Senators Clinton and Murray Take Action To Block HHS Regulation

UPDATE: Yesterday, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced legislation that would prevent the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) "provider-conscience" rule from being implemented. The bill, called Protecting Patients Health Care Act, is great news for women, as the HHS rule could have a drastic impact on access to quality health care.

From PPFA President Cecile Richards:

“This pending health care refusal regulation poses a serious threat to a woman’s ability to trust that she is getting complete and accurate health care information and services. Senators Clinton and Murray are true champions of women’s health, and their proposed legislation sends a strong signal to administrative agencies that Congress will not stand by as those agencies try to slip in ill-conceived midnight regulations.”


Read the full Clinton and Murray press release here:

http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=305169&&


Technorati tags: tagname, Planned Parenthood, HHS regulation, Senator Clinton, Senator Murray

HHS Update: Planned Parenthood Wants Administration To Be Held Accountable

It seems that the Bush Administration is dead set on messing with reproductive rights even if they have to violate their own rules to do it. This week Planned Parenthood, along with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the ACLU, sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget. The letter strongly urges OIRA to take its oversight responsibilities seriously with respect to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and stop the so-called "provider conscience" regulation from being issued.

As you may recall, this dangerous regulation would allow individual health care providers to redefine abortion to include the most common forms of birth control, and allow them to refuse to provide women with crucial health information and services. There have already been an overwhelming number of comments from the public, not to mention letters from clergy, medical professionals and elected officials, urging the administration to can this horrid regulation (Read some of them here). Despite these efforts, the administration has pushed onward with their final version - one that could be issued some time in the next few days.

The letter the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU sent to OIRA addresses the disastrous effect this regulation could have on healthcare for women. It also points out that HHS violated the White House directive issued in May outlining deadlines for administrative agencies to follow when issuing regulations in the closing days of the Bush administration. That directive makes exceptions only for “extraordinary circumstances,” and HHS has NOT explained the “extraordinary circumstances” in this case.

For more information on the situation, click here to read the New York Times article from yesterday.

Technorati tags: tagname, provider conscience regulation, Planned Parenthood, HHS

Victories for Reproductive Choice

The 2008 election will undoubtedly be viewed as historic. Reproductive freedom was put in jeopardy with a number of harmful state ballot measures, but when it came time for voters to weigh in on the issues, they chose to preserve privacy over government interference and protect women's health rather than promote dangerous policies.

California: California voters said "No" to Proposition 4, which would have mandated that parents of a minor be notified before she could receive an abortion. This was the third time the measure was proposed and voted down.

Colorado: Voters in Colorado defeated Amendment 48, which would have modified the state Constitution in order to grant legal rights to fertilized eggs.

South Dakota: Yet again, South Dakotans voted against a ban on abortion. The difference between this ban and the ban proposed two years ago is that this measure included exceptions for the health of the mother, as well as in cases of rape and incest. Despite these exceptions, 55% of voters voted against it.

The wins in these states are encouraging, as voters across the country were clearly saying to those looking to strip away the rights of women: "Enough is enough."

Technorati tags: tagname, Planned Parenthood, 2008 Election, ballot measures