Tag: contraception

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Courts split on contraception, cases plow forward

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contraception legislationThe cases brought against the Obama administration’s employer contraception coverage rule are largely marching forward, despite the White House’s recent attempt at compromise, the American Civil Liberties Union noted in an update Thursday.

Brigitte Amiri, an attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, told reporters more than 40 cases have been filed against the rule from for-profit and nonprofit groups that oppose having to pay for contraception on moral grounds. Some cases are traveling up to the appellate courts, where, she said, five decisions regarding temporary relief from the rule have been made so far. Three circuit courts have denied temporary relief to plaintiffs, and two have granted it.

When the administration rolls out its final rule regarding nonprofit organizations, more cases brought by the groups could be dismissed as they would be exempt from the coverage requirement.

The ACLU has filed amicus briefs in many cases in support of the contraception rule and the government. Read full article.

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Birth Control Rule Altered to Allay Religious Objections

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WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday proposed yet another compromise to address strenuous objections from religious organizations about a policy requiring health insurance plans to provide free contraceptives, but the change did not end the political furor or legal fight over the issue.

The proposal could expand the number of groups that do not need to pay directly for birth control coverage, encompassing not only churches and other religious organizations, but also some religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and social service agencies. Health insurance companies would pay for the coverage.

The latest proposed change is the third in the last 15 months, all announced on Fridays, as President Obama has struggled to balance women’s rights, health care and religious liberty. Legal experts said the fight could end up in the Supreme Court. Read full article.

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Unlikely Coalition Fights Contraception Mandate

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Abortion opponents rallying by the thousands Friday in Washington at the annual March for Life have lost some political battles lately but won a string of court victories, thanks in part to a diverse coalition challenging a contraception mandate in the health care overhaul.

For-profit businesses, state attorneys general and educational institutions are among more than 100 plaintiffs who have mounted some 40 lawsuits challenging the mandate, according to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit legal institute that has played a leading role in the suits. With lower courts in dispute over the mandate, both sides agree the issue will almost inevitably be settled by the Supreme Court.

The mandate requires employer-sponsored health care plans to cover contraception, including intrauterine devices and emergency birth control drugs that many religious employers equate with abortion. The Obama administration offered a narrow exemption for religious organizations and required insurers, not employers, to pay for the services. However, opponents remain unsatisfied. Read full article.

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Abusive partners can sabotage contraception

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While researchers don’t know exactly how common it is, the nation’s leading group of obstetricians and gynecologists says women should be screened for ‘reproductive coercion.’

When a husband hides a wife’s birth control pills or a boyfriend takes off a condom in the middle of sex in hopes of getting an unwilling girlfriend pregnant, that’s a form of abuse called reproductive coercion.

While researchers don’t know exactly how common such coercion is, it’s common enough – especially among women who are abused by their partners in other ways – that health care providers should screen women for signs at regular check-ups and pregnancy visits, says the nation’s leading group of obstetricians and gynecologists.

“We want to make sure that health care providers are aware that this is something that does go on and that it’s a form of abuse,” says Veronica Gillispie, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, and a member of the committee that wrote the opinion for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It’s published in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, out today. Read full article.

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Women with migraine with aura advised of contraception risk

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Certain types of modern contraception could be risky for women who have migraines with aura, a new study has found.

According to research unveiled at this year’s meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, these females are more likely to experience deep vein thrombosis and other blood clot complications. Women have therefore been urged to bear this in mind when deciding how to proceed with family planning.

Dr Shivang Joshi, a specialist at Brigham and Women’s Falkner Hospital in Boston, commented: “Women who have migraine with aura should be sure to include this information in their medical history and talk to their doctors about the possible risks of newer contraceptives, given their condition.”

The study also showed that migraine with aura is second only to high blood pressure as the biggest cause of heart attacks and strokes. Read full article.

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Oklahoma City doctor says emergency contraception not abortion

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There’s a difference between the drugs that induce a medical abortion and those used in emergency contraception, or the morning-after pill, an Oklahoma City doctor said this past week.

“Emergency contraception, first and foremost, is not an abortifacient,” Dr. Andrea Palmer, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Lakeside Women’s Hospital, said. “It is not going to dislodge or disrupt an already implanted pregnancy. It’s not something that is going to cause an implanted pregnancy to no longer be implanted or to abort.”

Whether emergency contraceptive pills can cause abortions has been a contentious fight since the pills first came onto the market.

Emergency contraceptive pills have been around since the 1970s, according to a study published in the Association for Voluntary Surgical Contraception journal. Plan B and ella are two examples of emergency contraceptive pills currently available in the U.S.  Read full article.

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Could New Skyla Intrauterine Contraception Help Women Reach for the Stars?

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IUDIt’s evident that contraception, when used correctly and consistently, helps women and couples avoid pregnancy until they’re ready to become parents. Contraception has helped millions of women (and men) stay in school, achieve personal and professional life goals, and plan for healthy pregnancies.

Now, a new contraceptive intrauterine system (IUS), Skyla, will be added to the array of options a woman can choose from to prevent pregnancy.

Skyla is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved hormonal IUS, like Mirena, but smaller. You could think of it as Mirena’s little sister—both developed by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals. Both release the progestin levonorgestrel and both are over 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy. Unlike Mirena, Skyla contains less levonorgestrel and only lasts up to three years whereas Mirena lasts for five.

And, because Skyla is smaller, it can fit into the uterus of women who have not carried a pregnancy to term. This means that younger women, who are less likely to have given birth, have another contraceptive method to choose from.

Historically, young women have relied on birth control pills for contraception, but many have become pregnant while using them. Pills, when used consistently and correctly, are 99 percent effective but are only 91 percent effective with typical use. Skyla and other IUDs are 99 percent effective and leave little room for user error. Read full article.

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Judge rules for Domino’s Farms in contraception coverage case

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Detroit — The founder of Domino’s Pizza won’t be subject to a new federal health care law requiring contraception coverage for employees while a lawsuit he filed challenging the new mandate is pending, a judge has ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff on Thursday granted an emergency motion by Tom Monaghan to temporarily halt the enforcement of the federal Health and Human Services mandate.

Monaghan, a devout Roman Catholic, and the Domino’s Farms Corp. sued the federal government, alleging the law violates their rights and asking the court to strike it down.

“It was the best case scenario for us,” said Erin Mersino of the Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center, the lead attorney on Monaghan’s case. “It was a favorable opinion, and we are very happy for our clients.”

The lawsuit is among 11 others nationwide challenging the new mandate that became law in August.

Zatkoff’s ruling halts enforcement of the mandate against Monaghan and his property management company, of which he is the sole owner and shareholder.

Domino’s Farms Corp. manages an office complex owned by Monaghan and is not affiliated with Domino’s Pizza. Monaghan sold the pizza company in 1998.

If any of the courts rule the preventative care provision in the federal health care act is unconstitutional, it would not eliminate the law, but force Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to retool it. Read full article.

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5 Reasons Teens Need Free Access to Contraception (Just Ask the French)

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Girls between the ages of 15 and 18 in France will be able to get birth control free of charge, and without parental notification, starting in January 2013.

The free consultation and contraception, which can take place at the family doctor’s office, will be covered by the state and not a girl’s insurance, meaning that she will be protected by a further layer of privacy. By doing this, the government hopes to increase contraception use and reduce the teen pregnancy rate, which they believe is due to ignorance, taboo and a lack of access to contraception.

Under current rules, most teenagers can get absolute anonymity with a doctor, but have to pay for the visit in cash without submitting a claim to get the money back. Read full article.

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Religious organizations win, lose in contraception mandate cases

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Two church-affiliated schools scored a victory and a Christian-owned chain store was handed a costly defeat this week in their separate ongoing legal battle against the Obama administration’s contraception mandate.

On Thursday, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld a lower court ruling that denied a request by arts and crafts chain store Hobby Lobby to temporarily block enforcement of the mandate. The denial could cost the company up to $1.3 million in daily fines if it doesn’t provide a controversial contraceptive drug through its employees’ insurance plan.

That ruling comes two days after the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., reinstated the lawsuits filed by Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina andWheaton College in Illinois and ordered the government to make good on its promise to draft new rules that could resolve the legal standoff between church-owned schools and hospitals and the Obama administration.

The ruling “turned a page here by adding a new level of supervision to hold the government responsible for the promise it made,” said Kyle Duncan, general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents the two church-affiliated schools. Read full article.