Roundup: Washington Women's Access to EC Protected

Roundup: Washington Women’s Access to EC Protected

Jul 10, 2009, 11:15am

Amy Dempsey

Washington Women's Access to EC Protected;
Louisiana Governor Signs Bill Shielding Health Care Providers Who Refuse Services; Obama Meets the Pope

Washington Women’s Access to EC Protected
A Washington
federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that pharmacists must dispense
the emergency contraception pill (also known as Plan B), according to
the Los Angeles Times.

The
ruling arose from a case in which a pharmacy owner and two pharmacists
challenged the 2007 regulations requiring pharmacists to sell Plan B
regardless of their religious convictions. The pharmacists said their
Christian beliefs kept them from providing Plan B because Plan B
prevents implantation of a fertilized egg (an inaccurate understanding
of EC’s mechanism of action), which they saw as a form of abortion. The
plaintiffs also said the regulations were forcing them to choose
between their religion and their jobs, according to LA Times.

The article said:

"Although the courts have yet to pronounce judgment on other aspects of
the lawsuit, the unanimous ruling on the free-exercise clause could
portend further judgments, as the case moves forward, that a patient’s
right to timely medication supersedes a pharmacist’s personal
convictions…The right to freely exercise one’s religion ‘does not relieve an
individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of
general applicability,’ the 9th Circuit panel wrote."

Louisiana Governor Signs Bill Shielding Health Care Providers Who Refuse Services
Louisiana
Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill into law Tuesday providing protection
for health care providers who refuse to provide emergency
contraception, abortion services, work on research involving stem cells
or cloning and assisted suicide, according to The Times-Picayune. The law protects health care providers from the risk of legal action if they deny services to patients.

The
bill had backing from religious groups and social conservatives, but
was opposed by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties
Union, who said the law "will restrict patient access to accurate
information and timely services."

Obama Meets the Pope
As
President Obama leaves the G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy and heads to
the Vatican in Rome, he is expected to receive a warm welcome as he
meets Pope Benedict XVI for the first time, according to the New York Times.
Both leaders recognize they have differences on issues such as abortion
and contraception, but they share the same opinions on international
issues like Israel and the Palestinians, climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, increased aid to poor nations and immigration reform, according to the article.

When
Obama gave the commencement speech at University of Notre Dame,
American bishops denounced the university for giving Obama an honorary
degree and allowing him to give the commencement speech.

The article said:

"American bishops early on set an adversarial tone with the Obama administration. The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
warned in a letter soon after the election that ‘aggressive
pro-abortion policies’ would ‘be seen by many as an attack on the free
exercise of their religion."

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE:

July 10: WXYZ: Permanent Birth Control

July 9: Journal-Sentinel: State health program will give men family planning options

July 9: Reuters: Antibiotics, oral route cut "abortion pill" risks

July 9: Truthout: Pharmacists Can’t Refuse Plan B Pill, Appeals Court Says

July 9: NYTimes: U.S. Bishops and Vatican View Obama Differently

July 9: Catholic News Agency: Catholic author creates comic to foster abortion discussion

July 9: The Curvature: Americans Broadly Support Abortion Coverage in Health Reform

July 9: Washington Examiner: Senate health bill would mandate abortion coverage

July 9: The World Bank: World’s Progress on Maternal Health and Family Planning is Insufficient

July 9: Change.org Women’s Rights: Help STOP the D.C. Abortion Ban!

July 9: Daily Delivery: Op Ed on Maternal Mortality in Developing Countries