This week, 12 new lawsuits were filed challenging the contraceptive coverage rule, doubling those already in play. The lawsuits have made a splash by virtue of their number, but when you take a moment to actually look at them, there’s nothing to see. The rule is constitutional, it violates no federal law, and it’s incredibly important for women.
When I was growing up in California, I often felt disconnected from my extended family in Mexico. Once I became a teenager, however, I realized our experiences weren't as different as I'd assumed in my youth, especially when it came to accessing sexual and reproductive health care.
Texas' new state-only funded Women's Health Program, built expressly to exclude Planned Parenthood from participation, has launched a website that's meant to help low-income women find health care providers. But does it work? And is the capacity there to fill the need? Our analysis indicates the answer is no.
Weekly global roundup: United Nations report on global maternal health yields mixed results; South Asian teen girls still marrying at high rates; Zambia sees conflict over various articles on reproductive rights in new constitution draft; Indonesia continues to struggle with reproductive and sexual health as they face growing rates of HIV infection.
It is critical that the barriers facing women in relation to accessing supportive peri-natal services are fully understood and addressed including structural drivers such as poverty, gender-based violence from partners, in-laws and neighbours, and property and inheritance rights loss. If we do not address these issues, we can not "save the babies."
