The following summarizes selected womens healthrelated blog entries.

~ “Democratic Bill Could Be a Preview of Obamas Abortion Plan,” Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Reports “God and Country” A recently introduced bill aimed at reducing the need for abortion is “big news because moderate to liberal faithbased advocates are urging the White House to adopt the bill … as the core of its forthcoming common ground plan on abortion and reproductive health,” Gilgoff writes. Some conservative religious groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “have warned the White House” that the bill is a “deal breaker” for them because of its support for comprehensive sex education and contraception, he writes. The White House “has refused to say which way its leaning,” Gilgoff writes, adding the Obama administration could “buck” the groups that support the bill and “get behind” the Pregnant Women Support Act, “which is generally considered more robust on reducing demand for abortions and which leaves out contraceptive funding.” However, he concludes, “that would be a pretty big surprise” (Gilgoff, “God and Country,” U.S. News & World Report, 7/23).

~ “New Report Abortion Providers = American Human Rights Defenders, Now Under Increasing Attack,” Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check A new Center for Reproductive Rights report “calls on both the federal and state governments to address the growing threats against and stigmatization and abuse of abortion providers throughout the United States,” Jacobson writes. The report “focuses on a key obstacle to the realization of womens reproductive rights … and recognizes their work as human rights defenders,” she writes, adding that the U.S. has “historically been a leader both in creating and in encouraging accountability to human rights principles throughout the world.” However, “[a]ccess to reproductive health care generally and abortion care specifically are basic human rights largely ignored within the context of U.S. domestic politics,” Jacobson writes, noting that abortion access in the U.S. “has been increasingly limited due to the range of obstacles created through antichoice advocacy.” The report highlights several “types of rights violations [that] are most pervasive in limiting womens choices and the rights of abortion providers,” including “intimidation and harassment,” “stigma” and “legal restrictions.” The report makes a “series of recommendations for change at the state and local level for changes in policy and in law enforcement practices, as well as for the federal government, medical community and nongovernmental organizations,” Jacobson concludes, adding that the report “makes a special plea for the United Nations Special Rapporteur to document violations of womens human rights in the United States” (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 7/22).

~ “Sixteen Governors Call on Congress To Include Medicaid Family Planning State Option in Health Reform,” Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check “Sixteen governors have written a letter to both Senate and House Leadership expressing strong support for the Medicaid Family Planning State Option,” which is included in President Obamas fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, Jacobson writes. The governors wrote, “Many of our states have created family planning expansion programs, though we have done so with great difficulty,” adding, “Since the early 1990s, 27 states have been granted federal waivers to expand their Medicaid family planning coverage. These demonstration projects have been unqualified successes, providing care to millions of women while saving states [millions] of dollars.” Jacobson continues, “The current Medicaid waiver process, however, puts unnecessary roadblocks in the way of our efforts to maintain and expand coverage for family planning services,” according to the governors. She adds, “Passing this law as part of health care reform would give us the needed flexibility to quickly and efficiently expand coverage for this basic preventive health care under Medicaid,” the letter says (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 7/23).

~ “Hows That Common Ground Going?” Frances Kissling, Salons Broadsheet “After four years of behindthescenes negotiating, prochoice groups turned out in full force” behind Reps. Tim Ryan (DOhio) and Rosa DeLauro (DConn.) on Thursday to announce the latest version of a bill aimed at reducing the need for abortion, Kissling writes. She adds that the “bill is bound to get good media coverage, as it fits nicely with the presidents cant we all get along plea for common ground on abortion.” According to Kissling, “[a]pparently everyone could not get along, and the task of lining up supporters for the bill … was a bruising experience” for the people crafting the measure. “Prolifers were disappointed that contraception was included,” and “[p]rochoicers were concerned the language of the bill sent an abortion is bad message,” she writes, adding, “It was a bitter pill for both sides to swallow, though, so far, no one has choked.” Kissling continues, “Frankly, its the kind of bill that should have been passed 20 years ago what a shame that for women to get what they need, it must be framed in terms of reducing the need for abortion.” She writes, “Whether all this represents common ground is debatable, but it clearly represents renewed public attention on abortion, which is under attack by antichoice members of Congress in the health care reform package,” concluding, “Lets keep talking” (Kissling, “Broadsheet,” Salon, 7/23).

~ “Want Insurance To Cover Your Reproductive Health Care? White House Advisor Tells Grassroots Its Time To Bring It,” Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check “Want your basic reproductive health services covered under health reform? Want to keep the coverage for reproductive health care, contraception and abortion care you already have? Want to ensure that you, your mother, daughter, sister, friends, neighbors and the millions of women in the United States living without health insurance get coverage for primary reproductive health care once Congress gets through serving up sausage for your health benefits?,” Jacobson asks, adding, “Then its time for women to bring it and get back into campaign mode.” Jacobson quotes Tina Tchen director of the White House Office of Public Engagement who addressed the 2009 Planned Parenthood Organizing and Policy Summit last week. According to Jacobson, Tchen “provided participants with a status update on health care reform and reiterated the Obama administrations commitment to womens health” and “reminded the group that they had elected a prochoice president” who has “publicly reaffirmed his support for a womans right to choose.” Jacobson also examines the hurdles that womens rights groups might face in their efforts to get insurers to provide coverage for reproductive health care, as well as the opposition to such efforts. She writes that “despite the evidence, the benefits and the clear public support for women to continue making their own medical decisions with their families and their doctors, and for full coverage of these services, antichoice activists and politicians continue to play the same political shell games with womens health and lives” (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 7/22).

~ “How To Win a Culture War,” Jim Wallis, Gods Politics The “biggest fear of those leading the culture war” against abortion rights is “common ground,” Wallis writes, noting, “Culture wars require a clash of incompatible ideologies; common ground acknowledges differences but finds practical shared goals.” Wallis continues that the “next casualty” in the culture wars “will be meaningful health care reform,” citing the current debate over abortion coverage by private insurance companies. “At this point in the debate, abortion should not become a wedge issue that could doom the chances of any legislation passing,” he writes, adding, “Any final legislation should make clear that no private insurance company will be mandated to pay for an abortion, nor should they be prohibited from paying for an abortion.” Such provisions “would maintain the current status quo and demonstrate how sensible common ground can bring people together,” Wallis writes. He also praises the RyanDeLauro bill, which aims to reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancies. The bill “demonstrates how searching for common ground can lead to higher ground, in ways that both sides of the debate can embrace without compromising their core principles,” he writes, adding, “We have a great opportunity to advance our shared values and common goals at a crucial moment in our countrys history.” Wallis concludes that Sojourners “strongly support[s] this good and wise piece of legislation and applaud[s] the creative solutions it offers for real action” (Wallis, Gods Politics, 7/23).

AntiabortionRights Blog

~ “ProLife Leaders Unite To Fight Abortion Mandate in Health Care Reform,” David Brody, The Brody File Focus on the Familys James Dobson and the Family Research Councils Tony Perkins on Thursday led a “big prolife webcast devoted to trying to stop potential abortion coverage in any future health care reform bill,” Brody writes, adding, “Like the White House didnt have enough fires to put out on health care.” While President Obama “may have made some inroads with evangelicals” during the 2008 presidential campaign, “he may very well pay a steep price with religious voters” if abortion coverage is included in “any Obamaled health care plan,” Brody writes. He notes that he is “not talking just conservative evangelicals,” but is including “moderates and especially among Catholic voters.” Brody writes that the bills currently in Congress “do not specifically call for abortion coverage, but they also dont specifically exclude it either,” which “leaves the issue very murky and therefore prolifers are definitely skeptical” (Brody, The Brody File, 7/22).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Womens Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Womens Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation last week filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court asking “the court to order the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to enforce regulations that require condom use in adultfilm production or take other reasonable steps to stem the spread of disease,” the Los Angeles Times reports (Yoshino, 7/17). In the petition, “the group claims that in the month since an actress tested positive for HIV, the county Department of Public Health has done little to address what it considers to be a serious health threat” (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 7/16). In a statement released last week, the department, said, “The county continues to strongly support state legislation and the regulatory role of the [California Division of Occupational Safety and Health] as the most appropriate means to regulate the practices in the adultfilm industry that expose performers to unnecessary and preventable occupational risks of acquiring and transmitting these diseases,” adding, “The department does not believe that litigation is the best means to deal with this issue” (Yoshino, 7/17).

This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Researchers who analyzed pooled data from several studies concluded that using condoms was linked to a modest reduction in the risk of acquiring the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2), although the effect was not as large as that observed with other sexually transmitted diseases.

The research was the work of lead author Emily T. Martin from the University of Washington and the Seattle Childrens Hospital, and colleagues, and is published in the 13 July issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine..

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV1) and type 2 (HSV2), although HSV2 accounts for most cases. The virus can stay in the body indefinitely, but the number of outbreaks tends to lessen over the years.

Most people who have genital herpes have no or slight symptoms, but when they do occur they appear as one or more blisters near or on the genitals or rectum. The blisters rupture and cause ulcers that can take up to a month to heal the first time, and not so long the second time which usually happens weeks or months after the first outbreak.

Research on how effective using condoms might be in lessening the spread of HSV2 is inconclusive, which is why Martin and colleagues decided to carry out a pooled analysis. They wrote that to their knowledge this was the

“Largest analysis using prospective data to assess the effect of condom use in preventing HSV2 acquisition.”

For the study they identified 6 prospective studies that had collected data on individual condom use and where HSV2 had been confirmed with lab tests. Longitudinal studies are studies that observe patterns of behaviour or drug use over a length of time and link them to outcomes measured during or at the end of the period.

The study investigators were able to supply Martin and colleagues with individuallevel data so they could do a pooled analysis (in effect treat the amassed data statistically as if it had come from one large study).

For the analysis they used two ways of measuring effective condom use they worked out a percentage of total sex acts that used condoms and they also used a figure calculated from absolute numbers of unprotected sex acts.

The results showed thatThe pooled data covered 5,384 people who did not have HSV2 at the start of an overall total of over 2 million days of follow up.
415 people tested positive for HSV2 during the follow up.
People who used condoms 100 per cent of the time had a 30 per cent lower risk of acquiring HSV2 than those who never used them.
The risk of acquiring HSV2 went up steadily and significantly with each unprotected sex act.
These ratios were the same for men and women.The authors concluded that

“Although the magnitude of protection was not as large as has been observed with other STIs, we found that condoms offer moderate protection against HSV2 acquisition in men and women.”

“A Pooled Analysis of the Effect of Condoms in Preventing HSV2 Acquisition.”
Emily T. Martin; Elizabeth Krantz; Sami L. Gottlieb; Amalia S. Magaret; Andria Langenberg; Lawrence Stanberry; Mary Kamb; Anna Wald.
Arch Intern Med, Vol. 169 No. 13, pp 1233 1240, July 13, 2009

Additional sources CDC.

Written by Catharine Paddock, PhD

In a bid to reduce dangerous levels of undiagnosed HIV among gay men, Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is launching a new campaign encouraging men to take control of their sexual health by regularly testing for HIV. The campaign THIVK Test Take Control will be run through a standalone website (thinkHIV.co.uk), adverts in gay press, posters, leaflets and condom packs, carrying the following messages

“Treatments have never been so good. If you have HIV, the sooner you find out the better.”
“Think HIV testing takes too long? Some clinics offer rapid tests with results in 20 minutes.”
“You think youre HIV negative? You might be wrong.”

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) estimates that, in the UK, up to 10,000 gay men have HIV without knowing one in four men infected with the virus dont know they have it. Despite this, around a third of gay men in England have never taken an HIV test, with the figure even higher in Scotland and Wales. Reasons men dont test include not realising how much theyve put themselves at risk, concern about the length of time theyll have to wait for the result, and fear of getting a positive result.

THTs new campaign THIVK Test Take Control directly addresses these concerns, outlining why if you have HIV its vitally important it be diagnosed as early as possible. People diagnosed late (CD4 count < 200) are much more likely to die within a year of diagnosis than those diagnosed sooner, while those who leave it too long to start HIV treatment are also more likely to pass the virus on to their partners than those who are already receiving treatment.

Marc Thompson, Deputy Head of Health Promotion says “Recent medical advances mean HIV treatments are now more effective, easier to take and have fewer side effects. Doctors are now confident people with HIV will live long and healthy lives if diagnosed soon enough. However, if gay men leave it too late to get tested, theyre setting themselves up for serious health problems and the risk of early death.

“Its now recommended that gay men test at least once a year, or after any unprotected sex. With the new rapid HIV tests available in testing centres such as THT Fastest, its never been easier to test. Part of the reason gay men dont test as often as they should may be that they underestimate the importance of being aware of your HIV status. We hope that, through the new campaign, we can encourage men to take control and make testing for HIV a regular part of their lives.”

Notes

1. Terrence Higgins Trust is the UKs largest HIV and sexual health charity with centres across England, Scotland and Wales. Were here to provide information and advice about HIV and sexual health and offer a range of services including sexual health checks, counselling and support groups. We campaign for a world where people with HIV live healthy lives, free from prejudice and discrimination and we promote good sexual health as a right and reality for all. Terrence Higgins Trust relies on donations to deliver a wide range of services. To make a donation, visit tht.org.uk

Advocates of abstinenceonly sex education “[w]ell aware that their cause is in trouble and unpopular” are “revamping their image to appear more mainstream,” Jessica Valenti, author of “The Purity Myth How Americas Obsession With Virginity Is Hurting Young Women” and editor of the blog Feministing, writes in an opinion piece in The Nation. She writes that “high on the list of priorities” for abstinenceonly proponents is “developing a strategy for continuing to receive federal dollars.” Although President Obama “has brought some measure of sanity to public health policy” by reducing funding for abstinenceonly programs in his fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, “with Obamas faithbased initiative lending an ear” to abstinenceonly proponents, their strategy “might just work,” according to Valenti.

Valenti writes that abstinenceonly proponents have launched what she terms a “virginity movement.” Backers of this movement included “antifeminist think tanks,” such as the Independent Womens Forum and Concerned Women for America, as well as abstinenceonly groups, religious leaders and certain conservative lawmakers, Valenti says. She adds that the movement “is much more than the same old sexism; its a targeted and wellfunded backlash hellbent on rolling back womens rights using modernized notions of purity, morality and sexuality.”

Valenti continues that the groups effort includes “appropriating the language and tools of comprehensive sex education and its advocates,” while also “attempting to legitimize its message by rebranding itself as sciencebased.” For example, Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, said during a recent Capitol Hill briefing that abstinenceonly “talks about contraception” and offers “medically accurate information.” In reality, “the only time abstinenceonly classes will talk about contraception is when they discuss failure rates often exaggerating those rates or spreading misinformation about the dangers of contraception,” Valenti writes.

The “good news in all of this” is that most funding for abstinenceonly education would be redirected to “teen pregnancy prevention programs” under Obamas budget plan, Valenti writes. However, the “bad news” is that onequarter of the money allocated for teen pregnancy prevention in the proposal would be available to abstinenceonly programs, and “the language in the budget doesnt make room for initiatives to curb sexually transmitted infections,” she continues. “So while the virginity movement reevaluates its image and messaging, progressives have to be just as prepared to battle back with renewed energy, with any eye toward legislative and policy gains and toward assuring that these groups dont regain their cultural footing,” Valenti writes.

The issue is “about a lot more than badfaith messages about condoms and pregnancy,” she writes. It is “about stopping a movement committed to the regression of womens rights, enforcing gender norms and teaching Americas youth especially young women that sexuality is wrong, dirty and dangerous,” according to Valenti. She concludes, “Now that there is a new administration in Washington, we need to ensure not only that we hold our leaders accountable but that we direct the national conversation about sex, gender and health” (Valenti, The Nation, 6/17).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Womens Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Womens Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

An emerging form of the pathogenic yeast Candida is able to complete a full sexual cycle in a test tube, even though its missing the genes for reproduction. And it may also do so while infecting us, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

“Sex contributes to the Candida yeast species evolutionary success,” said Joseph Heitman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Duke Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and coauthor of two papers that tell the story in Nature and Current Biology. “I think the fact that it has a complete sex cycle is likely to play a role in the evolution of drug resistance in this emerging pathogenic yeast species. “

Yeast infections are notoriously hard to treat and yeast are one of the most successful pathogens and commensals in nature, he said. A commensal is an organism that benefits from associating with another organism without affecting the other. Humans are susceptible to three types of yeast infection thrush (in the mouth and throat), vaginal infection, and a sometimes fatal systemic infection of bloodstream and organs, such as the kidney.

In a paper published online May 24 in Nature, Heitmans team reports that eight Candida species which have a sexual cycle were missing many of the genes related to reproduction found in other species.

“The unrecognized sex cycle could mean we need to develop new treatments to combat what is really happening in humans infected by yeast,” said coauthor Jennifer Reedy M.D. Ph.D.

With coauthor Anna Floyd, Heitman and Reedy explored the question further in a study appearing in the May 14 Current Biology. The major question was how could the yeast sexually produce spores when they lack so many genes responsible for meiosis, the process of sexual cell division that reduces chromosomes to half their number in the progeny?

By examining and defining the structure and functions of the matingtype genes in yeast, Reedy learned that forms of Candida yeast undergo meiosis but generate offspring of several types. About twothirds have the classic 5050 division of chromosomes from the split parent cell, but a third of them have an extra chromosome or even double copies of all chromosomes.

“What we found is that the sexual cycle has a new way to create genetic diversity, and it provides a unique vantage point from which we can explore the mechanisms of sexual reproduction,” Reedy said. “This provides a new way to study sexual reproduction and how chromosomal abnormalities arise.”

Heitman said that Candidas meiosis without meiotic genes may be what gives rise to the progeny with unusual numbers of chromosomes. “Or maybe the genes were lost for a reason, to provide a route to genetic diversity,” Heitman said. “Or maybe these differing types of progeny are the unfortunate consequence of undergoing meiosis without the machinery that species normally have when they reproduce sexually.”

Humans, too, have their share of oddly paired chromosomes. “Experts estimate that about 10 to 30 percent of human eggs or fusion products may be aneuploid, with chromosomes from mother and father not paired exactly one to one, but the great majority of those fusions of sperm and egg dont make it to the implantation and pregnancy stage,” Reedy said. “Thats why it is important to find models like this, so that we may shed light on related human conditions.”

The Current Biology study was supported by National Institutes of Health/NIAID grants. Dr. Heitmans work in the Nature study was supported by grants from the NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Source
Mary Jane Gore

NAEA calls upon Congress to reject the Presidents request to eliminate abstinence education funding from the 2010 budget. NAEA also urges the Administration to retract its overreaching decision to zero out abstinence education funding. Abstinence education programs must continue using the same legislative guidelines as have been applied under the previous administrations of Clinton and Bush.

Last week the President announced that he would zero out all funding for abstinence education and replace it with $178 million to “prevent teen pregnancy”. (To view the Presidents 2010 budget recommendation detail, click here )

Since the President released his detailed 2010 budget proposal to Congress, there have been numerous commentaries about the significance of his effort to eliminate abstinence education funding.

Major news sources described it as

a move to “kill” the abstinence education program ( CQ )
a “Uturn in what has been more than a decade of sex education policy in the USA.” (USA Today)
a way to “redirect funding from abstinenceonly (sic) education programs” (Washington Post)
a step that “slashed funding for programs that limited themselves exclusively to teaching sexual abstinence…..in effect saying there was no scientific evidence that favored abstinenceonly programs…” (AP)

Antiabstinence special interest groups lauded the move with particular glee . Others described this as a fulfillment of Obamas campaign promise to eliminate such funding. In fact, the Obama campaign said this about abstinence education during the Presidential campaign “(Obama) believes that we should not continue to fund abstinenceonly programs.”

A HHS statement regarding the Presidents move to initiate a new funding stream for “pregnancy prevention” states “Previous evaluations indicate that the most positive results come from high intensity youth development programs that provide a range of services in addition to comprehensive sex education, such as after school activities, academic support, or service learning.” Note that abstinence is not mentioned once in their description of the new pregnancy prevention program, indicating that they have no real intention to include primary prevention as a priority issue in their new vision for youth initiatives.

Yet, just yesterday, the White House seemed to be backpedaling a bit by issuing a statement to Baptist Press in which they tried to assure Americans that abstinence programs may be eligible for a small percentage of the new funding stream for pregnancy prevention. (Click here to read the White House statement and NAEAs response). Statements by the White House ring hollow when they effectively reach the ears of spinmasters, but only serve to negatively impact the lives of needy youth. (Read more here )

There are several questions or areas of concern that immediately arise from President Obamas move to replace abstinence funds with the newly proposed “pregnancy prevention” program

1. How seriously can the recent White House statement be taken, given previous statements by the Obama campaign opposing abstinence education, together with the admission in a recent Wall Street Journal article that the White House does not expect abstinence programs to qualify for funding for effective programs? Bottom line Is this a move by the Administration to provide cover for themselves or is it a genuine effort to rethink their position?

2. Even if yesterdays White House statement can be accepted at face value, what rationale can be given for immediately eliminating the valuable abstinence skills currently received by 2.5 million students under currently funded Title V and CBAE abstinence programs? At a time when STD rates among teens are at epidemic levels and teen birth rates are beginning to inch upward, why would the only approach that removes all risk be defunded?

3. Further, why would the recommendation be made to devote a minimum of 75% of funding to contraceptivecentered programs and a maximum of 25% (but probably far, far less) funding to abstinencecentered programs when sound public health policy always prioritizes the avoidance of risk through primary prevention (i.e. abstinence)? Shouldnt more emphasis be made to identify what makes an abstinence program successful and then replicate those successes across the country rather than by defunding a young approach that is already showing meaningful success?

4. How will programs be assessed? US News & World Report summarized the vagueness of the proposal language “{Its } not clear how “evidencebased” will be defined. Just how many studies are needed to determine if a program is effective? And how few are needed to deem a program promising?” NAEA also asks How will effectiveness of contraceptive programs be assessed?

5. Is the Administration unaware that there actually is more compelling research for abstinencecentered education than for contraceptivecentered education? (See Abstinence Works 2009 and Dr. Stan Weeds recent research for more detail)

6. Will the Administration apply expectations of accuracy and research evaluation to comprehensive sex education as is already applied to currentlyfunded abstinence education programs?

7. Is the President willing to rethink his proposal and reinsert continued funding for abstinencecentered education? The Wall Street Journal notes that defunding abstinence education could be politically harmful so even political expediency calls for rethinking the current White House position.

Democrats and Republicans alike increasingly understand that abstinence education is a skillbuilding message that is essential in todays sexualized culture. Parents, regardless of political affiliation, support abstinence education for their children. Teens continue to choose abstinence. It comes as no surprise, then, that about 400 teens came to Washington this spring to ask Congress and the President to preserve abstinence education. Programs are showing effect in the personal lives of many students as well as through growing empirical evidence of success. These students really dont care about politics. They are looking for help to reach their life goals and abstinence education is helping them in that pursuit. ( See student stories here ) .They hope that politics wont derail their chances to continue to receive abstinencecentered education.

Two opinion pieces recently examined the effectiveness of abstinenceonly sex education. Summaries appear below.

~ Diane Mufson, Huntington HeraldDispatch The idea that “sexual abstinence is the only way to handle sexuality in teenagers is … not realistic,” HeraldDispatch editorial contributor Mufson writes in an opinion piece. Mufson points to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palins (R) daughter, Bristol Palin, who gave birth last year after an unintended pregnancy. “This young woman was raised in an intact, educated and supportive home whose family values clearly say abstinence is the right way to deal with sex prior to marriage,” Mufson writes. She asks, “If abstinence did not work for Bristol, how do we expect it to work for those living in less informed and caring environments?” Mufson also cites a recent New York Times article reporting that in North Carolina, where schools teach abstinenceonly curricula, the teen pregnancy rate is the ninth highest rate in the nation and has been rising since 2003. “If a state where abstinenceonly education is required has an increased number of adolescent pregnancies, it would be a good indication that the abstinenceonly program is not achieving its goals,” she says. “Adolescents need factual sex education in order to make good choices about sexuality,” Mufson writes, adding, “Abstinence, while being a good idea, may work for some young people some of the time. Obviously, it does not work for all teens all of the time” (Mufson, Huntington HeraldDispatch, 5/12).

~ Cheryl Wetzstein, Washington Times In “all candor, its likely that abstinence education as weve known it is kaput,” Timescolumnist Wetzstein writes, noting that President Obama in his 2010 budget proposal “defunds two major abstinenceonly education programs and replaces them with teen pregnancy prevention programs.” In addition, many of abstinenceonly educations “Republican champions have retired or moved to other issues, and any Democrat who stands up for abstinence will undoubtedly face withering attack,” Wetzstein says. She continues, “My twocents proposal? Make abstinence until 20 the public health message for unmarried youth,” which “would send the message that sex is for adults.” According to Wetzstein, abstaining from sex until age 20 would help address teen pregnancy rates and the spread of sexually transmitted infections. “Compared to teens, a 20yearold virgin is more likely to choose his or her first sexual partner with care” and “insist on contraception and use it more effectively,” Wetzstein says. She continues, “I am guessing this abstinenceuntil20 idea wont please any advocates in this polarized debate, but I think it lines up with what mainstream America wants.” She concludes, “Sex is for adults is a sound social message that got discarded a few decades ago. I think its time to bring it back” (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 5/12).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Womens Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Womens Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

The “reaction of rightwing Catholics” to the University of Notre Dames invitation to President Obama to deliver its commencement speech and receive an honorary degree “falls into the category of more Catholic than the pope,” Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne writes in an opinion piece.

Dionne adds that to the “dismay of many conservatives,” the Vaticans newspaper, LOsservatore Romano, offered a view on Obamas approach to abortion that was “so positive” that a spokesperson for the National Right to Life Committee “was moved to criticize Pope Benedict XVIs” newspaper. In the article, LOsservatore Romano foreign affairs contributor Giuseppe Fiorentino wrote that Obama “does not seem to have established the radical changes” on abortion that “he had aired.” According to Dionne, the Vatican newspaper “analysis” came as “Catholic liberals and conservatives are battling fiercely over Notre Dames decision to invite” Obama to speak at commencement. Dionne says the Vaticans “article will strengthen the liberal claim that the Catholic rights overthetop response is rooted at least as much in Republican and conservative politics as in concern over the abortion question.”

“This restrained view contrasts with charges that Obama is the most radical proabortion president in history,” Dionne writes. He notes that although the “consternation on the right over the Vatican article was immediate,” many “[r]ankandfile Catholics do not share in the conservatives gloominess.” Dionne adds that the “extent to which the ferocity on the Catholic right has emboldened moderate and liberal Catholics to fight back” has been “[l]argely lost in the Notre Dame furor.” When Obama delivers the commencement address the “stakes will be highest for moderate and liberal Catholics who insist the president is seeking common ground on the moments most contentious ethical issues,” Dionne says. He writes that Obamas commencement address is “likely to be his most consequential intervention in the debate over religions role in American politics,” concluding, “In accepting the invitation, Obama has assumed a large responsibility that he should not try to escape” (Dionne, Washington Post, 5/7).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Womens Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Womens Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

“President Obamas push to reenergize the fight against the AIDS epidemic in the United States led to concern that he was going to allow U.S. global leadership in fighting the disease to languish,” a Washington Post editorial says, adding, “Those fears ought to be calmed after Mr. Obamas announcement Tuesday of an initiative that will sustain” the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

PEPFAR is a “successful” and “groundbreaking program” that a recent study found prevented about 1.2 million deaths, the editorial says. It adds that about $18.8 billion was spent on the program between 2003 and 2008 and that Congress and former President George W. Bush last year authorized $48 billion for PEPFAR over five years. Obamas plan “boosts” global health spending to $63 billion over six years, the editorial says, adding, “PEPFAR would receive the bulk of the funding ($51 billion). The rest would be aimed at averting unintended pregnancies and eliminating some tropical diseases.”

According to the editorial, “[e]fforts to end deaths from AIDS will continue to fail until ways are found to slow and eventually halt the number of HIV infections. This task will fall to Dr. Eric Goosby,” who earlier this month was named U.S. global AIDS coordinator. “For more than 25 years, Dr. Goosby has fought the epidemic,” the editorial says, concluding, “He has helped develop and implement major treatment programs in South Africa, Rwanda, China and Ukraine. Given this vast experience, Mr. Goosby must make it a priority to find ways to bring down the rates of HIV infection” (Washington Post, 5/7).

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.