IL Pharmacists Accused of Lying to Women About Availability of Contraception

*Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to require the state's 2700 pharmacists to post signs with their names on them stating they will provide an alternative if they are out of contraception or allow the prescription to be filled at a different pharmacy. Gov. Rod Blagojevich says pharmacists who oppose dispensing contraceptives often lie to women, saying the contraception they need, including the morning after pill, is out of stock.

*Connecticut's four Catholic hospitals will not prescribe the morning after pill if a rape victim is ovulating or one of her eggs has been fertilized.

Where is the outrage and where is the media??


Reproductive Rights

Spending on abortion vote could reach the millions - AP
A successful referral of the state's new abortion law to the November election ballot could bring what some observers believe would be millions of dollars in advertising from both sides. Opponents of the law that would ban most abortions in South Dakota have begun a petition drive to challenge the law. They need 16,728 valid signatures by June 19. "This election is going to be incredible. I could see millions of dollars spent," said Terry Robertson, associate professor of political communication studies at the University of South Dakota.

AG says insurance companies required to cover contraceptives - KTVQ
Montana's attorney general says health insurance companies are required to cover contraceptives. He says the practice of denying such coverage for women is sex discrimination.

Twenty House Republicans Ask GAO to Investigate Content of Federally Funded Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs - CQ Today
Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) and 19 other House Republicans last week wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking the agency to investigate the content of federally funded teen pregnancy prevention programs, saying that some programs that market themselves as "abstinence plus" promote sexual activity, CQ Today reports. The lawmakers said some of the programs teach curricula that are "shocking at best and medically inaccurate" and asked GAO to determine whether the federal government is "funding dangerous and unhealthy programs." Manzullo is co-sponsor of a bill (HR 3011) that would require federally funded health clinics to notify the parents of any minors seeking contraception at least five days before dispensing the contraception.

Pharmacists targeted over contraceptives - UPI
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has proposed the state's 2,700 pharmacies post a sign with his name on it informing about options for buying contraceptives. The governor said the proposal is aimed at pharmacists who lie when telling women contraceptives are not in stock, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Senate Kills "Morning After" Contraceptive Bill - AP
Legislation that would have allowed pharmacists to dispense "morning after" emergency contraceptive pills without a prescription from a doctor died in the Maryland Senate Tuesday by a one vote margin.

Proposals to require hospitals to carry morning-after pill raises concerns among Catholics - AP
A growing number of states are considering laws that would require hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims, drawing criticism from supporters of the Roman Catholic Church, which likens the morning-after pill to abortion.
Seven states already require all hospitals to dispense the drug, which helps prevent a pregnancy within 72 hours of sex. A dozen states are considering similar legislation.

Democratic senators pledge to maintain hold on Bush's nominee to head the FDA - AP
Two Democratic senators said Tuesday they will not stop blocking President Bush's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration until the agency decides whether the emergency contraceptive Plan B can go on sale without a prescription.
Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y, told reporters that they met Tuesday with Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach but were unable to get a Plan B update. “He gave us no status and he couldn't give us any kind of timeline,” Murray said.


General

New Orleans women partner with national groups - AP
When a group of New Orleans women chartered a private jet and flew to Washington in January imploring members of Congress to visit their hurricane-scarred city, one of their selling points was their size. A total of 140 housewives, mothers, former debutantes and successful businesswomen flew to the Capitol in a show of charm and force.
Now, the Women of the Storm are about to grow from 140 women to 300,000 nationwide, as they join hands with four national groups: the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., the National Council of Jewish Women, The Links Inc., and the Women's Initiative of the United Way.

Paradox of the Perfect Girl - AlterNet
While overachieving girls are knocking on the front doors of America's best colleges, admission officers are letting their slacker brothers slip in the back door.


Politics

Female Democrats raise funds for Casey's Senate race - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright last night helped to raise about $100,000 for the U.S. Senate candidacy of Democratic state Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr. at a Philadelphia event hosted by nine female Senate Democrats who described themselves as "pragmatic" and "progressive." The invitation to the event with Ms. Albright, who served in former President Bill Clinton's administration, was accompanied by a letter from the nine that praised Mr. Casey for his advocacy for "children, the elderly and everyday Americans who don't have a voice." Mr. Casey hopes to spotlight events that show support among women as the May Democratic primary draws closer. Both Mr. Casey and incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum oppose abortion, while Mr. Casey's two Democratic primary opponents -- Chuck Pennacchio and Alan M. Sandals -- support abortion rights.


International

U.N. misses AIDS treatment goals - UPI
The United Nations acknowledges its global HIV/AIDS treatment initiative failed to meet targets, despite an 85 percent increase in worldwide expenditures on the disease. A World Health Organization report released Tuesday in Geneva said 1.3 million people received antiretroviral treatment in 2005, up from 400,000 only two years before but still less than half of the "3 by 5" project's goal.

WHO says few pregnant women getting HIV drugs - Reuters
Nearly 2,000 babies are born with HIV each day because their virus-infected mothers do not get the treatment needed to stop transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The WHO said fewer than 10 percent of HIV-positive women in developing countries got antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy and childbirth between 2003 and 2005, despite a tripling of overall access to the drugs in that period.

Jail term for female foeticide - The Times of India
Five million missing girls later, the country has seen its first-ever conviction for foetal sex determination. On Tuesday, a subdivisional judicial magistrate in Haryana sentenced a doctor and his assistant to two years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 each for violating the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994. Although the Act has been in force for 12 years, this is the only such conviction. The previous one in Punjab was for improper maintenance of records and the doctor got away with a fine. Dr Anil Sabhani and his assistant Kartar Singh were caught red-handed when a team of government doctors sent three decoy patients to his clinic in Palwal, Faridabad.

UN Launches $92 Million Appeal to Stave Off New Hunger, Deaths in West Africa - UN News Service
Facing a difficult new lean season which could mean death for more than 300,000 children in four West African sub-Saharan countries unless steps are taken now, the United Nations today launched an appeal for nearly $92 million to feed one of the world's poorest regions. "We cannot wait for thousands of people, the majority of them women and children, to die of hunger or malnutrition to react," Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said.