ACCESS DENIED NATIONALLY

50 Examples of the Current Administration’s Attack on Reproductive Freedom

ACCESS DENIED NATIONALLY

• On February 14, President Bush nominated Dr. Lester Crawford to be FDA Commissioner who as Acting Commissioner refused to follow the advice of his advisory panels on EC.
  
  
• On February 10, the Justice Department refused to let Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) speak at a public hearing on treatment protocol for sexual assault victims.
  
  
• On January 21, the FDA once again delayed the decision on whether or not emergency contraception (EC) should be available over-the-counter.
  
  
• The FDA ignored its own panels of experts and denied over-the-counter status for EC, even though its advisory panel had recently voted 23-4 in favor of making EC available over-the-counter.
  
  
• More than half of all health insurance companies in the U.S. still do not cover birth control in the same way they cover other FDA approved drugs, like Viagra! EPPIC (Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act), a bill to correct this, has been stalled in Congress for over 6 years.
  
  
• Federal funding for comprehensive sex education is $0. Yet funding is $138 million for unproven abstinence-only sex education that teaches sexually activity outside of marriage is harmful for people of ANY age. These are prohibited from including any information about contraception, unless to mention contraception always fails.
  
  
• A doctor who does not give prescriptions for birth control pills but does prescribe prayer for menstrual cramps has been named to a reproductive health care advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).