Pro-Choice Maryland

From NARAL:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will accept medical experts’ recommendation that birth control be covered by insurance with no copays.

The end of copays for birth control is the biggest victory for women’s health in a generation!

It’s mind blowing that women who fall on hard times are forced to choose between paying their bills and staying on birth control. Your action ends this dilemma for women in the future – every time they fill their birth-control prescription at the pharmacy counter and no longer have to pay a copay.

The HHS policy helps make near-universal contraceptive coverage a reality. It will allow a woman to choose the birth-control method that she and her doctor agree works best for her, whether that’s a pill, patch, IUD, or something else.

As we mark this progress, I also want to let you know that the Obama administration is proposing to allow certain employers to opt out of the requirement. We believe that all women should have access to contraceptive coverage, regardless of their employer.

Improving women’s access to birth control is positive in so many ways. A woman who can plan when to have a family is able to participate in society more fully. Allowing women to plan and space their pregnancies contributes to healthy childbearing. And ultimately, fewer unintended pregnancies can reduce the need for abortion.

Some really great news, my fellow Maryland (as well as out-of-state) pro-choicers! Remember this bill that I mentioned last month? The personhood amendment to the Maryland constitution was defeated in commitee!!!.

SB 500 was defeated in commitee too!!! This bill would've reated scripted communication around ultrasound between a woman and her health care provider and wrongly implied that Maryland women are not making informed decisions about abortion. Maryland abortion providers provide compassionate care to the women they serve without political interference.

Another bill, which doesn't have any thing to do with abortion, but with people's children was passed and signed into law today by Govenor O'Malley. It was the BPA-Free Bottle Baby Act. This bans toys and children’s items containing bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA, a synthetic form of estrogen, directly impacts the reproductive health of boys, girls, men and women. Research suggests that BPA exposure may contribute to recurrent miscarriages, fertility problems in men and women, and early onset puberty. With this bill enacted, Maryland becomes a leader in preventing harmful chemical exposure to children.