By Armin Rosen NEW YORK, Mar1, 2010 (IPS) - Last fall, the push to reform healthcare in the United States was all but hijacked by one of the country's most passionate recurring cultural debates.
On Nov. 7, 2009, Congressmen Bart Stupak, a liberal Democrat, and Joseph Pitts, a conservative Republican, sponsored a stipulation in the healthcare reform bill that would severely limit federal funding for abortions in a reformed healthcare system.
If Barack Obama's comprehensive reform bill were passed, consumers would be able to buy discounted health insurance from an index of government-subsidised providers. But under the Stupak-Pitts amendment, an insurer could only be included on the index if its plans excluded abortions from its coverage.
The amendment passed, 240-194, and the debate over health care reform turned into a debate over abortion rights. Suddenly, a vote for reforming health care was also a vote for curtailing lower and middle-income access to abortions in the United States.
Wendy Chavkin, a professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, is a member of a group of academics that authored a position paper on the place of reproductive health in the healthcare reform process.
If you haven't seen a female condom lately, you're not alone. More than 15 years after the only female-controlled method to prevent HIV was introduced, it is still largely marginalized and inaccessible.
IRIN/PlusNews has compiled a list illustrating female condom distribution in Southern African countries.
Botswana
The government distributed over 370,000 female condoms free of charge in 2008, mainly through its health facilities. The condoms can also be purchased from stores and pharmacies for about US$2.80 each.
Lesotho
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare distributed about 110,000 female condoms by September 2009.
Speaking of Sex has been running some quality podcasts for a while now. They asked me today, to post their latest series here: Preventing Pregnancy.
It is in two parts, video and audio. Please visit their site. I have already invited them to cross-post here at any time.
-arvan
Preventing Pregnancy Show #48 posted on March 18, 2009
Preventing a pregnancy is too important to be left to chance. Hormonal birth control comes in a variety of methods that are easy to use and more than 99% effective. Watch our video to learn why we think hormonal contraception is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Preventing Pregnancy: Continuing the Conversation Show #49 posted on July 01, 2009
Our audio follow-up delves deeper into the issue of hormonal birth control. A Planned Parenthood educator offers information for women curious about methods. A New York artist discusses how he uses birth control pills to make a fashion statement and a statement about family planning. And we share new information about a recent study on male birth control.
JOHANNESBURG, 10 September 2009 (PlusNews)
