US: Federally Qualified Health Centers Could Not Readily Replace Planned Parenthood

Federally Qualified Health Centers Could Not Readily Replace Planned Parenthood
May 17, 2017

New and Updated Guttmacher Resources Detail the Critical Roles Filled by Planned Parenthood and Title X in U.S. Family Planning Safety Net

New evidence from the Guttmacher Institute shows that it is unrealistic to expect federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to serve the millions of women who currently rely on Planned Parenthood for high-quality contraceptive care. The argument that FQHC sites could easily absorb these clients has been key to social conservatives’ efforts to shutter Planned Parenthood health centers by excluding them from various public funding streams, including Medicaid.

Continued at source: Guttmacher Institute: http://mailchi.mp/guttmacher/federally-qualified-health-centers-could-not-readily-replace-planned-parenthood?e=bb6e0547c2

U.S.: Congressional health-care bill ‘defunds’ Planned Parenthood

Congressional health-care bill ‘defunds’ Planned Parenthood

By Sandhya Somashekhar and Paige W. Cunningham
May 4, 2017

The health-care bill passed by the House brought Republicans closer to their goal of erasing Obamacare from the books. But it also revived another long-
cherished aspiration: cutting off the flow of federal funds to Planned Parenthood.

A provision in the bill temporarily blocks the 100-year-old nonprofit women’s health organization and abortion provider from participating in the Medicaid program. If enacted, it would deal a devastating blow to an organization that provides reproductive services and other health care to 2.5 million people annually.

Continued at source: Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/congressional-health-care-bill-defunds-planned-parenthood/2017/05/04/afdc3b5a-30f1-11e7-8674-437ddb6e813e_story.html

U.S.: She’s 17 and Needs Birth Control. Do We Turn Our Backs?

She’s 17 and Needs Birth Control. Do We Turn Our Backs?

Nicholas Kristof
MARCH 4, 2017

LEWISTON, Me. — She is 17 years old, has an alarming itch “down there” and has come to the family planning clinic because she doesn’t know where else to go.

Sara Hayes, a nurse practitioner, breezes into the examining room and soothes the teenager. Hayes takes a swab and quickly diagnoses a mild yeast infection — perhaps from scented tampons — while setting aside samples to test later for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Then Hayes explains birth control options, and the girl brightens at the idea of an invisible implant in her arm, fully covered by insurance. It will last at least three years and be more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.

Continued at source: New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/04/opinion/sunday/shes-17-and-needs-birth-control-do-we-turn-our-backs.html

Trump expands anti-abortion ban to all US global health aid

Trump expands anti-abortion ban to all US global health aid
Canadian Press
Edith M. Lederer
Jan 25, 2017

President Donald Trump has massively expanded the ban on providing federal money to international family planning groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information to all organizations receiving U.S. global health assistance.

Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer announced Monday that the ban on family planning funding — which was instituted by GOP President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and has bounced in and out of law between Democratic and Republican administrations — had been reinstituted. But it wasn't until the president's memorandum was published Monday night that the expansion came to light.

[continued at link]
Source: MSN.com: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/trump-expands-anti-abortion-ban-to-all-us-global-health-aid/ar-AAmbVoP

25.01.2017