Blogs Comments on Haitian Earthquake, Super Bowl Ad, Other Topics

February 5, 2010 — The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "We Can't Overlook Reproductive Health Needs in Haiti," Sharon Camp, RH Reality Check: Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes that the Haitian earthquake has created "displacement" within the culture, where "the health and lives of Haiti's women and girls -- many of whom were already in a precarious situation because of poverty or low social status -- are threatened by severe living conditions, including the virtual absence of reproductive health services." According to Camp, "Most immediately, there is an urgent need for clean delivery kits to ensure that childbirth is safe for mothers and their newborns." She continues, "Likewise, displaced women and girls are especially vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation, and proper care -- including emergency contraception and HIV prophylaxis -- must be made widely available to any victims of sexual violence." She also writes that "many Haitian women who find themselves cut off from their usual sources for family planning services and supplies, including condoms, must be provided with free contraceptives." According to Camp, "A failure to address these needs heightens the risk for unwanted pregnancy and botched abortion, HIV and other [sexually transmitted infections] and high-risk, life-threatening pregnancies and childbirth." She adds, "The U.S. government's response to the Haitian earthquake has been both swift and strong. But Haiti's women also need the United States to reassert a leadership role in ensuring that sexual and reproductive health care is a core component of the humanitarian response to the crisis" (Camp, RH Reality Check, 2/5).

~ "'Friday Night Lights' Abortion Plotline Must-See TV," Sarah Seltzer, RH Reality Check: "Two weeks ago, DirecTV aired an episode of 'Friday Night Lights' that very quietly made a mini-kind of television history" by depicting a character's struggle with whether or not to obtain an abortion for an unintended pregnancy, Seltzer writes. The show "depicted a character having an abortion in a very nonpolitical, personal way," Seltzer notes. The season will be re-broadcast by NBC in April, Seltzer reports, adding, "It's going to be very, very important to keep an eye on how this series is treated by NBC and whether it garners protests, because [the] abortion will really be momentous if it gets depicted on a major network." Seltzer describes the series as "humane" for examining the "moral potential of women who have abortions and help each other have them, and while that shouldn't be remarkable, it is" (Seltzer, RH Reality Check, 2/5).

~ "CBS Helped With Tebow Ad," Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon's "Broadsheet": Clark-Flory highlights responses to news reports that CBS coordinated with Focus on the Family in developing its antiabortion-rights Super Bowl commercial. National Organization for Women President Terry O'Neill called the collaboration "appalling" and "extremely, extremely disturbing," Clark-Flory says. Focus on the Family said that it worked with the network to fine-tune the ad's wording and that the process was "very cordial, very professional," according to an organization spokesperson. CBS says that it often works with advertisers on their ads' scripts and that Focus on the Family did not receive "special treatment," according to Clark-Flory. "The vetting process for Super Bowl ads has always been controversial," Clark-Flory writes, adding that this year, "CBS has simply pumped up the volume by changing its policy to allow advocacy ads." Clark-Flory exhorts opponents of the Focus on the Family ad to "disagree with the policy change, call for fair representation, respond with a competing message, criticize the ad's content, skewer CBS for irresponsibly airing a dishonest and misleading ad -- assuming that actually turns out to be the case." However, she says that "calling for opposing views to be censored … just doesn't seem pro-choice to me" (Clark-Flory, "Broadsheet," Salon, 2/3).

~ "Breaking News on Emergency Contraception," Kristin Koch, NARAL Pro-Choice America's "Blog for Choice": Koch, deputy director of communications for online advocacy strategies for NARAL, writes that the Department of Defense's new policy of making emergency contraception available on every overseas military base is "a major victory for women's health and women's rights." According to Koch, "It's probably not surprising that the Bush administration" overruled a similar proposal "without explanation." She writes, "To add insult to injury, anti-choice groups ... have since opposed efforts by members of Congress to fix this problem." Koch continues, "Fortunately, unlike his predecessor, President Obama supports the decisions of medical experts and policy recommendations based on science, not politics." She writes, "Now we just need to make sure that anti-choice ideologues don't threaten military women's access to emergency contraception again" (Koch, "Blog for Choice," NARAL Pro-Choice America, 2/4).

~ "A Blueprint for High-Quality, High-Value Maternity Care," Maureen Corry, WBUR'S "Commonhealth": A "well-planned roadmap toward health care nirvana" already exists for maternity care, according to Corry, the executive director of the not-for-profit research and advocacy organization Childbirth Connection. She says, "Maternity care is the sweet spot for what we all want: high-quality, high-value care," adding that it is "one of the only sectors of the health care industry where less care often means better care." Corry notes two recent reports released by her organization that "lay out the values of and recommendations for a maternity care system in which women receive high-quality evidence-based care at an appropriate cost." The first report -- called 2020 Vision for a High-Quality, High-Value Maternity Care System -- presents "a shared view of fundamental values, principles and attributes that constitute a high-quality maternity care system," she writes. The second report -- called Blueprint for Action -- includes "detailed recommendations and action steps" and outlines specific strategies in 11 critical areas, such as performance management, disparities, clinical controversies and consumer choice, according to Corry. "The reports are only the first step in a concerted effort to transform maternity care," she writes. Corry calls on hospitals and health plans that have successfully implemented quality improvement programs to share their knowledge and experiences. She concludes, "Health care reform offers many opportunities, but with or without it, there's work to be done to ensure optimal care for women and newborns" (Corry, "Commonhealth," WBUR, 2/3).