Reproductive Health News and Research

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Health officials spray Indonesian city to prevent diseases; news outlets examine other natural disasters

News outlets explored the health implications of natural disasters in Indonesia, the Philippines, Tonga, Samoa and India:

7 Oct 2009

Jon O'Brien's statement on healthcare reform

"This Sunday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops holds its annual Respect Life Sunday. On this occasion, we would like to encourage the US bishops to also respect the truth. A recent publication by the USCCB, a brochure entitled Contraception: The Fine Print, and recent polls on healthcare reform prove that the bishops' desire to promote their own views on reproductive health leads them to play fast and loose with the truth.

5 Oct 2009

Preterm birth rate continues to rise

More than one million infants die each year because they are born too early, according to the just released White Paper, The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth.

5 Oct 2009

FHC launches its second-generation female condom in the U.S.

The Female Health Company announced today that its second-generation FC2 Female Condom®, which received regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration in March as an HIV prevention method, is now available for purchase in the United States.

3 Oct 2009

Few risks to babies born to parents who underwent cancer treatment in childhood: Study

Whether they can have children is one of the major concerns for adult survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer because fertility can be compromised by cancer treatment. For cancer survivors who can have children, two new studies led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center may help alleviate fears that their childhood disease will adversely impact their newborns.

3 Oct 2009

HRA Pharma launches its new generation emergency contraceptive in Europe

HRA Pharma (http://www.hra-pharma.com), a privately-held, European pharmaceutical company that designs products, devices and supporting services in reproductive health and endocrinology, announced today that ellaOne(R) (ulipristal acetate, 30mg), its new generation emergency contraceptive, has been launched in France, Germany and the United Kingdom via local HRA teams. HRA Pharma will progressively launch ellaOne in all European countries over the coming months.

1 Oct 2009

Strong voter support for women's health provisions included in health care reform packages

A new poll released today shows strong voter support for women's health provisions included in health care reform packages currently moving though the U.S. Congress.

1 Oct 2009

Lecture to focus on the increasing need to fund and develop methods of contraception

On October 2nd, 2009, Henry Gabelnick PhD, Executive Director of The CONRAD Program, will give the prestigious Alan F. Guttmacher lecture at the 2009 Association for Reproductive Health Professionals conference being held in Los Angeles, California.

29 Sep 2009

Funding for family planning and reproductive health remains uncertain

Reproductive rights will be "key to the foreign policy of this administration," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. Research shows that smaller families can boost the economy of developing countries. And policymakers are increasingly recognizing the connections between population and other global issues such as education and the environment.

22 Sep 2009

Recent releases: Climate change, health; ITNS; Mexico H1N1; Policy Tracker; TB treatment; blogs

In addition to the Lancet's recent publication of an opinion piece and letter by 18 doctor association leaders about the potential health risks associated with climate change, the journal includes an editorial about sexual and reproductive health and climate change and a comment on the upcoming Copenhagen conference in December (9/19).

21 Sep 2009

Two-day forum addresses maternal, child mortality in Asia-Pacific region

Poor health care, gender inequality, violence and poverty are to blame for Asian-Pacific countries' failure to significantly reduce maternal and child mortality rates in the region, Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said during the Asia-Pacific Forum on International Conference on Population and Development in Bangkok.

18 Sep 2009

Higher teen births correlated to conservative religious beliefs

Rates of births to teenage mothers are strongly predicted by conservative religious beliefs, even after controlling for differences in income and rates of abortion. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Health have found a strong association between teenage birth rates and state-level measures of religiosity in the U.S.

17 Sep 2009

NGOs call for increased international support for women's health

Hundreds of non-governmental organizations from around the world gathered for a three-day conference in Berlin last week, where they emphasized the need for broader international support for improving women's health worldwide - "15 years after the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, where a similar group set goals to improve the sexual health and rights for women, particularly in the developing world," the Associated Press reports.

9 Sep 2009

Catholics for Choice supports coverage of reproductive healthcare services in healthcare policy

"Catholics believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. However, our vision for healthcare reform is different than the US bishops and their conservative allies, who seek to marginalize issues of reproductive health-as if people's reproductive health can be separated from their overall health. People in the United States need coverage of reproductive healthcare services, and efforts to deny this coverage based on the opinions of a small but vocal minority are unjust.

5 Sep 2009

World should contribute $23B to increase women's access to contraception, UNFPA says

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Tuesday "appealed for the world to contribute more to improve women's health and access to contraception," Agence France-Presse reports.

4 Sep 2009

Catholics believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege: Catholics for Choice

As Congress returns from the summer recess, we hope that we will soon see an honest and productive debate on truly comprehensive healthcare reform that leads to positive changes in healthcare accessibility for women and men in the United States.

4 Sep 2009

CRi's Oosight imaging system used for developing a gene transfer technique to prevent inherited diseases

U.S. researchers using CRi's Oosight(TM) imaging system have developed a gene transfer technique that has potential to prevent inherited diseases passed on from mothers to their children through mutated DNA in cell mitochondria.

28 Aug 2009

Federal grand jury in Denver charges a case for allegedly threatening an employee of a Colorado abortion clinic

Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, announced today that a federal grand jury in Denver has charged Donald Hertz with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce and with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for allegedly threatening an employee of a Colorado abortion clinic.

27 Aug 2009

Health and Human Services Secretary to appoint Helene Gayle as the Chair of Presidential Advisory Council

Today, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced her intent to appoint Helene Gayle, MD, MPH to serve as the Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Secretary Sebelius made the announcement in Atlanta at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference.

25 Aug 2009

Emergency contraceptive tablet to help prevent an unintended pregnancy

There is good news for college students as they head back to campus this fall. A new emergency contraceptive, Plan B® One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, 1.5 mg, is now available at the local pharmacy for all students 17 and older.

24 Aug 2009