Let’s start this rundown off right with some heartening, touching news: Our uber-conservative governor, Doug Ducey, shocked us all by clearing the way for same-sex couples to adopt and foster children in Arizona. (AZ Central)- Somebody pinch me. More Arizona goodness: A Scottsdale venture capitalist is doing his part to ensure that women in the United States have access to affordable birth control. How terrific! (Tucson Sentinel)
- Delaying pregnancy could reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. (Live Science)
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 90 percent of teenagers who are sexually active used some form of birth control the last time they were intimate. Ninety percent! Ahhh-mazing. (Tech Times)
- Dear Religious Right: My president is not here for your “conversion therapy” shenanigans. (NYT)
- Will California pass a bill to force “crisis pregnancy centers” to start giving abortion options? If so, I’ll go ahead and wager my entire bank account that these lying liars will close every single location. Sorry, but the truth is they’d much rather deceive women than help them. (RH Reality Check)
- Joining Utah, South Dakota, and Missouri, North Carolina is on track to become the fourth state in the nation to enact a three-day waiting period for abortion. Congratulations on sucking, all of you. (The News & Observer)
- Kansas has banned the safest and most convenient procedure for women undergoing second-trimester abortions. (NYT)
- The whirlwind of Republican idiocy continues in Alabama, where conservatives are now trying to prevent abortion clinics from being located within 2,000 feet of a public school. Because someone terminating a pregnancy could somehow affect anonymous, oblivious school children? Does Alabama ban guns (including concealed carry) within 2,000 feet of public schools? Nope!!! (Montgomery Advertiser)
- Younger Republicans are less pig-headed about birth control than their older peers, but still fairly pig-headed. (HuffPo)
- Women who develop gestational diabetes early in their pregnancies are more likely to give birth to children who will later be diagnosed with autism. (Reuters)
Tag Archives: teenager
Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown
The fight over medication-induced abortions continues here in Arizona. (NYT)- Sure, the birth control pill is great for keeping your womb empty, but did you know it also makes sex hotter? #WinWin (Slate XX)
- Birth control without a co-pay looks pretty much doomed thanks to the chumps at Hobby Lobby. (Slate)
- Things will only get harder on the access front for birth control if Hobby Lobby wins this case. Best of luck even talking to your doctor about birth control if you have insurance. (Think Progress)
- Jon Stewart’s rant about Hobby Lobby’s (referred to here as “Jesus Christ Superstore”) shenanigans is epic. (The Wire)
- The one question that confounds so many of us in the midst of this “religious liberty” Hobby Lobby debacle is this: WHY THE HELL ARE WE STILL ARGUING ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL IN 2014??? (CNN)
- Teenagers are positively brimming with sexual responsibility these days! (RH Reality Check)
- The asinine law (requiring admitting privileges at local hospitals) that caused 16 abortion providers to close in Texas has been upheld by a federal appeals court. (Time)
- An “abortion doula” speaks on the range of emotions involved in helping women terminate pregnancies. Very powerful, moving article. (The Atlantic)
- Are we ever going to make male birth control happen? (Bustle)
Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown
A judge in Nebraska’s Supreme Court ruled that a 16-year-old foster child was not “mature enough” to have an abortion. She is, apparently, mature enough to:
- endure nine months of a potentially difficult pregnancy
- endure childbirth (which is much more dangerous than abortion)
- have a child to take care of financially and emotionally for something like … I don’t know, 20 years
- be a teen parent totally alone in this world with no close relatives to support her and her child
Welcome to the perfectly logical world of anti-choicers. (Jezebel)
- Contraception: good for women and good for society. (Raw Story)
- Expanding the availability of abortions — California, you’re doin’ it right. (NYT)
- Not interfering with a woman’s legal right to abortion — Ohio, you’re doin’ it wrong. (NYT)
- Although World Contraception Day was two weeks ago, it’s still important that you know these five things about birth control. (ThinkProgress)
- Not so fast, Virginia, your abortion restrictions will not go unchallenged!! (WaPo)
- A thoughtful mother wants safe, legal abortion access available for her daughter and everyone else’s. (The Daily Beast)
- Another religious “institution” doing whatever possible to restrict their female employees’ access to abortion. (LA Times)
- If you’re a GOP legislator, why would you focus on resolving the silly government shutdown when you can instead propose more legislation around abortion? (RH Reality Check)
What Is Title X? Free or Sliding-Scale Family Planning Services in Arizona
The Jean Hoffman Health Center in Tucson is a Title X location.
What is Title X (Title 10)? And why should I care?
The short answer: Title X may mean that some people qualify for free or reduced-cost family planning services, which could impact their ability to meaningfully access health care. In a time of rising health care costs and precarious employment, that is no small thing.
The longer explanation: Title X is a federal family planning program that was enacted in 1970. For anyone keeping historical tabs, this means that Republican President Richard Nixon signed this piece of legislation into action. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs, “The Title X program is designed to provide access to contraceptive services, supplies and information to all who want and need them. By law, priority is given to persons from low-income families.” While there are other federally funded health care sources for people with low incomes, Title X remains the only source dedicated specifically to family planning services.
If you can’t afford family-planning and sexual health services, Title X may help.
In Arizona, the Arizona Family Health Partnership uses Title X funds to provide services to approximately 40,000 people each year. Most of these people have incomes at or below the federal poverty line and may not otherwise have access to health care. Four Arizona Planned Parenthood health centers receive Title X funds through the Arizona Family Health Partnership to provide reduced cost sexual and reproductive health care. Continue reading