Birth Control News and Research

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Viewpoints: Judd Gregg on revamping entitlements and taxes; John Breaux on slashing Medicare fraud; Medicaid limits on hospital stays

Consider this. As of this year, every other household in America will have at least one person in it who is receiving an entitlement benefit, according to the Census Bureau. As of this year, fewer than half of the Americans who have earned income will pay income taxes on that income.

1 Nov 2011

Seven billion humans and counting

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the seven-billionth child is most likely to be a boy born in India or China, this week. However the trend of fertility or growth of population in the longer term is in a different direction toward slower population growth, says Dudley Poston, a professor of sociology and demographics at Texas A&M University.

31 Oct 2011

Study examines link between hormonal forms of contraception and sexual functioning

Today's hormonal forms of birth control are vastly different from those used by earlier generations of women, both with lower levels of hormones and with different means of delivery (not just a pill), but many of the same problems related to women's pleasure remain.

31 Oct 2011

Oral hormonal contraceptives linked to blood clots: Study

A new study has shown that women who use new type of contraceptive pills are twice as likely to develop life threatening blood clots as those who take older versions. Oral hormonal contraceptives have been known to increase the risk of a blood clot in deep leg veins, known as venous thromboembolism (VTE). These can prove fatal if they travel to the lungs. But, researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found the “third-generation” pills are doubly harmful than the older versions.

30 Oct 2011

EC approves Lilly's ALIMTA as continuation maintenance therapy for NSCLC

Eli Lilly and Company announced today that the European Commission has granted approval for the use of ALIMTA (pemetrexed for injection) as a single agent for continuation maintenance therapy in patients with a particular type of lung cancer, called advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer

29 Oct 2011

Longer looks: Looking for the inventor of the individual mandate, Miss. abortion referendum may have wider effects

In the course of defending the health care bill he passed in Massachusetts, Mitt Romney told Newt Gingrich that he got the idea for the individual mandate -- a rule dictating that everyone must buy health insurance or pay a penalty -- from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington, D.C. think tank. Is it really responsible for creating the policy that is now so anathema to conservatives?

28 Oct 2011

Abortion: Federal court blocks N.C. ultrasound requirement

Federal court's injunction affects new N.C. law which takes effect today. In addition, the New York Times examines state "personhood" amendments.

27 Oct 2011

Vertex initiates INCIVEK combination Phase 3b study for hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 3b study called CONCISE that will evaluate the potential for treatment with INCIVEK (telaprevir) combination therapy to be shortened to 12 weeks in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who have the 'CC' variation near the IL28B gene.

24 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: The toll of Medicare fraud; insurer's Medicare Advantage switch can confuse seniors

In a searing two-part investigative series earlier this week, the Chronicle's Terri Langford wrote about unscrupulous operators, here in Houston, who make millions of Medicare dollars exploiting the most vulnerable of our local residents through private ambulances and for-profit psychiatric clinics. Medicare, and American taxpayers, are footing the bill, which is enormous.

22 Oct 2011

State roundup: Md. program poised for health reform; Calif. high-risk pool; huge insurance premium jump in La. district

Its accountable care organizations will be called coordinated care organizations. And, instead of just aiming to cut costs and increase the quality of care, Oregon wants to actually grade them.

21 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Super committee's secrecy; alternatives to CLASS; solving the drug shortage

The Congressional "super committee" charged with finding $1.5 trillion in debt savings through 2021 is under growing attack from both the left and the right for carrying out most of its work in secret. … History reveals the importance of extensive private talks for members of a bipartisan group to get to know one another and pursue compromises.

20 Oct 2011

Beyond 9-9-9: Herman Cain on health policy

As GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain's polling numbers surge, the Wall Street Journal examines his positions on health policy. Meanwhile, in other news from the Republican primary race, the Des Moines Register reports that Michele Bachmann is warning that the Supreme Court cannot be trusted to undo the health law, while the Texas Tribune takes a look at Rick Perry and Planned Parenthood.

18 Oct 2011

Women on birth control may be dating sexually boring but otherwise caring men: Study

There are some known side effects of birth control pills and these include nausea, vomiting, cramps, bloating and even hair growth. However a new study suggests another possible side effect women might experience while taking the pill: picking up men who are not so sexually satisfying. The study was published the Oct. 12 issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

16 Oct 2011

IRIN reports on community's efforts to increase access to contraceptives, improve family planning in Madagascar

IRIN reports on one community's efforts to increase access to contraceptives and help provide information on family planning in Madagascar. The news service highlights efforts by women in Antalaha, Madagascar, who formed an association called Femmes Interessee au Development de Antalaha.

15 Oct 2011

IRIN reports on efforts to increase access to contraceptives, curb population growth in Madagascar

IRIN reports on women's efforts to curb population growth in Madagascar, "one of 12 developing countries receiving support to improve access to contraceptives through the U.N. Population Fund's (UNFPA) Global Programme to Enhance Reproductive Health Commodity Security."

14 Oct 2011

Teenage condom use on the rise: CDC report

A federal survey revealed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday shows that sexually active teenagers are using condoms more often, but inconsistently.

13 Oct 2011

Experts take study on contraceptive use, HIV risk seriously but warn about drawing conclusions prematurely because of study's 'methodological weaknesses'

In this post in RH Reality Check, Jodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of the blog, responds to an article published in the New York Times on Tuesday regarding a study suggesting that "HIV-negative women using injectable contraception might face a two-fold risk of acquiring HIV from their infected partners, and that HIV-positive women using injectable contraceptives may be twice as likely to pass the virus on to their uninfected partners."

10 Oct 2011

Hormonal contraceptive shots and risk of HIV in African women

A new study from Africa reveals that using a hormone shot given every three months - the most popular contraceptive for women in eastern and southern Africa, may make it easier for HIV to spread between heterosexual sex partners.

5 Oct 2011

Abortions in Africa increased during 'Global Gag Rule,' Stanford University study shows

"In the first study to examine" the effects of a U.S. policy prohibiting foreign aid from going to any organization that performs abortions or provides information about or referral for the procedure as a method of family planning (often called the "Global Gag Rule" or "Mexico City Policy"), Stanford researchers Eran Bendavid and Grant Miller found that "the number of abortions increased in African countries where U.S. support for NGOs was cut the most," according to a Stanford University news release (Gorlick, 9/28).

1 Oct 2011

Vertex announces abstracts from hepatitis C program to be presented at The Liver Meeting

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that abstracts from its hepatitis C program, including two late-breaking posters from studies of INCIVEK (telaprevir) tablets and VX-222, were accepted for presentation at The Liver Meeting, the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in San Francisco, November 4-8, 2011.