Blogs Comment on Abortion Coverage for Peace Corps Volunteers, OTC Bill Control Access, More

April 26, 2013 —We've compiled some of the most thought-provoking commentaries from around the Web. Catch up on the conversation with bloggers from ACLU, Slate and more.

ABORTION COVERAGE FOR PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS: "It's Time To Extend Abortion Coverage to the Women of Peace Corps," Elayne Weiss, American Civil Liberties Union's "Washington Markup": "Although [Peace Corps] volunteers receive health care coverage, Congress prohibits the Peace Corps from providing coverage of abortion services with no exceptions," Weiss writes. Weiss points out that other women with federal health benefits receive abortion coverage for rape, incest and life endangerment. "It's high time that our government ensure[s] that these women ... have the coverage they need," she writes, praising recent action on the issue by President Obama -- who called for abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers in his 2014 budget proposal -- and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) -- who "introduced legislation [S 813] to make it real: the Peace Corp Equity Act." She urges Congress to pass the legislation "as soon as possible," writing, "Peace Corps volunteers already sacrifice so much -- it's time we stop asking them to sacrifice basic health care coverage as well" (Weiss, "Washington Markup," ACLU, 4/25).

What others are saying about abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers:

~ "Unfair Sacrifice: Female Peace Corps Volunteers Shouldn't Have To Give Up Their Right to Health Care," Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, RH Reality Check.

CONTRACEPTION: "Put the Pill on Drugstore Shelves. Pregnancy is More Dangerous Than Birth Control," Amanda Hess, Slate's "XX Factor": "The reality is that oral contraceptives help prevent a much more serious condition: pregnancy, which brings with it huge medical, emotional, financial, and legal risk," Hess writes in response to a recent New York Times article analyzing the debate over whether birth control pills should be available over the counter. She notes that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists "recommended that oral contraceptives be made available without a doctor's prescription, pointing to studies showing that, despite widespread fear to the contrary," women are able to safely self-screen for associated health risks and will continue to regularly visit their gynecologist. Further, "43 million American women are currently at risk of unintended pregnancy," Hess writes, adding that for many, "making enough money to feed children -- and getting into the doctor to prevent having more -- is a serious challenge." Hess concludes that putting "birth control on the shelves won't solve" problems of inaccessible health care, but it "would help prevent unwanted pregnancies, which only compound them" (Hess, "XX Factor," Salon, 4/23).

What others are saying about contraception:

~ "They Are Coming for Your Birth Control: 'Do We Want To Make the Pill Illegal? Yes!' Robin Marty, RH Reality Check.

~ "Justice Doesn't Just Happen: Feminist Activists Were Essential to EC Ruling," Sheila Bapat, RH Reality Check.

~ "Why Does the ACGME Want To Eliminate Contraceptive Training for Family Physicians?" Linda Prine/Ruth Lesnewski, RH Reality Check.

~ "Study: IUDs Offer Safe Contraception Option for Teens but Rarely Prescribed," Rachel Walden, Our Bodies Ourselves' "Our Bodies, Our Blog."

TEEN PARENTING: "How Can We Help Teen Mothers Avoid and Cope With Postpartum Depression?" Walden, Our Bodies Ourselves' "Our Bodies, Our Blog": "Although there is a fair amount of information and research available on postpartum depression in general, very little of it seems to focus specifically on the needs or care of teen mothers," Walden writes. She discusses a recent pilot study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that found "teen mothers with mental health problems," including postpartum depression, "are mostly under treated." Although the study included a small sample and the results were not statistically significant, it found that PPD was less common among a group of adolescent mothers who participated in an interpersonal therapy group "to work on effective communication skills, conflict management, improving their social support systems and building healthy relationships, and goal setting" (Walden, "Our Bodies, Our Blog," Our Bodies Ourselves, 4/25).

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: "Why These Five 'Solutions' Won't End Rape Culture," Anupreet Sandhu Bhamra, Huffington Post blogs: Bhamra writes that several commonly cited strategies for deterring rape "may act as tools to fight a sexual assault" but they will not "curb rape culture." The strategies she criticizes include self-defense classes; electrified "anti-rape underwear"; emphasizing that a woman is "someone's sister, daughter, partner, wife, mother, so it is wrong to rape her"; giving women safety tips; and arguing that rape is a "community problem" and not a universal issue. Instead, Bhamra argues that ending rape culture will require "shak[ing] the very foundation of patriarchal order, and reorganiz[ing] it, where rape is not a woman's problem" (Sandhu Bhamra, Huffington Post blogs, 4/24).

What others are saying about violence against women:

~ "Revised Sexual Assault Exam Guidelines Include Offering Victims Emergency Contraception," Erin Matson, RH Reality Check.

~ "Shut Up or Get Out: PA City Punishes Domestic Violence Victims Who Call the Police," Sandra Park, American Civil Liberties Union's "Blog of Rights."

~ "High School Protects Basketball Star at the Expense of His Rape Victims," Judy Molland, Care2.

~ "Football Wins? Steubenville Coach's Contract Extended Despite Allegations in Rape Case," Diana Reese, Washington Post's "She The People."

~ "Rape is Rape: Moving Rape Culture Out of Conversations About Sexual Assault," Erin Matson, RH Reality Check.

~ "How Rehtaeh Parsons' Story Is Helping Other Victims Speak Up About Sexual Assault," Andrea Peterson, Center for American Progress' "ThinkProgress."

~ "Dartmouth College Cancels Classes After Sexual Assault Protesters Receive Rape Threats," Annie Rose-Strasser, Center for American Progress' "ThinkProgress."

IMMIGRANT WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE: "Tell Congress That 15 Years is Way Too Long for Immigrant Women To Wait for Affordable Health Care," Juliana Britto Schwartz, Feministing: Under an immigration reform bill in the Senate, immigrants would not be able to access health care under the Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148), Medicaid or any federal benefits while they were pursuing a path to citizenship, a process that could take up to 15 years, according to Britto Schwartz. "15 years is long enough to contract [a sexually transmitted infection] and not get it checked out until your fertility is long gone," she writes, noting that it's also a long time to be at risk of unplanned pregnancies, pay for birth control out-of-pocket or be unable to afford health screenings. She calls on women's health advocates to contact their representatives in Congress, ask their friends to do the same and begin a conversation about comprehensive immigration reform so that "all people ... have the basic human right to health care" (Britto Schwartz, Feministing, 4/24).

What others are saying about immigrant women's health care:

~ "Immigrants Are Literally Swimming to Mexico for Reproductive Healthcare," Katie Baker, Jezebel.

~ "Immigrant Women Deserve Access to Safe Abortion Care, Not a House of Horrors," Shivana Jorawar, RH Reality Check.

ABORTION-RIGHTS OPPONENTS: "The Religious Right Wasn't Created To Battle Abortion," Sally Steenland, Huffington Post blogs: The argument that the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade "triggered the birth of the religious right" is "a myth," writes Steenland, director of the Center for American Progress' Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative. She explains, "Religious conservatives mobilized not because of outrage over legalized abortion but because they were furious over threats from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, to revoke the tax-exempt status of a Christian college for practicing racial discrimination." Steenland cites a book, Thy Kingdom Come, in which author Randall Balmer writes that the Southern Baptist Convention applauded the Roe decision and had even adopted a resolution two years prior that supported abortion rights in some cases. She continues, "Over the years, ... [e]vangelicals joined forces with pro-life Catholics and became a powerful voting bloc," by claiming "the moral high ground, [holding] politicians accountable, and [stigmatizing] their opponents" and "abortion ... moved from the bottom to the top of the list" (Steenland, Huffington Post blogs, 4/24).

What others are saying about abortion-rights opponents:

~ "Quote of the Day: Shooting Abortion Providers 'Will Be a Blessing to the Babies,'" Maya Dusenbery, Feministing.

TARGETED REGULATION OF ABORTION PROVIDERS: "Abortion's Foes Twist Logic in Gosnell Case," Michelle Goldberg, Daily Beast's "Women in the World": "There is a grotesque irony in the way that anti-abortion activists are trying to use the Kermit Gosnell case to further restrict access to abortion in Virginia," Goldberg writes, adding that it was "the lack of such access that drove Karnamaya Mongar, the woman Gosnell has been charged with killing, to his filthy clinic in the first place." Goldberg notes, "No one on any side of the abortion issue disputes the fact that, if the Gosnell grand-jury report is correct, his Philadelphia clinic was indeed a house of horrors," but it is "important to remember, though, that there are already a host of laws against the sort of hellish conditions that prevailed in" his clinic. Mongar "ended up there because she couldn't find a place to have an abortion" in her home state of Virginia, which has since further restricted abortion access by implementing a law that requires outpatient abortion clinics to meet hospital building standards. On Saturday, the state's Hillcrest Clinic closed its doors because it is unable to afford the $500,000 in renovations needed to comply with the law, Goldberg writes (Goldberg, "Women in the World," Daily Beast, 4/25).

What others are saying about TRAP laws:

~ "First Virginia Clinic Closes as Part of Republican Leaders' TRAP Quest," Marty, RH Reality Check.