NEW: FDA Taking Public Comments on PLAN B

October 11, 2005
NCRW Member Center Planned Parenthood Federation of America launched a campaign last week regarding the FDA's announcement that it would again delay making a decision on the over-the-counter status of Plan B. The FDA is taking public comments on the topic until November 1, 2005.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A COMMENT

NEW: BUSH ADMINISTRATION APPEALS TO REINSTATE FEDERAL ABORTION BAN
September 30, 2005
The Bush Administration announced this week that they filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the Federal Abortion Ban (the so-called "Partial-Birth Abortion" ban). The Ban was struck down by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals because it does not include an exception to protect women's health.
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

UPDATE: NEW FDA COMMISSIONER APPOINTED
September 27, 2005
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach was appointed to temporarily head the FDA after Lester Crawford resigned as Commissioner. Von Eschenbach is also the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-- and was the director in 2002 when the NCI altered a fact sheet to state that the link between breast cancer and abortion was "inconclusive" rather than "absent," as had been concluded by numerous experts (reported in MISSING).
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

UPDATE: FDA COMMISSIONER RESIGNS
September 26, 2005
FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford resigned on Friday, September 23, only 2 months after he was appointed to the position. Kaiser Family Foundation , among other organizations, speculated that the move was due in part to the controversy surrounding his recent announcement to again delay the FDA decision on the over-the-counter status of the emergency contraceptive Plan B.
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

NEW: HEAD OF FDA OFFICE OF WOMEN'S HEALTH RESIGNS
September 1, 2005
Susan Wood, Director of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Women's Health, resigned yesterday. In her resignation statement, Dr. Wood cited concerns about the FDA's recent move to delay their decision on the over-the-counter status of Emergency Contraception, stating "I can no longer serve...when scientific and clinical evidence...has been overruled."
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

UPDATE: Reproductive Health groups and the ACLU ask the Department of Justice to release files on Emergency Contraception
August 31, 2005
On Tuesday, reproductive health groups and the ACLU asked the Department of Justice to release documents in order to explain why the Department’s guidelines on sexual assault do not advise hospitals treating sexual assault victims to inform them about emergency contraception.
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

UPDATE: FDA Delays Decision on Over-the-Counter Emergency Contraception
August 29, 2005
On Friday afternoon, the FDA announced that it would again delay its decision on the over-the-counter status of the emergency contraception pill, Plan B. U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Hilary Rodham Clinton spoke out against the delay, as did many women's organizations. The Feminist Majority Foundation is running an email campaign to contact the FDA. Click below for more information and to take action.
CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION

UPDATE: FDA Sets New Deadline for Decision on Emergency Contraception
July 19, 2005
Michael Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services, said on July 18 that the FDA will make its decision about emergeny contraception's (EC) over-the-counter status by September 1, 2005. A decision on the over-the-counter status of EC was delayed in January of 2005, after being denied in May 2004.
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

UPDATE: Missing Information on Emergency Contraception for Sexual Assault Survivors
June 16, 2005
NCRW reported on January 19, 2005 that the Department of Justice prublished its first guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault survivors without any mention of Emergency Contraception (EC). On June 15, Senators Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Hillary Rodham Chilnton (D-NY) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced legislation requiring hospitals to provide survivors with information and access to EC.
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

NEW: Senator Barbara Boxer's Amendment to Overturn Global Gag Rule Passes in Senate
April 7, 2005
On Tuesday, April 5, Senator Barbara Boxer’s amendment to the Department of State Reauthorization bill to overturn the Global Gag Rule (also referred to as the Mexico City Policy) passed by a 52-46 vote in the Senate.
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

SPECIAL MISSING: REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

January 19, 2005
January 22 2005 marks the 32 nd anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, legalizing women’s right to abortion. To mark this anniversary, NCRW has published the following MISSING updates:

In the coming year, many states will make moves to severely curtail women’s reproductive rights. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will again rule on the over-the-counter status of the Emergency Contraceptive, Plan B, by January 20. CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently published a protocol on sexual assault, leaving out any reference to Emergency Contraception in the guidelines for rape.
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

UPDATE: NEW INFORMATION ON INCREASE IN PREGNANCY-RELATED DEATHS AND SPREAD OF HIV AMONG WOMEN
Participants in the Countdown 2015 Conference in London, England on September 3, 2004, found that US policies on reproductive health are unhealthy for women. “We’ve seen policies emanating from this administration that have led to more unwanted pregnancies around the world, more deaths from pregnancy-related causes and more HIV infections and more unsafe abortions,” reported International Planned Parenthood Federation Director-General Steven Sinding. These findings also hit home, as the Chicago Tribune reported on the growing threat of HIV to young women in the United States, noting that 64% of new HIV cases between 1999 and 2002 occurred among women, the majority of whom were ages 13-19.

Countdown 2015 Conference
Chicago Tribune Report

TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE

UPDATE: John Ashcroft and the Department of Justice Appeal District Court Ruling that the 2003 Abortion Ban Act is Unconstitutional
On August 2, 2004, Planned Parenthood and the Associated Press reported that John Ashcroft and the Department of Justice filed an appeal to overturn the June 1 decision by Federal District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton, which ruled the 2003 “Partial-Birth” Abortion Ban unconstitutional. In her ruling, Judge Hamilton cited the law’s lack of a provision which takes into consideration the health of women. Planned Parenthood President, Gloria Feldt, stated that: “The court was right to strike down this dangerous law and Attorney General Ashcroft is wrong to squander Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to fund his anti-choice crusade.”
TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

UPDATE: Disturbing New CDC Proposal
MISSING reported that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was putting young women’s lives in danger by altering information vital to women’s health, for example information about condom effectiveness, on their website. In June 2004, the CDC again proposed to change guidelines for providing federal HIV prevention funding. Their proposal would require groups to obtain approval of all educational materials before posting them on the Internet. On August 17, 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent a letter to the CDC denouncing these proposed changes.
(www.aclu.org)