3.67 (3 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Monday ruled 2-1 to bar enforcement of a 2005 South Dakota law (HB 1166) that seeks to require abortion providers in the state to tell girls ahead of performing the procedure that it would “terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being,” the New York Times reports (Liptak, New York Times, 10/31). The law, which was signed by Gov. Mike Rounds (R) in March 2005 and was scheduled to take effect in July 2005, requires physicians to fully inform females about risks, consequences and alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, at least two hours prior to performing the procedure. The law also says that females have a relationship with the fetus until birth and that the state has an interest in protecting that relationship. Planned Parenthood of Minnesota-North Dakota-South Dakota in June 2005 filed suit requesting that the law be blocked because it violates doctors’ totally free speech rights by requiring them to provide inaccurate and ideological information to females seeking abortion. U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier in July issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the regulation and said the state cannot violate abortion providers’ First Amendment rights by requiring them to “espouse the state’s theology” (Kaiser Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 4/24). The 8th Circuit Court panel on Monday upheld Schreier’s ruling and sent the case back to her for a final opinion.

Ruling
“Governmentally compelled expression is particularly problematic when a speaker is required by the state to impart a political or ideological message contrary towards the individual’s own views,” Judge Diana Murphy wrote in the majority opinion, which was joined by Judge Michael Melloy. According towards the Times, Murphy also wrote that the law also might place an undue burden on access to abortion by requiring physicians to exchange written information and certify the patient understood it. Judge Raymond Gruender dissented in the case, writing that the requirement to disclose that abortion would “terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being” is really a clear medical fact and an acceptable requirement under the Supreme Courts 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision. South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long (R) said he has not decided if he will appeal the panel’s ruling to the full 8th Circuit Court. South Dakota voters next week will vote on a law that would ban nearly all abortions in the state (New York Times, 10/31).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You are able to view the whole Kaiser Day-to-day Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Everyday Well being Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a totally free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Household Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

1 (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

5 (2 votes)

Article Opinions:1 posts
The AP/San Jose Mercury News on Sunday profiled Jim Holman, publisher with the alternative weekly newspaper the San Diego Reader, who has contributed $2.6 million in cash and loans to support Proposition 85 — a statewide ballot measure that would require doctors to notify parents or guardians prior to performing an abortion on a minor (Hoffman, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 10/29). The measure would require unmarried girls younger than age 18 to inform a parent or legal guardian of their intention to have an abortion 48 hours ahead of undergoing the procedure. The initiative is similar to Proposition 73, which failed in November 2005, but it eliminates language that defines abortion as resulting in the “death of an unborn child, conceived but not yet born.” In addition, Proposition 85 does not include a provision in Proposition 73 that would have mandated reporting on how many judicial waivers a judge has approved (Kaiser Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 8/1). The Proposition 85 campaign is headquartered in the Reader‘s downtown offices, according to the AP/Mercury News. The Reader in 1988 ran a story titled, “What Becomes of San Diego County’s 20,000 Fetuses Each Year.” In addition, the paper has published advertisements depicting “discarded fetuses” and banned ads for family planning and sex hot lines, the AP/Mercury News reports. Holman, who also donated about $1 million to support Proposition 73, in 1989 was convicted of trespassing after participating in an Operation Rescue demonstration outside an abortion clinic. Holman has not spoken publicly about Proposition 85 and declined a request for an interview. Don Sebastiani, a former Republican state legislator who also has donated to support the initiative, said Holman “doesn’t want to be the issue,” adding, “He wants the issue to be the issue.” According to the AP/Mercury News, Holman in an e-mail agreed with Sebastiani’s statement (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 10/29).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. It is possible to view the entire Kaiser Everyday Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Every day Wellness Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a cost-free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Loved ones Foundation. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski on Friday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban all abortions in the country, Reuters/OneNews reports (Reuters/OneNews, 10/27). Under present Polish law, abortion is banned except in cases of rape, incest, when the fetus is deformed or when the woman’s wellness is in danger (Kaiser Day-to-day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 2/16/05). According to Reuters/OneNews, the League of Polish Families — junior members in the ruling coalition who proposed the ban — wants to amend the constitution to guarantee that all men and women have the right to life from the moment of conception. “A child should not be punished for the crimes of his father,” LPF Deputy Marek Kotlinowski said, referring to circumstances of rape, adding, “It’s a tragedy for the women, but the fate with the child interests me more.” Lech Kaczynski said that he supports “keeping the status quo” and that the decision made in 1989 after communism fell to allow abortion in certain cases “is good” (Reuters/OneNews, 10/27). Poland’s Parliament on Friday sent the bill back to a committee, and a vote is expected in the lower house in the next few months, LifeNews.com reports (Ertelt, LifeNews.com, 10/27). However, without the endorsement from the president or prime minister, the measure is likely to be defeated, according to Reuters/OneNews (Reuters/OneNews, 10/27).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. It is possible to view the entire Kaiser Daily Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Every day Well being Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free of charge service with the Henry J. Kaiser Household Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

five (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

5 (1 votes)

The “rights and safety of Nicaragua’s ladies took a giant step backward” last week when the country’s Legislature passed a bill that would ban abortion in all situations, a New York Times editorial says (New York Times, 10/29). Nicaragua’s Asamblea Nacional, the national Legislature, on Thursday voted 52-0 with nine abstentions and 29 not present to pass the bill, and Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos is expected to sign the measure into law. If Bolanos signs the measure, it would eliminate a century-old exception to the country’s abortion ban allowing procedures in which 3 physicians certify a woman’s health is at risk. The country’s current abortion ban also allows legal medical abortions in cases of rape or when a woman’s life is at risk (Kaiser Every day Women’s Health Policy Report, 10/27). The new abortion ban is a “clear bid to curry support from the Catholic Church” prior to the presidential elections subsequent week, the editorial says, concluding that the “only great news out of Nicaragua” last week was that lawmakers “declined to take up a proposal that would drastically increase prison sentences for women who have abortions and folks who carry out them” (New York Times, 10/29).

PRI’s “The World” — a production of BBC Globe Service, PRI and WGBH Boston — on Friday included an interview with Carlos Chamorro, a Nicaraguan journalist, about the country’s new law (Bader, “The World,” PRI, 10/27). The complete segment is offered online in Windows Media.

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. It is possible to view the entire Kaiser Everyday Well being Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Everyday Wellness Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free of charge service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family members Foundation. All rights reserved.

5 (4 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

5 (2 votes)

Worldwide, approximately eight females die every hour because of complications of unsafe abortion. In an article published this week by The Lancet exploring causes and consequences of unsafe abortion, the authors write that “ending the silent pandemic of unsafe abortion is an urgent public-health and human-rights imperative.”[1]

Titled “Unsafe abortion: The preventable pandemic,” the article is authored by David A. Grimes, MD, with the University of North Carolina Medical School; Janie Benson, DrPH, and Bela Ganatra, MD, both of Ipas; and other noted experts in obstetrics-gynecology or international public health. It is featured in a special series of articles on sexual and reproductive well being released online in November. The Lancet held a press briefing this morning in London, chaired by Editor Richard Horton, to launch the landmark series.

Commenting on the pandemic, Dr. Janie Benson, Vice President for Research and Evaluation at Ipas, an international organization committed to reproductive health and rights, stated, “As with other serious threats to public health, whether inside the developing world or elsewhere, the problem of unsafe abortion should be approached by using evidence-based solutions.” She went on to note that “after decades of public-health research on the subject, the clear and incontrovertible evidence shows that when abortion is made legal, safe and easily accessible, women’s wellness rapidly improves.” Dr. Horton, writing in a comment introducing the special series, asserts that both the journal and the World Wellness Organization, which provided support for the special series, back this conclusion.[2]

The article reviews evidence from numerous countries demonstrating that legally restricting abortion does not lessen the overall number of abortions, but does, often dramatically, increase the rates of maternal death and injury from unsafe abortion. Conversely, areas in which abortion and contraception services are widely accessible have among the very lowest overall abortion rates within the world.

By definition, unsafe abortions are those “done by individuals without the requisite skills, or in an environment below medical standards.” Approximately 19-20 million such abortions occur annually, almost all in developing countries.

Approximately a quarter of the world’s population lives in countries in which abortion is legally permitted under no or nearly no circumstances. And, consequently, the silent, preventable pandemic of unsafe abortion persists. The authors thus conclude that the root causes of maternal deaths and injuries from unsafe abortion are “apathy and disdain toward females.”

###

[1] Grimes, David A., Janie Benson, Susheela Singh, Mariana Romero, Bela Ganatra, Friday E. Okonofua, Iqbal H. Shah. 2006. Unsafe abortion: The preventable pandemic. Lancet, Sexual and reproductive well being series (4), pp. 65-76, published online November 1.

[2] Horton, Richard. 2006. Reviving reproductive well being [Comment]. Lancet, Sexual and reproductive well being series, p. 1; published online November 1.

For further information please go to:
Ipas
And
Lancet

5 (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

VoteYesforLife.com, which supports a South Dakota law (HB 1215) banning abortions except to save a woman’s life, on Wednesday stated it filed a report showing it received nearly $2.2 million in cash donations to its campaign from June 28 through Oct. 28, while the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, a coalition of opponents of the law, stated it has raised about $1.8 million during the time period, the AP/Aberdeen American News reports (Lammers, AP/Aberdeen American News, 11/2). The Campaign for Healthy Families blocked the July 1 enactment of the law by gathering enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 11/1). Detailed campaign finance reports were due on Tuesday to the South Dakota Office of the Secretary of State, but the reports were not posted on the office’s Web site on Wednesday, in accordance with the AP/American News. The Campaign for Healthy Families stated about $160,000 with the $1.8 million it raised came from state residents and the rest came from donors outside the state (AP/Aberdeen American News, 11/2). VoteYesforLife.com stated about 65% of its campaign contributions of much more than $100 came from people and groups in South Dakota (Myers, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 11/2). The group also reported $39,000 worth of contributions in goods and services, although the Campaign for Healthy Families stated it has received less than $50,000 in in-kind contributions, the New York Times reports (Davey, New York Times, 11/2). In addition, the Campaign for Healthy Families in two supplemental finance reports lists more than $200,000 in additional contributions, although VoteYesforLife.com in a supplemental reported a lot more than $155,000 in further donations (AP/Aberdeen American News, 11/2).

ABCNews’ “World News Tonight” on Wednesday reported on campaigns supporting and opposing the ballot initiative. The segment includes comments from Maria Bell, a Sioux Falls ob-gyn who is co-chair of the Campaign for Healthy Families; state Rep. Roger Hunt (R), the ban’s sponsor; David Kranz, columnist for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader; Leslee Unruh, campaign manager for VoteYesForLife.com; and South Dakota residents (Reynolds, “World News Tonight,” ABCNews, 11/1). A transcript of the segment is available online.

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Every day Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Every day Wellness Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Household Foundation. All rights reserved.

2 (2 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

5 (1 votes)

Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (R) — who is running for re-election in November against Johnson County, Kan., District Attorney Paul Morrison (D) — on Tuesday stated his office received the records of 90 ladies and girls who in 2003 underwent late-term abortions at two clinics and will begin reviewing them for evidence of possible crimes, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (Hanna, AP/Kansas City Star, 11/1). Kline in 2004 subpoenaed the records of the females and girls who received late-term abortions at Comprehensive Health, which is operated by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri in Overland Park, Kan., and Women’s Health Care Services in Wichita, Kan., saying there is probable cause that every single record contains evidence of a felony. The original subpoena asked that the records include every single patient’s name, medical history, birth control practices, psychological profile and sexual history and asked for the records of all ladies and girls who sought abortions at or after 22 weeks’ gestation. The clinics in March 2005 filed a brief with the state Supreme Court requesting that the court block Kline’s subpoena, and the court in February ruled that Kline can seek access towards the records but that he must return to Shawnee County, Kan., District Court and present his reasons for seeking the subpoenas (Kaiser Every day Women’s Wellness Policy Report, 10/4). The records — which were turned over Oct. 24 by Shawnee County District Court Judge Richard Anderson and do not include information that would identify individuals — are being reviewed “by criminal investigators and criminal prosecutors,” Kline said. According to Kline, the targets of the investigations are sex offenders, rapists and physicians who performed, or provided a second opinion for, a late-term abortion or who failed to report child abuse. Pedro Irigonegaray, an attorney representing one of the clinics, stated, “Nothing whatsoever in those records supports the proposition that our clients have violated the law.” He added, “What [Kline] now has in his hands are facts regarding procedures, not identifications of individuals receiving those procedures. Those facts do not justify Mr. Kline’s involvement in any further criminal action — none whatsoever” (AP/Kansas City Star, 11/1).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. It is possible to view the entire Kaiser Everyday Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Every day Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Household Foundation. All rights reserved.

2 (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

Despite the availability of cheap and effective means to help females safely give birth and to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, millions of ladies worldwide lack access to such resources and have unsafe abortions, in accordance with a series of articles published within the Nov. 1 issue with the journal Lancet, Reuters reports. Annually, about 19 million women worldwide have an unsafe abortion, and 70,000 of them die because of complications; about 80 million women have an unintended pregnancy; about 120 million couples lack family planning access; and about 340 million new STI cases are diagnosed, in accordance with Reuters. “Sexual and reproductive wellness problems have fallen off the international health agenda,” Richard Horton, editor of Lancet said at a news conference, adding, “In fact, they are taboo for many governments today and sadly taboo for many public health institutions today. That exclusion from the agenda puts millions of women’s lives at peril.” The articles and commentaries inside the Lancet series on reproductive and sexual wellness are listed below.

Articles

Healthcare Prof:

About half of most likely voters in South Dakota oppose a state law (HB 1215) banning abortions except to save a woman’s life, although 41 percent of likely voters support the ban and 9 percent are undecided, in accordance with a poll conducted earlier this week for KELO-TV, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (AP/Kansas City Star, 11/2). The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families successfully blocked the July 1 enactment with the law by gathering enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot (Kaiser Everyday Women’s Health Policy Report, 11/1). The telephone survey of 600 likely voters, conducted by Research 2000, also found that 36% said they believed the ban allowed for legal abortions in cases of rape or incest, 54% said it did not allow such exceptions and 10% did not know. The poll had a margin of error of four percentage points (AP/KELO-TV, 11/2). Another recent poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research and published on Sunday inside the Sioux Falls Argus Leader found that 52% of state voters would vote against the ban, 42% would vote to sustain the law and 6% were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of four percentage points (Kaiser Day-to-day Women’s Well being Policy Report, 11/1).

Ban Advocates’ Strategy
The AP/Yahoo! News on Thursday examined the campaigns with the “rival sides in South Dakota’s historic vote on abortion” and how a new campaign strategy for VoteYesforLife.com, which supports the ban, has significantly changed the debate. In accordance with the AP/Yahoo! News, VoteYesforLife.com’s campaign, titled “Support Women’s Well being,” has focused on “depicting abortion as psychologically harmful to women,” as opposed to emphasizing a fetus’s “right to live or vilifying abortion providers.” VoteYesForLife.com features girls in its ads who “detai[l] their post-abortion despair,” the AP/Yahoo! News reports. Although there is “no comprehensive, broadly accepted U.S. study quantifying abortion’s psychological impact,” and recent surveys have far more opposition than support for the ban among most likely voters, the Campaign for Healthy Families has found VoteYesForLife.com’s strategy “challenging to counter,” in accordance with the AP/Yahoo! News. “The marketing is ingenious on their portion,” Maria Bell, a Sioux Falls, S.D.-based ob-gyn who opposes the ban in part because she feels it harms women’s well being, said, adding, “‘Abortion hurts women’ — that’s a great slogan, but they don’t have the data to back that up. They have a lot of stories, but we don’t make public policies on anecdotal evidence” (Crary, AP/Yahoo! News, 11/2).

NPR’s “Day to Day” on Thursday reported on campaigns supporting and opposing the ban. The segment includes comments from David Bereit, executive director with the American Life League; Don Dowland, a professor at the University of South Dakota; former state Rep. Jan Nicolay (R), spokesperson for the Campaign for Healthy Families; and Leslee Unruh, campaign manager for VoteYesForLife.com (Pesca, “Day to Day,” NPR, 11/2). Audio of the segment is available online.

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You’ll be able to view the whole Kaiser Day-to-day Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Every day Wellness Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service with the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Loved ones Foundation. All rights reserved.

Healthcare Prof:

Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (R) — who is running for re-election in November against Johnson County, Kan., District Attorney Paul Morrison (D) — on Tuesday began running a new television advertisement defending his decision to seek the records of 90 women and girls who in 2003 underwent late-term abortions at two clinics, the AP/Hutchinson News reports (Hanna, AP/Hutchinson News, 11/2). Kline in 2004 subpoenaed the records with the girls and girls who received late-term abortions at Comprehensive Well being, which is operated by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri in Overland Park, Kan., and Women’s Wellness Care Services in Wichita, Kan., saying there is probable cause that each record contains evidence of a felony. The original subpoena asked that the records include every patient’s name, medical history, birth control practices, psychological profile and sexual history and asked for the records of all females and girls who sought abortions at or after 22 weeks’ gestation. Shawnee County, Kan., District Court Judge Richard Anderson turned over the records to Kline’s office on Oct. 24 after removing information that would identify individuals, and Kline said they are being reviewed “by criminal investigators and criminal prosecutors” (Kaiser Day-to-day Women’s Health Policy Report, 11/2).

Reaction, Ad
“The females and children are not under investigation,” Sherriene Jones, communications director for Kline, stated, adding, “The child rapists, abortion doctors and confirming doctors are.” Lee Thompson, attorney for Women’s Health Care Services, said, “Our position, now and always has been, is there’s nothing in those files that would justify or implicate criminal conduct by our clients” (Bauer, Kansas City Star, 11/2). Based on Kline’s ad, physician George Tiller, who owns Women’s Well being Care Services, along with other people have tried to “buy the office of the attorney general.” Mark Simpson, campaign manager for Morrison, stated the ad is deceptive, adding, “As attorney general, Paul is going to follow the law, not twist it.” Simpson would not say what Morrison would do with the records handed to the attorney general’s office if elected but added, “He’ll evaluate the situation” (AP/Hutchinson News, 11/2).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. It is possible to view the whole Kaiser Every day Wellness Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for e-mail delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Day-to-day Wellness Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Household Foundation. All rights reserved.