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Abortion law will cause serious and irreversible harm to teens: ACLU

Citing "serious and irreversible harm to teens," the American Civil Liberties Union asked an Illinois court to strike down a newly effective law that prevents teens from having an abortion unless they notify a parent or go to court.

14 Oct 2009

PPAP honors women's health advocates

More than 300 guests joined elected officials, celebrities, entertainment and business leaders to celebrate "Champions of Choice" at Politics, Sex & Cocktails, hosted by the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles County (PPAP).

13 Oct 2009

U.S. bishops urge Congress to improve current health care reform legislation

Three chairmen of the bishops' committees working on health care reform urged the U.S. Congress to improve current health care reform legislation, expressing their "disappointment that progress has not been made on the three priority criteria for health care reform" cited in their previous letters.

9 Oct 2009

Catholic bishops call for changes in health care legislation

CNN: "Senior Catholic bishops are threatening to oppose the health care bill under consideration in Congress if lawmakers don't make significant reforms regarding federally funded abortions and other issues."

9 Oct 2009

Researchers reveal that H2 Blocker drugs pose no significant risks for the fetus

H2 Blocker drugs, such as Famotidine, Cimetidine and Ranitidine, approved in the U.S. for acid reflux (heartburn), pose no significant risks for the fetus according to a large collaborative cohort study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

8 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

USCCB: Senate Finance Committee accepts healthcare reform bill, rejects pro-life amendments

Officials of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) saw mixed results when the Senate Finance Committee completed voting on amendment to its proposed health care reform bill this week.

5 Oct 2009

Declining support for abortion, national survey reveals

A new national survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that fewer Americans express support for abortion than in previous years.

3 Oct 2009

House Democratic leaders work to bridge divisions in ranks

Although much of the attention in the health care debate seems be on the Democratic divisions in the Senate, Democrats in the House are also split on what the next steps are.

1 Oct 2009

Democrats shoot down Republican abortion amendment, others pass

Members of the Senate Finance Committee wrangled Wednesday over proposed amendments to tighten abortion restrictions to the panel's health reform bill, with Democrats ultimately defeating the effort.

1 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 1, 2009

The progress continues, and so does the drama, as the Senate Finance Committee complete another day of its health bill mark up. Meanwhile, in the House, leaders are counting votes among their members.

1 Oct 2009

The Finance Committee continues its health bill mark-up, and the October recess is cancelled

As Senate Finance Committee members meet Wednesday to discuss their overhaul bill, Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) hopes to "revise a key financing provision of his health reform package in light of a new analysis showing that it would impose a particularly heavy tax burden on people over 65, aides said," the The Washington Post reports.

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

Challenges, optimism remain for Senators after public option amendments fail

Senate Democrats are recouping from yesterday's Finance Committee turn-down of the public option and looking ahead.

30 Sep 2009

First edition: September 30, 2009

A look at today's headlines offers evidence that just about everyone is talking about yesterday's Senate Finance Committee blow to the public option and if -- and how -- the concept will survive.

30 Sep 2009

Democrats woo AARP, seniors to support health reform bills

"Though AARP hasn't endorsed Obama's health care drive, many of its priorities are reflected in Democratic bills, including reducing gaps in Medicare prescription drug coverage and eliminating Medicare patients' costs for preventive care. This has led some Republicans to question AARP's true loyalties" (Fram, 9/23).

24 Sep 2009

Merck, QIAGEN to collaborate to increase access to HPV vaccination and HPV DNA testing in developing countries

Merck & Co., Inc. and QIAGEN N.V. today announced their intent to collaborate on a new program to increase access to HPV vaccination and HPV DNA testing in some of the most resource-poor areas of the world.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 24 Sep 2009

Some abortion-rights advocates find health debate disheartening

"For some abortion-rights activists, the debate over health care reform has been frustrating, even disheartening, as they see their political allies on the defensive and their anti-abortion rivals on the attack," The Associated Press reports.

23 Sep 2009

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

There's enough wrong with the Baucus proposal as it stands to make it unworkable and unacceptable. But that said, Senator Baucus's mark is better than many of us expected. If it serves as a basis for negotiation, and the result of those negotiations is a plan that's stronger, not weaker, reformers are going to have to make some hard choices about the degree of disappointment they're willing to live with (Paul Krugman, 9/17).

21 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