Birth Control News and Research

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First Edition: March 22, 2013

Today's headlines including stories marking the health law's third birthday and examining progress in regard to its implementation.

22 Mar 2013

Federal judge strikes Mo. law exempting some from health law's birth control mandate

A federal judge has ruled that a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from the health law's mandate on birth control coverage cannot stand.

20 Mar 2013

First Edition: March 19, 2013

Today's headlines include coverage of a new report about the troubling reach of Alzheimer's disease.

19 Mar 2013

Federal judge in Michigan blocks birth control coverage mandate for pizza chain

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff granted this preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the health law's contraception coverage requirement.

16 Mar 2013

Cultural preferences for sons dampens contraception usage

While poverty and under-education continue to dampen contraception use in Nepal, exacerbating the country's efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality rates, researchers say another, more surprising factor may be more intractable: Deeply held cultural preferences for sons over daughters.

15 Mar 2013

Applying for benefits in online marketplaces might be daunting

The Associated Press reports that the draft version of the application for a three-person family is 15 pages while the online version has 21 steps, some with additional questions.

14 Mar 2013

Unmet need for modern contraceptive methods projected to reach more than 230 million women worldwide by 2015

New research on contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for contraception in married or co-habiting women of reproductive age (15 – 49 years), based on data from 194 countries, suggests that although the proportion of women in this group using contraception has risen in the last two decades, and unmet need has fallen, 233 million married or co-habiting women are projected to have an unmet need for modern contraceptive methods by 2015.

12 Mar 2013

State roundup: Sequestration's impacts include less grant dollars

Sequestration spares Medicaid and almost all of Medicare, but automatic cuts to other federal health-care programs will make it more difficult for low-income Americans to get maternal and infant care, vaccinate their children, and receive treatment for mental illness.

12 Mar 2013

Cardiovascular disease risk in women higher than you think

In conjunction with International Women's Day, the European Cardiology Society reminds women that they may be at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than they think.

8 Mar 2013

Rural Latino men need better sexual health services: Study

A new study based on in-depth interviews of rural Latino men in western Oregon finds that these men need sexual health services designed for their needs, including more male health providers, more convenient clinic hours, and Spanish-speaking doctors.

8 Mar 2013

Texas clergy asks lawmakers to boost women's health funding -- particularly for birth control

Elsewhere, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo links the fight for women's rights to his proposed abortion legislation, and Arkansas' governor vetoes a bill that would ban most abortions at 12 weeks, setting up another override fight in that state.

6 Mar 2013

Women's low adherence to daily-dose products in HIV prevention trial suggest different approach needed, researchers say

"Results of a major HIV prevention trial suggest that daily use of a product -- whether a vaginal gel or an oral tablet -- does not appear to be the right approach for preventing HIV in young, unmarried African women," a press release from the Microbicide Trials Network reports.

6 Mar 2013

Synthetic progesterone birth control injections have vulnerability to certain infections: Research

Women who are pregnant or using synthetic progesterone birth control injections have a conspicuous vulnerability to certain infections including malaria, Listeria, HIV, and herpes simplex virus.

2 Mar 2013

Capitol Hill hot topics: Mental health, abortion and entitlement cuts

Roll Call explores how some lawmakers have strong personal connections to issues related to mental health and gun violence.

27 Feb 2013

Complementary medicine risks: an interview with Dr Andrew Boyden, NPS MedicineWise

Complementary medicines include products containing herbs, vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, homoeopathic medicines, certain aromatherapy products and traditional Chinese medicines. For this reason they are also called herbal, natural or alternative medicines.

26 Feb 2013

With no budget, panel to study health care work force shortage has never met

As health law implementation efforts advance, workforce issues continue to draw headlines. Meanwhile, the Obama administration released final rules Friday regarding key elements of the overhaul, and the law's birth control coverage mandate continues to be the subject of court challenges.

26 Feb 2013

North Dakota, Kansas join list of states considering further abortion restrictions

An abortion clinic fights to stay open amid new proposed restrictions in North Dakota while Kansas lawmakers spar over new proposed restrictions on using state money for the procedure in that state.

22 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 19, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock, working in collaboration with The Philadelphia Inquirer, reports: "Computer mistakes like the one that produced incorrect prescriptions for thousands of Rhode Island patients are probably far more common and dangerous than the Obama administration wants you to believe, says Drexel University's Dr. Scot Silverstein."

19 Feb 2013

'Vaccine patch' could make immunizations cheaper, easier

"An innovative new way to deliver vaccines could drastically improve the health of the third world, and even the first world, by making vaccines cheaper and easier to distribute and use," Business Insider reports, adding, "The 'vaccine patch' would be as easy to apply as a Band-Aid, and would be stable for weeks at room temperature."

16 Feb 2013

State officials worry that doctors may not accept upcoming wave of new Medicaid patients

More than 7 million people are expected to gain insurance through Medicaid under the federal health law next year. In other news about implementation of the health overhaul, the trade group representing Catholic hospitals reserves judgment for now on latest administration policy on requiring contraception coverage.

15 Feb 2013