalized drug use during pregnancy in 2014." Holter quotes Shruti Kulkarni, a policy adviser at the Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence, who said, "'They essentially make it a crime for women with this disease to get pregnant, give birth, be a parent, and seek treatment ... This further adds to the stigma of this disease and prevents women from seeking treatment.'" Holter writes, "Starting public discussions and raising awareness about opioid abuse among women would not only help patients know how to prevent themselves from becoming addicted to painkillers, but would also make treatment more accessible and less stigmatizing." She explains that "[w]omen with opioid use disorder need to hear and understand that they haven't failed because they became addicted." Holter concludes, "Discussing the current medical culture that fueled the rise in prescription drug abuse, raising awareness about the risks and realities of the condition, and questioning laws that make it a crime are the only ways it will improve" (Holter, Bustle, 5/26).
ACCESS TO CARE:
"A big win for women who seek care at Catholic hospitals in Illinois," Hayley Smith, American Civil Liberties Union's "Speak Freely": While "[r]eligious freedom ... doesn't give people the right to use their beliefs to discriminate against and harm others," a "growing number of hospitals refuse to provide reproductive health care based on religious beliefs, including life-saving emergency care -- allowing religious directives to trump best medical practice and patient health," Smith writes. However, "[t]his week the Illinois House passed a bill [SB 1564] that protects all patients, including women, ensuring they at the very least will have complete information about their health condition, rather than being sent home and denied information based on the hospital's religious beliefs," she writes, noting that the state Senate already has passed the measure. Citing the case of a pregnant woman in Michigan who was not provided with information about abortion care at a Catholic hospital in the state, despite it being "the safest course for her condition," Smith writes that "we're only likely to see more [such cases] with the proliferation of Catholic hospitals." She calls on Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) to "sign this bill into law as soon as possible to help protect women ... who live in Illinois." Smith also points to a new Michigan bill (HB 5674) that "would help ensure that women receive information about their health condition and that no woman is turned away from a hospital when her life or health is in jeopardy." According to Smith, the Michigan measure "is similar to one [HB 1787] in Washington state that prohibits hospitals from tying a doctor's hands and preventing the doctor from providing medically accurate and appropriate information, referrals, or services to patients." Smith writes that "these bills make clear that freedom of religion doesn't allow anyone to put women and others in harm's way." She adds, "These are important steps to protecting women in those states, though the problem is not limited to Illinois, Michigan, and Washington." Noting that "one in six hospital beds [as of 2016] in the U.S. are in a facility that complies with Catholic directives," Smith writes that the American Civil Liberties Union also is "calling on the federal government to investigate these hospitals and hold them accountable for denying women necessary care" (Smith, "Speak Freely," American Civil Liberties Union, 5/27).
CONTRACEPTION:
"Why women still can't get over-the-counter birth control in California," Julie Rodriguez, Care2: While "[r]eproductive rights advocates were thrilled" at the passage of a California bill (SB 493) that "allow[s] California women to obtain birth control from pharmacies without the hassle and expense of a doctor's visit," a recent investigation by journalist Kelly O'Mara "has found that the vast majority of pharmacies in the state simply aren't offering the service," Rodriguez writes. According to Rodriguez, "O'Mara's research took her to eight different pharmacies, including both large corporate chains and small, independent stores," but she was unable to find a pharmacy in San Francisco that would dispense birth control over the counter. O'Mara found that "[m]ost pharmacists told her they still needed to undergo state-mandated training." In addition, according to Rodriguez, "some of the pharmacists seemed to be completely unaware of the law," with one telling O'Mara that "OTC birth control was only legal in Oregon ... and another claim[ing] the California law had not yet passed." Rodriquez cites Sally Rafie, a medication safety specialist at the University of California, who estimated that out of about 7,000 pharmacies in California, fewer than 100 are dispensing birth control over the counter. Rodriguez lists several reasons why pharmacies are "taking so long to update their services now that the law has changed." For example, she notes, "any minor change to company policy [at a large pharmacy chain] can take months to implement given the number of stores" and such "chains aren't sure if there is going to be much customer demand for these services." In addition, "many pharmacies don't have a separate room available to discretely and privately consult with customers, or may not have a large enough staff to easily cover a pharmacist who is indisposed," Rodriguez explains. Further, as the service is optional rather than mandatory, she writes, pharmacies lack "incentive to hire more workers or remodel their stores." She also notes unaddressed questions regarding pharmacist compensation. Rodriquez states, "The experts interviewed in O'Mara's article, at least, seem to believe that by the end of the year, prescription-free birth control will be relatively commonplace throughout California." In the meantime, however, "women will have to wait and see" whether the service becomes more common," Rodriguez concludes (Rodriguez, Care2, 5/28).
REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE:
"California minimum wage increase is a win for the reproductive justice movement," Carley Towne, United for Reproductive & Gender Equity/Huffington Post blogs: California Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) decision this April to "raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2022 and ensure that after 2024, the state minimum wage will be indexed to the cost of living ... is unabashedly good news for the more than 5 million minimum wage workers across the state who will receive an average annual earnings increase of $3700," writes Towne, a student journalist for Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity. However, she notes that the announcement "is particularly important" for reproductive-justice advocates "who have witnessed the swift degradation of abortion rights over the last five years." Towne explains, "Expanding workers' rights is a necessary tenet of the reproductive justice movement, as economic security is critical for all women -- especially in light of the wage and other systemic disparities that women of color experience. Removing all barriers that stand in the way of a person's ability to access reproductive health care has always been and continues to be central to the reproductive justice movement." In addition to facilitating abortion access, "[i]ncreasing the minimum wage has also been shown to reduce child poverty among female-headed households," Towne writes. She continues, "Thirty-one percent of minimum wage workers in California are women who have children, so Jerry Brown's decision will substantially affect their ability to achieve economic security and provide the kind of life they want for their families." Towne concludes, "While raising the minimum wage is not a catchall solution to barriers Californians face when trying to exercise their right to choose, it's certainly a step in the right direction. The reproductive justice movement should celebrate and rally behind any law that not only expands meaningful access to abortion services, but places economic control back into the hands of all people" (Towne, United for Reproductive & Gender Equity/Huffington Post blogs, 5/27).
