AP/Louisville Courier-Journal Examines Abortion-Rights Views Of Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidates

The AP/Louisville Courier-Journal on Monday examined the abortion views of Kentucky gubernatorial candidates Steve Beshear (D) and Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R). Fletcher, who opposes abortion rights, has said that abortions should be illegal except in cases of rape, incest or when the pregnancy endangers the life of the pregnant woman. "I caution everyone to think about the innocent life involved regardless of the situation," Fletcher said, adding, "The real premise is I believe in the sanctity of life."

Beshear, who supports abortion rights, opposes the procedure after the first trimester but has said decisions about abortions should be left to families, not the government, the AP/Courier-Journal reports. "As governor, I'm going to do everything I can to limit and reduce the number of abortions while respecting the law of the land," he said, adding, "What I want to do as governor is to take steps that will reduce and limit the number of abortions by addressing the main causes that women get abortions," he said.

Beshear said many women who undergo abortions are those without good jobs, who feel like they would not be able to support children or even pay the medical costs of delivering infants. He said the solution is to provide more job security and better health care for women. "That in and of itself will do more to reduce the number of abortions in this state," he said, adding, "That will help make abortion a last choice for somebody instead of a first choice."

Fletcher has said that Beshear is attempting to conceal his abortion-rights position. According to the AP/Courier-Journal, two polls released over the past week show Beshear leading Fletcher by double digits (Alford, AP/Louisville Courier-Journal, 9/24).

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Abortion-Rights, Women's Groups Endorse Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Patrick

NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and other abortion-rights and women's groups on Thursday announced that they will support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick (D), the AP/Boston Globe reports. Patrick has said he supports abortion rights, stem cell research and "other issues important to women," the AP/Globe reports (LeBlanc, AP/Boston Globe, 10/12). The Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, supports abortion rights and has said she backs a state law that requires minors under age 18 seeking abortions to obtain permission from a parent or guardian before undergoing the procedure. In addition, Healey has said she supports legislation vetoed by Gov. Mitt Romney (R) in May 2005 that allows human cloning for research purposes but bans human cloning for the purpose of reproduction. The state legislature overrode Romney's veto. Independent Christy Mihos and Grace Ross of the Green-Rainbow Party also are running for governor (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/20). NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Executive Director Melissa Kogut said that Healey had a chance to affirm her stance in favor of abortion rights during Romney's tenure but did not. "Reproductive rights have never been more at stake than they are right now," Kogut said, adding, "We need a governor we can count on to be a leader to protect women's health, privacy and reproductive freedom." According to a WHDH-TV/Suffolk University survey released on Tuesday, Patrick is favored by 46% of voters overall, compared with 33% for Healey, 7% for Mihos and 1% for Ross. Twelve percent of voters are undecided. The survey polled 400 state residents from Oct. 10 through Oct. 11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points, the AP/Globe reports (AP/Boston Globe, 10/12).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Society Reacts To Ministerial Announcement On Contraceptives

Following the ministerial announcement encouraging women to consider the use of
contraceptive injections and implants to avoid unwanted pregnancies, David Pruce, Director of
Practice & Quality Improvement, said:


"The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain is keen to support government initiatives
which widen access to a range of effective methods of contraception.


"Pharmacists are experts in medicines and other healthcare products and are very
experienced in supplying a range of methods of contraception to the public. They use their
expertise daily in providing information and advice to women on the effective use of
contraception.


"We welcome greater access to a wider range of methods of contraception and hope that
increased choice for the public will result in more women being able to use the most
appropriate method for their lifestyle."


Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

Child Mortality Closely Linked To Women's Education Levels

Over half of the reduction in the global mortality of children under 5 years of age is linked to increased education among females of reproductive age, says a reports from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, published in the medical journal The Lancet. Sixteen million children under the age of five died in 1970, compared to 7.8 million in 2009, the report informs - 4.2 million fewer children died in 2009 thanks in large part to better and more widely accessible schooling for women.


The authors write that education is growing in every part of the world. The report states that:


Average years of schooling for women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 44) in developing countries have grown from 2.2 years to 7.2 years.


In some countries, however, women still receive no more than one year of schooling. Those countries include, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Niger, Chad, Mali and Afghanistan.


Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, lead author, Associate Professor of Global Health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), said:


We know that direct health interventions, such as immunizations, preventive care, and hygiene classes, are crucial to improving health worldwide. What this study shows is that by focusing on education as well, we can increase the impact that we are having on health.


In 87 countries in 2009, women had greater levels of education than men. In 40 nations, however, the gender gap grew during the period 1970 to 2009.


Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou and team collected data from 915 censuses and national surveys globally to create a time series of education levels for 175 nations.


They found that:

31 nations had improved average years of schooling of women of reproductive age by over three years between 1990 and 2009. Saudi Arabia, the Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates were among these countries.
Out of the ten countries with the highest populations in the world, women of reproductive age had complete at least primary school in seven of them.
Most of the countries that are on track to achieving the Millennium Development Goal 4 - reducing the child mortality rate by 66% between 1990 and 2015 - have achieved a faster improvement for average rate of schooling for women of reproductive age than the global 1.9 years over the last two decades.
According to their findings, economic growth accounted for just 7.2% of the reduction in child mortality during the 1970-2009 period.

Dr. Christopher Murray, IHME Director and one of the paper's co-authors, said:


More education helps mothers make better choices in a range of areas - personal hygiene, nutrition, parenting approaches. It also helps them take better care of their own health when pregnant, and, after the child is born, they are able to navigate the expanding array of health services being offered to their families.


The authors believe that mothers with more education will drive advances in global health, embracing immunization programs, for example.


Dr. Rafael Lozano, Professor of Global Health at IHME:


The next phase could include building new secondary schools and hiring teachers. But before that work begins, it would be wise to weigh the potential benefits and costs of this approach against building clinics and hiring health workers.


Source: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation


Increased educational attainment and its effect on child mortality in 175 countries between 1970 and 2009: a systematic analysis

Dr Emmanuela Gakidou PhD, Krycia Cowling BS, Prof Rafael Lozano MD, Prof Christopher JL Murray MD

The Lancet, Volume 376, Issue 9745, Pages 959 - 974, 18 September 2010

doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61257-3

Reuters Examines Challenges Of Implementing Genital Cutting Ban In Eritrea

Government officials are hopeful that a new law banning genital cutting will "force a change in attitudes" about the practice, Reuters reports (Kimball, Reuters, 6/10). Genital cutting, a practice sometimes referred to as female circumcision or female genital mutilation, involves a partial or full removal of the labia, clitoris or both.

The Eritrean government in a proclamation published in April said it is illegal for anyone to subject girls or women to genital cutting, provide tools to perform the procedure or fail to inform authorities about intended plans to subject anyone to the procedure. According to a government statement, anyone who requests, takes part in or promotes the practice will face a fine of several hundred dollars or up to 10 years in jail. A government statement said the ban took effect on March 31.

The government said that genital cutting "is a procedure that seriously endangers the health of women, causes them considerable pain and suffering, besides threatening their lives." A 2002 government survey found that less than 1% of genital cutting procedures in the country were performed by people with medical training and that about 62% of circumcised women in Eritrea had the procedure performed before age one (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/10).

Aid workers have said cultural traditions will be the "biggest barrier" toward curbing the practice. Government officials said that the ban is only one part of a larger public education program. "Eritrea is easily manageable; there is a chain system, a village level, the sub-zone, the zonal level," Tesfay Misgna, a health ministry campaigner, said, adding that "[w]e can control" the practice. Misgna said that some villages banned the practice before the national government did.

Some advocates "worry the practice is too ingrained for legal threats to have much impact," Reuters reports. According to Reuters, residents of Glass, Eritrea, said genital cutting persists in the village. Luul Ghebreab, president of the National Union of Eritrean Women, said that genital cutting "is a deep-rooted culture, and it needs a persistent continuous effort (to halt it)." Pirkko Heinonen, the UNICEF representative in Eritrea, said that although genital cutting is practiced in Christian and Muslim communities, as well as in all nine of Eritrea's groups, the country has "come to a turning point." He added, "It was the exception not to be cut, but I think in the younger age group, it is the exception to be cut" (Reuters, 6/10).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Texas Among Most Restrictive States For Teens' Access To Birth Control

Despite its high teen pregnancy rates, Texas has some of the most restrictive policies in the U.S. regarding minors' access to prescription birth control without parental consent, the Dallas Morning News reports. Texas has the highest rate of repeat teen pregnancies in the nation, and Dallas leads the state in the number of repeat births to teens.

Despite these high rates, state funds cannot be used to provide minors with confidential contraceptive services. Even teens who have already given birth are prohibited from obtaining contraceptives without parental consent at nearly one-third of family planning clinics that contract with the state health department. According to the Morning News, many public health officials and women's health advocates say that doctors are unaware that Texas law does not address whether a minor may independently obtain contraceptives.

Policies on prescribing birth control to minors differ at various providers, the Morning News reports. In North Texas, most private and public clinics will prescribe contraceptives to minors without notifying their parents, but all 10 school-based clinics operated by the Parkland Health & Hospital System require parental consent. In addition, many private practice physicians in the Dallas-Fort Worth area refuse to prescribe birth control to minors without parental consent.

Texas is one of four states that does not cover contraceptives under its version of the Children's Health Insurance Program. In addition, although Texas spends $1.2 billion for Medicaid to cover 228,000 births each year, it does not automatically extend coverage for family planning services for one year postpartum, as some states do.

Critics of the state's restrictive policies say conservative leaders do not have a realistic view of teens' sexual activity. "We're in denial that our teens are sexually active," said Janet Realini, a former leader of the Bexar County health department in San Antonio who is working to reduce teen pregnancy. Only 4% of Texas schools teach students about the potential benefits and risks of contraception; instead, most schools teach an abstinence-only curriculum that focuses on the failure rate of various contraceptive methods. A spokesperson for Gov. Rick Perry (R) said that he supports abstinence-only education and believes that "the state should not usurp the role" of parents (Garrett, Dallas Morning News, 9/7).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Octogenarian Muscles Don't Get Stronger With Exercise

Octogenarian women were unable to increase muscle mass after a 3-month weight lifting program targeted at strengthening the thigh muscle, according to a new study from the Journal of Applied Physiology. The results are surprising because previous studies have found resistance training capable of increasing muscle mass, even for people who are into their 70s. An increase in muscle size translates to an increase in strength.


Still, the Ball State University study contained some good news: The octogenarians were able to lift more weight after the training program, likely because the nervous system became more efficient at activating and synchronizing muscles.


The American Physiological Society published the study, "Improvements in whole muscle and myocellular function are limited with high-intensity resistance training in octogenarian women." The researchers are Ulrika Raue, Dustin Slivka, Kiril Minchev and Scott Trappe. You can read the full study by clicking here.


Aim: Strengthen Octogenarian Thigh Muscle


The experiment involved six women, all in their 80s, all of whom lived independently and came to the laboratory three times a week for three months. The women exercised on a machine designed to strengthen the thigh (quadriceps) muscle. They did three sets of 10 lifts, with a 2-minute rest period between sets.


The researchers measured the size of the women's thigh muscle using an MRI, before the exercise program began and after it ended. They also took biopsies from the thigh muscles, which they used to track muscle changes at the cellular level.


The biopsies included both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Fast-twitch muscles are high powered and explosive and are associated with anaerobic exercise. Slow-twitch are associated with aerobic tasks, including endurance exercise such as marathons.


Fast-twitch muscles are important in posture and balance and so may be of particular importance for the elderly, who are more prone to falls. When people do not use their muscles during a period of convalescence or with a sedentary lifestyle, the fast twitch muscles lose functionality and atrophy more quickly than slow-twitch.


From the muscle biopsies, the researchers isolated single muscle strands, both fast-twitch and slow-twitch. They measured the strength, speed and power of each fiber and examined the genetic profile of these strands.


No change in muscle strength


As a result of the exercise program, the octogenarians were able to increase the amount they could lift with their quadriceps by 26%. That was the good news. The bad news was that the pre- and post-training MRIs showed that the training did not change their muscle size. This was surprising because an earlier study had found that 70-year-old women gained 5% muscle mass with resistance training.


The biopsy results confirmed the MRI results: there was no change in the size of the individual muscle strands, pre-training versus post-training. This confirms that the increase in the amount the women could lift with the quadriceps was unrelated to improvement in muscle strength. Instead, the results were probably due to improvements in how efficiently the nervous system was able to activate and synchronize the muscles.















In an earlier study, the researchers found that the muscles of octogenarian men also failed to gain strength with the exercise program. Together, the studies show that the muscles of octogenarian men and women are far less responsive to improving with exercise, even compared to people only 10 years younger.


"The message of the study is that exercise is good for octogenarians, just not as good as we thought it would be," Dr. Trappe said. The study also suggests that it is better to build as much muscle mass as possible earlier in life to ensure more muscle strength in later life. "We should do all we can to educate people to build up the muscle before 80," he said.


Next steps


Muscle atrophy relates not only to aging, but to people whose muscles are immobilized for a period and even for astronauts who spend long periods of time in space. Dr. Trappe, who also does research on astronauts, next wants to begin to uncover the physiological basis for why the muscles of octogenarians do not gain strength with resistance exercise.


His team may be able to build on two intriguing findings from the current study:


-- while the octogenarian women had many fewer muscle fibers, the fibers they did have were large and healthy looking


-- the genes involved in muscle growth are present in the resting muscle of the octogenarians at much higher levels compared to young people.


These results suggest that the octogenarian muscle is already operating at peak capacity and may not have the potential for better performance, Dr. Trappe said. If these mechanisms can be understood, it may be possible to find ways to strengthen older muscles.


Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease. The American Physiological Society (APS) has been an integral part of this scientific discovery process since it was established in 1887.


American Physiological Society (APS)

9650 Rockville Pike

Bethesda

MD 20814

United States

the-aps

Hispanic Women At Higher Risk For Heart Disease

Hispanic women's heart disease risk is comparable to the heart disease risk level of Caucasian women who are about a decade older. This disagrees with a long-held belief that Hispanic women have less heart disease than Caucasian women, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.



"The prevailing theme in medicine has been that Hispanic patients have fewer heart attacks and strokes than Caucasians, even though Hispanics seem to have equal, if not worse, cardiac risk factors and tend to be more socio-economically deprived," said John C. Teeters, M.D., study lead author and fellow in the department of cardiology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. "In clinical practice, however, we see the opposite, with Hispanic patients who seem to have heart disease earlier than Caucasians."



To explain the disparity, researchers have raised questions about the quality of Hispanic population census gathering in the United States, wondering if Hispanics are underrepresented in the census and health records because they tend to migrate back to their homelands to die and are more likely to be illegal immigrants.



To compare heart disease risk among the ethnic populations, Teeters and colleagues conducted a series of free community health screenings at churches, community centers and outpatient clinics that cater to Hispanics. They performed medical histories to determine cardiac risk, as well as measured each subject's waist circumference, activity level, weight, height, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol level. They gathered the same data in a Caucasian group of people and compared data among the women in the study.



There were 79 Hispanic and 91 Caucasian adult women in the study. The average age in the Hispanic group was 53, versus 63 years in the Caucasian group. Sixty-one percent of the Hispanic women were postmenopausal versus 85 percent of the Caucasian women.



When combined, the heart disease risk for the two groups was about the same, according to Teeters.



"If you look at prevalence by age, there is a clear trend for Hispanics towards increased prevalence at a younger age, with earlier onset in Hispanic women for these cardiac risk factors," he said.



While the women scored similarly in the areas of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and waist circumference, the researchers found that the Hispanic women's prehypertension rate (32 percent) was significantly higher than Caucasian women (19 percent). The Hispanic women's activity levels were also significantly lower when compared to the Caucasian women, and Hispanic women had a slightly higher rate of metabolic syndrome.
















Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person's risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.



"The study suggests that Hispanic women develop cardiac risk factors earlier than their Caucasian counterparts and that being Hispanic could be an independent risk factor for heart disease among women," Teeters said.



Doctors should consider more aggressively treating and trying to prevent heart disease at earlier ages, Teeter said. Teeters and colleagues plan to study these patients prospectively to determine if early and aggressive heart disease therapy and lifestyle changes reduce Hispanics' lifetime cardiac risk.






Co-authors are Gladys P. Velarde, M.D.; Jason Pacos, M.D.; Susan Hume, N.P.; Cynthia Petit, R.N., B.S.N. and Jeff Huntress, Pharm.D.



Outreach clinics were funded by Pfizer Inc.; however, Pfizer did not fund data analysis or have any input into presentation of the data.



Statements and conclusions of abstract authors that are presented at American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific meetings are solely those of the abstract authors and do not necessarily reflect association policy or position. The associations make no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.



Contact: Karen Astle


American Heart Association

Qatar Home To World-Class Biomedical Research Program

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and Weill CornellMedical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) have unveiled a major initiative to establish a world-class biomedical research program, the first of its kind in the Middle East.



The program aims to form a bio-medical research infrastructure, developing a scientific and technical workforce for the benefit of the region at large. Central to this endeavor is a partnership approach, bringing together institutions that have overlapping missions in medical education, research and healthcare. The program will also support high quality research in the fields of genetic and molecular medicine, women's and children's health, gene therapy, stem cells, and vaccine development.



Specific objectives include:
Development of first rate, translational and clinical research projects that establish Qatar as a center of excellence with a focus on improving the health of the population.


Development of the bio-medical research infrastructure to include laboratories, compliance and regulatory functions.


Creation of a critical mass of research faculty in Qatar and developing a regional scientific and technical workforce.


To draw on the strengths of existing and future organizations in the Qatar healthcare sector such as Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Sidra Medical and Research Center.


To create a conduit for commercialization of discoveries through the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP)

In five years, approximately 120 people will be engaged in the program, establishing a critical mass, which will give Qatar a sustainable scientific research community. These include principal investigators, post-doctoral fellows, technicians, administrative staff for shared use core facilities, clinical and translational investigators and clinical research support staff.



Vice President for Research at Qatar Foundation Dr. Abdelali Haoudi said: "I am delighted to participate in the official launch of this bio-medical research initiative. Qatar Foundation's aim is to establish Qatar as one of world's leading research and intellectual centers through partnering with international and regional organizations as required and through being a key partner in the drive towards a Knowledge Based Economy. This is one major strand of that overall strategy and bio-medical research will play a vital role in the development of the country's research capability. To underline the importance of research to Qatar, 2.8% of the GDP has been allocated for research programs, which positions Qatar among the top 10 countries worldwide with the highest GDP contribution to support Research and Development."



Interim Dean of WCMC-Q Dr Javaid Sheikh said: "This is a significant investment in biomedical research which forms the second leg of our triple mission of education, research and clinical care. We are embarking on a long term plan which will play a key role in building biomedical research capacity and knowledge for the first time."
















"We will be working closely with our partners such as Qatar Foundation, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), the National Ministry of Health, Sidra Medical and Research Center, Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) and our colleagues in our parent campus at WCMC in New York. Eminent researchers and faculty there will be playing major roles in establishing this program."



"We have already embarked on two proof of concept research projects. The first one compares variations in gene expression levels in the airways of smokers and non-smokers, whereas the second one assesses the clinical care of diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses in Qatar. In addition, we have initiated the process of developing core capabilities in our research laboratories, including the genomics and proteomics cores, computational biology and biostatistics core, a vivarium, a microscopy core, and a basic laboratory support core.



"The start up of this major program in Doha now takes bio-medical research to new levels. As we initiate this world-class research program, our focus would be on developing sustainable local research capacity while targeting the disease areas important in the Gulf region, namely diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. We have established two broad research themes: a Genetic & Molecular Medicine research program with a focus on personalized medicine, gene therapy for cancer, and stem cell research; and a Women & Children's Health research program with a focus on maternal fetal medicine and the neurogenetic disorders of the newborn. I am particularly excited to be part of such a strong commitment to the future of the country as it aspires to become a Center of Excellence for Research in the region."



WCMC-Q is a leading player in the development of the healthcare sector in Qatar. As the first American medical college graduating doctors outside of the United States, the college brings an illustrious tradition of medical teaching to Qatar. This tradition is inspiring the next generation of doctors in the country, preparing them to be physicians, biomedical researchers and medical educators at the forefront of their fields.



Source:
Noura Zreik


Weill Cornell Medical College--Qatar

RCOG Release: NHS Cultural Shift Is Needed In The Provision Of Services For Women, UK

The President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) will today call upon the new Coalition Government to listen and to work with its doctors to change the NHS for the better. This comes on the day the College releases the results of its pre-election member poll at the 32nd British International Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BICOG) in Belfast.


Prior to the elections, RCOG members were asked for their views on a range of issues concerning the provision of healthcare services within the specialty1. The main findings are as follows:


Generally, RCOG members agreed that a patient-centred NHS should be the main driver for all those involved in the care of women. There was unanimous agreement that an over-managed NHS resulted in an obsession with meeting targets and the bureaucratic culture present in the majority of hospitals. These developments have taken doctors away from what they are there to do (ie. focusing on their patients) and impacted on the quality of care given to women.



According to respondents, the main challenges facing the next Government post-elections are:


- Staffing - the NHS needs more midwives and consultants to run its busy maternity services. There are emerging challenges posed by the need to comply with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) alongside safety issues from the reduced number of hours that junior doctors are allowed to work.


- Service pressures - financial cutbacks from the recession, a target-driven ethos in the NHS and too many NHS managers were identified as problems.


- Social pressures - the rising birth rate, rising numbers of complex pregnancies and the increase in patient expectations have had an impact on O&G services.


When asked about what RCOG members would like to see change in present NHS O&G services, the common themes that emerged were:


- The focus must be on patients rather than targets.


- There is the need to reduce bureaucracy so that clinicians can get on with their work.


- There were too many NHS managers interfering in clinical matters and not involving clinicians in management decisions.


- The reorganisation of services - there is an acceptance that some centralisation is needed to provide better care. However, there seems to be a split in views about reorganisation. The main view was that reorganisation needs to be done in a case-by-case basis according to local needs.


When asked about how the quality of O&G services can be improved, respondents mentioned that the EWTD had impacted negatively on safety and training. The solutions offered by members included the provision of a consultant-led service, opting out of the EWTD or extending the length of postgraduate medical training so that doctors have the requisite knowledge, skills and competencies by the time they complete their medical training. Respondents also felt that the reduced number of working hours has resulted in service gaps that need to be addressed urgently.















The RCOG was also keen to hear from its membership what they would personally like politicians and policy-makers to do to improve O&G services. Respondents mentioned that politicians need to better understand the pressures which doctors go through and the service needs/demands by engaging with healthcare professionals and professional bodies. Some respondents felt that politicians should cease their meddling in clinical matters and to stop developing policy which is either unrealistic and/or difficult to fulfil without further investment in services (eg. the home birth pledge).


Members were asked to vote what they thought are the most important actions which will result in better care in NHS O&G services over the next year. The top three are:


1. Providing the training that the service requires based on clinical needs

2. Increasing consultant presence in labour wards to enhance supervision

3. Reducing NHS litigation in the specialty by greater investment in staffing


Members were asked to vote on what they thought are the most important public health issues affecting women's healthcare at the moment. The top three are:


1. The increasing incidence of maternal obesity in the population

2. The rising birth rate leading to a redistribution of NHS resources

3. Smoking in the female population


RCOG President Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran said, "Over the course of the last year, with the build-up to the elections, there was a lot of talk about which political party had the best policies on various aspects of healthcare.


"There was the feeling amongst healthcare professionals (especially those at the coal-face of service delivery) that some existing policy ideas, though laudable, were impractical at best, misguided at worst. We decided to ask our members what they thought were the pressure points facing obstetric and gynaecological care in the NHS. More importantly, we wanted to know what they thought were the changes needed so that the quality of services improves.


"Safety and patient satisfaction were identified as paramount issues. Most notably, an overwhelming majority of our members stated that the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) is having a negative impact on junior doctor training and there may be a serious knock-on effect on the provision of safe services in years to come. We call upon politicians, policy makers and civil servants to pay heed to these concerns. Develop solutions on your own at your own peril. Instead, work with the Royal Colleges and those involved in service delivery so that you are aware of the appropriate levels of care needed and what can be achieved given our limited resources.


"The Coalition Government has a unique opportunity here. Many of the health announcements made over the last weeks shows it is determined to start with a clean slate and to make some bold changes. The previous government did much to put maternity back on the agenda. We would urge the new Government to work with us as we make our maternity services one of the best in the world."


For more information about BICOG and to view the programme, please click here.


1 To complement its Election Manifesto, the RCOG undertook an online survey of its UK membership in March and April this year. Members were asked a series of questions on the state of maternity and gynaecological services on the NHS, the external factors impacting on the provision of these services and the areas where improvements can be made.
254 responses were received.


Source:
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Long Island Doctor Shows First '4K' Ultra-High Definition Surgery

Doctors at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine got a glimpse into the future of women's health with the presentation of endoscopic gynecologic surgery performed for the first time using "4K" technology.


Steven F. Palter, MD, an obstetrician, gynecologist, reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist performed the world's first 4K super high-definition (HD) laparoscopy at Syosset Hospital, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and presented images from that surgery on October 20 at the 65th annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.


"The images are the sharpest, most detail-rich and color-correct endoscopic images ever created anywhere," Dr. Palter said. "There is not a more accurate view inside the human body."


Produced in conjunction with RED Digital Cinema Camera Company; Sony Electronics, Inc., an ultrahigh definition projector company; and the University of Southern California Cinema Arts School, the diagnostic images were presented in a specially built digital theater with a projector designed to run "ultra-HD" movies in high-end movie theatres. "It's a prime example of how Hollywood film technology can be used to transform medicine by enabling doctors to see more accurately inside the body to study and treat disease," Dr. Palter said.


Ultra-high resolution digital cameras are transforming the art of cinema. Leading Hollywood directors such as Peter Jackson and Stephen Soderbergh are filming the next generation of cinema blockbusters using cameras with "4K" resolution, four times the resolution of HD with 4,096 lines of resolution to give audiences unprecedented realism.


"Through the use of this digital technology, Hollywood is moving from observation to immersion -- you're not just watching something, you are there," said Dr. Palter, medical and scientific director of Gold Coast IVF in Syosset, NY, who presented the plenary presentation, Film and Medicine: The Technological Transformation of Medicine. "In this session we showed how tomorrow's film technology can apply to laparoscopic surgery, which is all performed using video techniques."


Dr. Palter joined with the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company that manufactures the 4K Red One system to create Hollywood movies of tomorrow, and Sony, the leading ultra-HD theatrical projector company, to perform laparoscopic surgery using the Hollywood camera system.


During the film presentation, the 3,500 reproductive medicine specialists in attendance were able to visualize the surgery as if they were standing in the operating room. However, by combining unprecedented resolution and magnification, the surgical images were beyond what a surgeon would see in traditional surgery. The progress from regular surgical film technology is like comparing sitting in an HD home theater to watching a video on a cell phone," said Dr. Palter.


"Dr. Palter's research and vision of surgery's technological future opened the eyes and minds of the audience to fantastic treatments beyond what can be done today," said R. Dale McClure, MD president of ASRM.


The session also included a projection of the largest HD three-dimensional (3D) surgical images ever. Using the same system as 3D blockbuster Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, surgeons felt as if they could "reach out and conduct the operation." These images were enabled by converting Sony's 4K and 3D theatrical systems to show medical footage of what Dr. Palter has called "futurevision." To obtain the images, Dr. Palter and researchers from USC Cinema Arts created a method to attach the Red One 4K camera to a laparoscope. Offhollywood, a leading movie production company converted these images into a 4K digital cinema movie that was projected on $200,000, 700-pound Sony SRX-R220 projectors back to back with 4K Hollywood images of such stars as Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts and Will Smith. RealD 3D lenses projected HD 3D surgery as well as Hollywood images from 3Ality of movies, sports and the rock music band U2.


Source: North Shore-LIJ Health System

The GRACE Study Has Significant Implications For Inclusion Of Women In Clinical Trials

Data from the GRACE (Gender, Race And Clinical Experience) study will be published in the September 21st issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. GRACE is the largest-ever study of treatment-experienced adult women with HIV-1 to examine gender differences in response to HIV therapy. Sponsored by Tibotec Therapeutics Clinical Affairs, a division of Centocor Ortho Biotech Services, LLC, the GRACE study enrolled 67 percent women, demonstrating that it is possible to recruit large numbers of women into U.S.-based HIV treatment studies. The company has launched TheGraceStudy to share learnings from the GRACE study and other information for women living with HIV.


Among patients who completed the study, there were no significant differences in treatment responses between men and women who were given PREZISTA® (darunavir) 600 mg coadministered with 100 mg ritonavir twice daily, as part of combination therapy. The GRACE study was designed in partnership with the HIV community and used unique strategies to encourage women living with HIV to participate in the trial. However, even with its novel enrollment strategies, the study showed a higher discontinuation rate among female study participants - making the overall response rate lower among women than among men, and shedding light on the need for additional efforts to retain diverse populations in clinical studies.


"Better representation of women in clinical trials is essential for generating accurate information on the efficacy and safety of medicines and, ultimately, guiding treatment decisions," said Judith Currier, MD, Professor of Medicine, Associate Division Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, Los Angeles, Director of the Clinical Trials Unit, UCLA Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education (CARE),and primary investigator in the GRACE study. "The GRACE study has the potential to shape how future studies are conducted because it addressed the social and economic barriers that historically have prevented women from participating in clinical research. It also showed that we have a long way to go before we can fully overcome these barriers."


In the United States, women account for an increasing proportion of people living with HIV/AIDS, including more than one quarter of new diagnoses. Yet despite their growing numbers, women have been under-represented in HIV treatment studies. This may be due to recruitment and retention challenges including family commitments, time constraints with jobs, and other socioeconomic factors. These observations have been noted in clinical trials of other therapeutic areas, including heart disease and cancer, suggesting that difficulties in recruiting women are not specific to HIV clinical trials. As a result of having a low number of women in these studies, gender-based conclusions are limited, and there remains a gap in clinical data.















"Unlike most studies of HIV medicines, GRACE was specifically designed and powered to assess gender differences in response to treatment," said Dr. Currier. "We took steps that have never before been used to make sure our study population was reflective of the demographics of women with HIV in the United States."


GRACE Study Design and Results


GRACE was a multi-center (65 sites), open-label Phase 3b trial that compared the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the protease inhibitor PREZISTA (600 mg) boosted with a low dose of ritonavir (100 mg) twice a day, in combination with an investigator-selected optimized background regimen for 48 weeks in men (n=142) and women (n=287).


The study was designed to enroll a high proportion of North American, treatment-experienced women that was reflective of the distribution and demographics of women with HIV in the United States. Trial sites were selected to correspond with the geographic distribution of women with HIV, with the majority of sites located in the Northeastern (16 sites) and Southeastern (29 sites) United States. Study sites were initially required to enroll three women before enrolling a man, and thereafter, each site was required to maintain at least 70 percent female enrollment. Men could only be enrolled if their addition did not compromise the 70 percent female quota.


GRACE participants also received support to cover costs associated with study participation, including assistance for travel, childcare and food vouchers, and study sites could access grants for patient support activities such as lunch-and-learn sessions and patient support groups for ongoing education and camaraderie.


At the end of the study period, there were no statistically significant differences in virologic response (defined as a viral load of

Abstinence-Only Sex Education Debate Has High Financial Stakes, Washington Times Opinion Piece Says

By proposing to reduce funding for abstinence-only sex education programs, "the Obama administration has reignited America's sex education debate," Washington Times columnist Cheryl Wetzstein writes in an opinion piece. She says that the "usual answers" she receives from abstinence-only opponents when she asks about their criticism of the programs is that abstinence-only education "doesn't work, it leaves kids ignorant about how to use birth control, it doesn't serve gay kids, and (off the record) it's just a return to the bad old days when unenlightened, sex-hating harpies ran sex education." According to Wetzstein, some proponents of abstinence-only programs believe that another factor -- which is "never mentioned" in the sex education debate -- "is how sexually active youth are part of the market for certain commercial sex- and disease-related products, and abstinent behavior reduces that market share."

Wetzstein reports that she recently spoke with Pam Mullarkey, founder of Project SOS, who is "furious" that Presdient Obama's budget proposal would reduce funding for abstinence-only programs and increase money for teen pregnancy prevention. Mullarkey claims that abstinence-only opponents "have spent so much money trying to destroy abstinence education" because "it directly costs them big bucks" if teens abstain. Wetzstein writes that she has "dim hopes for the survival of abstinence education as we've know it," concluding, "But should Congress decide to 'follow the money,' as Mrs. Mullarkey suggests, who knows what might turn up" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 5/19).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Comments On Boehringer Ingelheim Clinical Test Results In Treatment Of Female Sexual Dysfunction

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX), a specialty pharmaceutical company developing products for female sexual health, including LibiGel® for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), applauds the efforts of Boehringer Ingelheim to develop a therapy to treat this unmet medical need. Boehringer today, at the European Society for Sexual Medicine annual meeting in Lyon, France, reported clinical test results of flibanserin, a drug candidate which treats HSDD by blocking the brain's release of serotonin, a chemical that regulates mood, appetite, sleep and memory and, in time, triggers the production of dopamine, a chemical associated with the stimulation of desire.


BioSante's product for this market is LibiGel, a transdermal testosterone gel targeting menopausal women. LibiGel currently is in late-stage Phase III clinical studies for the treatment of HSDD. BioSante President and CEO Stephen M. Simes, said, "The fact that one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world is targeting this condition is important and exciting medical news. For ten years, men have enjoyed the option of using drugs to treat erectile dysfunction but there is no pharmaceutical product approved by the FDA for the treatment of HSDD. BioSante is committed to bringing women an option in their decision-making about their own sexuality."


Boehringer has been studying flibanserin in pre-menopausal women. Data, pooled from three Phase III studies, presented today from trials in Europe and the U.S., show a statistically significant improvement in satisfying sexual events (SSEs) compared to placebo, with an average difference of 0.70 SSEs per four week period. The results reported by Boehringer for flibanserin are similar to data reported by Proctor & Gamble for their Intrinsa testosterone patch (now owned by Warner Chilcott).


As previously announced by BioSante, treatment with LibiGel in a Phase II double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial, conducted in the U.S., in surgically menopausal women distressed by their low sexual desire and activity, significantly increased satisfying sexual events in surgically menopausal women suffering from FSD. The Phase II trial results showed LibiGel significantly increased the number of satisfying sexual events by 238 percent versus baseline (p

Halt Medical Receives Canadian License For Fibroid Treatment Device

Halt Medical, Inc. announced that it has been approved to market the Tulip™ Radiofrequency Volumetric Thermal Ablation (RFVTA) probe in Canada. "The license we just received from Health Canada brings us an important step closer to our goal of making our uterine sparing procedure available to the millions of women in North America who suffer with uterine fibroids", said Russ DeLonzor, President and COO of Halt Medical. "The approvals we've now received from Canada and the European Union for general use and for treating uterine fibroids, plus our recent clearance by the FDA to market our products for general surgical use (not specifically indicated for fibroids) in the United States has us well positioned to bring our solutions to most of the major global markets in the near future", said DeLonzor.


Source: Halt Medical, Inc

Heart Disease Deaths Continue To Decline In American Women

Heart disease deaths in American women continued to decline in 2005, and for the first time, have declined six years consecutively, covering the years 2000-2005, according to newly analyzed data announced today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.


NHLBI experts analyzed preliminary data for 2005, the most recent year for which data are available. The analysis shows that women are living longer and healthier lives, and dying of heart disease at much later ages than in the past years.


In New York City today, The Heart Truth - NHLBI's landmark heart health awareness campaign for women - rolls out the red carpet for its Red Dress Collection 2008 Fashion Show - presented by Diet Coke, with national sponsors Johnson & Johnson, Swarovski, and partner Bobbi Brown Cosmetics - at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. More than 20 celebrated women will unite with America's top designers on the runway to showcase the annual collection of one-of-a-kind Red Dresses and raise awareness of heart disease in women.


"Nothing draws attention like a little red dress, so this is the Heart Truth's symbol," said First Lady Laura Bush, official national ambassador of the Heart Truth campaign. "Across the country, people are rallying around that dress. Women are taking heart disease more seriously. So are their doctors. And every year from 2000 to 2005, heart disease deaths among women decreased. "


"This is good progress," Mrs. Bush added. "But we still want more people to know the Heart Truth. Too many women, especially African American women, die of heart disease. More than 80 percent of middle-aged women have at least one risk factor and many of them don't know it."
"Considerable progress continues to be made in the fight against heart disease in women," said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of NHLBI.


But serious challenges remain - one in four women dies from heart disease. Women of color have higher rates of some risk factors for heart disease and are more likely to die of the disease.


"Unfortunately, many women still do not take heart disease seriously and personally," said Dr. Nabel. "Millions of women still have one or more risk factors for heart disease, dramatically increasing their risk of developing heart disease. In fact, having just one risk factor increases a woman's chance of developing heart disease twofold."


"I am just delighted that for the sixth year on National Wear Red Day, the fashion and entertainment industries will join forces on behalf of The Heart Truth to share an urgent message to American women about heart health," said Dr. Nabel. "Although we've helped to dramatically increase awareness among women that heart disease is their leading cause of death, our mission remains to educate women about the seriousness of heart disease and inspire them to take action to reduce their risk."


The Heart Truth effort aims to spread the word that heart disease is largely preventable. In fact, just by leading a healthy lifestyle - such as following a heart healthy eating plan, getting regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking - Americans can lower their risk by as much as 82 percent. Risk factors for heart disease include:















- age (55 or older for women);

- a family history of early heart disease;

- high blood pressure;

- high blood cholesterol;

- diabetes;

- smoking;

- being overweight or obese; and

- being physically inactive.


NHLBI's introduction of The Heart Truth's Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 sparked a national movement that has united partners to promote the common goal of a greater awareness of heart disease and better heart health for all women. The Red Dress is fast becoming one of the most recognizable health symbols in the United States. About half of women recognize the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease and about half of women are aware that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.


Walking in this year's Fashion Show are Hollywood leading ladies, including Allison Janney, Ana Ortiz, Camryn Manheim, Cheryl Hines, Cicely Tyson, Emma Roberts, Heidi Klum, Jenna Fischer, Joss Stone, Leighton Meester, Lisa Rinna, Maria Menounos, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Molly Sims, Rita Moreno, and Sara Ramirez.


Participating designers in the 2008 Collection include Ali Rahimi, Badgley Mischka, Calvin Klein, Carmen Marc Valvo, Catherine Malandrino, Daniel Swarovski, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Marchesa, Michael Kors, Monique L'Huillier, Oscar de la Renta, Rachel Roy, Ralph Lauren, Tracy Reese, and Zac Posen.


Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, is National Wear Red Day when thousands of Americans across the country will wear red to unite in the national movement to give women a personal and urgent reminder about their risk for heart disease. The day serves as a reminder to every woman to care for her heart, because heart disease is the #1 killer of women.


About The Heart Truth


The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by NHLBI, part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Heart Truth's Red Dress reminds women of the need to protect their heart health, and inspires them to take action. NHLBI continues to lead the nation in a landmark heart health awareness movement that is being embraced by millions who share the common goal of greater awareness and better heart health for all women.


The Heart Truth partners include: The Office on Women's Health, Department of Health and Human Services; the American Heart Association; WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, and other organizations committed to the health and well-being of women. To learn more about The Heart Truth campaign, visit hearttruth.


Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online at nhlbi.nih.


The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation's Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.

nih

Blogs Comment On World Population Day, Health Care Reform, Other Topics

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "World Population Day 2009 -- Time To Finally Make Maternal Health a Priority," Sharon Camp, Huffington Post blogs: World Population Day on Saturday "serves as an urgent reminder that ... governments around the world must boost investments in global health," especially maternal health, despite the global economic recession, Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes. Efforts "have fallen short" to date as the "financial resources and political will needed to promote maternal health have been lagging," Camp writes. She notes that the nations are "hardly any closer" to achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal deaths by 75% and achieving universal access to reproductive health services by 2015. A "critical shortcoming" of recent efforts to achieve the MDGs has been the "reluctance of some governments and advocates to accept that better maternal health cannot be achieved without acknowledging, committing and fully funding sexual and reproductive health services," Camp writes. In particular, "this includes contraceptive services to help women time and space pregnancies as well as treatment of septic or incomplete abortions," and "providing safe abortion services consistent with individual country law," according to Camp. However, there is "some good news," she writes, noting that "[n]ew momentum behind worldwide advocacy efforts may yield the resources and political commitment needed to make a difference." Camp concludes, "It is precisely because resources are scarce that they must be used wisely and efficiently in a way that serves both humanitarian and economic development goals. Investing in saving women's lives fits this bill" (Camp, Huffington Post blogs, 7/9).

~ "Proposed Amendments Would Deny Health Care to Women," Lois Uttley, RH Reality Check: In a blog post addressed to "Gentlemen of the Congress," Uttley asks if they have "forgotten about the women" in their lives as they work on crafting health care reform legislation. Uttley writes,"[S]ome of you are wasting valuable time and taxpayer dollars proposing amendments that would deny health care" to several groups of people, including women. She writes that Republican Sens. Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) this week submitted amendments to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that would ban coverage for abortion services; protect health care providers and insurers from "'discrimination' for refusing to provide health care requested by their patients," including abortion and emergency contraception; allow federally qualified health centers to "not provide abortions and still get government grants"; and require that "[a]ny independent medical board appointed to determine the benefits that would be included in national health reform coverage would have to include 'professional ethicists ... with specialty in rights of the life of the unborn.'" Meanwhile, Democrats "are spending far too much time trying to win over colleagues who are never going to vote for health reform, no matter if you offer them abortion exclusions or new provider 'conscience' laws or other provisions that would hobble health reform," Uttley writes. She continues, "Don't forget that women are among the strongest supporters of moving quickly on health reform this year" because they are "grassroots experts on what is broken in the current health system," such as insurers' labeling of pregnancy as a "pre-existing condition," using "gender rating" in individual policies and excluding contraception coverage. She asks, "So what do women want?" Uttley provides a "list we've been compiling at Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need." Among the priorities, the list stresses that lawmakers should keep "moral values" out of the debate and that health insurance must be affordable, more simple to understand, fair, portable and universal (Uttley, RH Reality Check, 7/9).














~ "Reports on Judge Sotomayor's Record," Kristina Moore, SCOTUSblog: Moore presents a list of "published reports and substantive blog posts" analyzing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's judicial record ahead of her confirmation hearings beginning Monday. The list is organized by subject matter, including general rulings, access to the courts, business, civil rights, criminal, disability, elections, First Amendment, national security and Second Amendment. The links include an analysis of opinion by the Congressional Research Service, as well as blog posts and reports from media outlets and organizations such as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, CNN, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the National Law Journal, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (Moore, SCOTUSblog, 7/7).

~ "Abstinence-Only Advocates Attempt To Evolve, but Don't Be So Easily Fooled," Yvonne Fulbright, Huffington Post blogs: Fulbright writes that abstinence-only sex education advocates "have been long organizing a comeback" by "rebranding themselves as science-based and holistic." She continues, "Sounds great, until you remember that this group of powerful virginity zealots, religious leaders and legislators are driven by regressive social values." Fulbright writes that, considering the records of certain abstinence-only groups, "we can't expect their take on 'holistic' and 'healthy' to be anything like that of comprehensive sexual education." According to Fulbright, the attempt of abstinence-only groups to rebrand themselves could be "laughable until you realize that attempting to be more mainstream ... may just work" because the "average citizen will have trouble deciphering what makes the comprehensive versus abstinence-centered efforts so different" (Fulbright, Huffington Post blogs, 7/7).

~ "Jill Stanek Doesn't Want To Prevent Abortions," Kathleen Reeves, RH Reality Check: In the blog, Reeves discusses a recent e-mail exchange between Steven Waldman, editor-in-chief of Beliefnet, and antiabortion-rights advocate Jill Stanek. According to Reeves, Waldman proposed "the following hypothetical situation: more premarital sex and fewer abortions. Would pro-lifers accept this trade-off?" Reeves continues that "Stanek wouldn't" because "she thinks that contraception and sex education lead to more unintended pregnancies." Reeves writes, "What both Waldman and I find more interesting is Stanek's unconditional opposition to sex ed, even if she believed that it did help reduce abortions." In addition, "there's something much more immediate and practical in her refusal to consider contraception a 'lesser evil,'" according to Reeves. She adds, "If she did, she would be admitting that she, and all religious fundamentalists, are wrong. She would be ceding ground to safe sex, to free condoms in bars, to Planned Parenthood." According to Reeves, "A significant contingent of pro-lifers have always done their part to ensure that more abortions happen by resisting sex ed, resisting funding for contraception, and by teaching their children (and other people's children) that condoms don't work." She concludes, "We're going to have to look elsewhere to reduce unplanned pregnancies. Jill Stanek is not interested" (Reeves, RH Reality Check, 7/9).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Some China Provinces Could Relax One-Child Policy

Some rural Chinese provinces are likely to expand exceptions to China's one-child policy, as the federal government continues to re-examine the 30-year-old policy, Reuters reports. The Chinese government has been cautious about reversing the policy, which largely has controlled the country's population that is expected to peak at 1.65 billion in 2033. The policy was intended to last one generation.

The government currently allows several exceptions, including allowing rural families to have a second child if the first is a girl and for couples in cities to have a second child if both parents have no siblings. Five rural provinces in 2011 will participate in a pilot program in which couples will be allowed to have a second child if at least one parent is an only child.

Zhang Feng, director of the Guangdong Population and Family Planning Commission, told the Southern Metropolis Daily, "If population control reaches the expected goal, Guangdong is likely to let couples in which one of the two is an only child to have a second child after the Twelfth Five-Year plan," which ends in 2015 (Reuters, 9/26).

However, China Daily on Monday reported that Li Bin, head of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said there are no plans to change the one-child policy in the near future (Olesen, AP/Yahoo! News, 9/27).

Critics of the policy argue that it has led to forced abortions and sterilizations, while also imposing punitive enforcement and expanding the gender gap. They say millions of female fetuses and infants have been aborted or abandoned because of a traditional preference for male heirs. According to Reuters, there were 119.45 male newborns for every 100 female births in 2009, compared with a natural ratio of about 105 males per 100 female births. The gender disparity is likely to result in 24 million Chinese men unable to find female counterparts by 2020, which could lead to an increase in women- and child-trafficking, Reuters reports (Reuters, 9/26).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.


© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.

'Political Stars Aligned' For Comprehensive Sex Education Proponents, Opinion Piece Says

Congress has "been up to its eyeballs in sex education lately," with sex education proponents and opponents both working to secure federal funding for their causes, Washington Times columnist Cheryl Wetzstein writes in an opinion piece. Last week, the National Abstinence Education Association brought 500 teenagers to Capitol Hill to discuss abstinence, and "[s]ex education proponents responded by blitzing members of Congress with calls for programs that offer plenty of information about birth control," she says. According to Wetzstein, the fiscal year 2009 omnibus spending bill President Obama signed last week "cuts funding for a major abstinence program" by more than $10 million. However, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) "came through for abstinence, with more than $430,000 in earmarks -- all aimed at Pennsylvania programs, of course," she writes.

Wetzstein suggests "step[ping] back from this fray for a second." She goes on to cite historian Allan C. Carlson's "version of the rules for a sexual revolution," from his book "Family Questions," written 20 years ago. Carlson describes seven "rules" for a sexual revolution, beginning with "'declare the old morality dead'" and ending with "'seize control of the schools and begin indoctrination of the young" into a new moral code, according to Wetzstein. She says that "Carlson is a conservative who upholds marriage and the natural family, so his list is a warning not a call to arms," adding that his "conclusion ... describes us." He wrote that the U.S. is "'divided between two moralities'" and that unlike European nations, the "'great leap to the new morality of sexual freedom fell short" in this country, she says. Wetzstein writes that Carlson believes that U.S. teenagers are "'suspended' between two moral codes that are fighting for dominance -- and necessarily undermine each other."

Wetzstein continues that this "historical logjam may be broken at last this summer -- in favor of the 'new' moral code." She says, "The political stars are finally aligned for sex education proponents," who have "isolated the much-loathed Title V abstinence-education grant program, and all they have to do is get Congress to sit on its hands when the program expires June 30." Wetzstein concludes, "That would mean one abstinence program down, two to go" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 3/17).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Hormone Replacement Therapy Increases Risk For Breast Scan Abnormalities

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) "could increase the risk of developing early signs of breast cancer after only one year", The Daily Telegraph reports. One of the largest studies of its kind has shown that "the group taking the hormones had a 4% greater risk of having an abnormal mammogram, or breast X-ray, than those taking the placebo", the newspaper said.



There has been ongoing debate about the risks and benefits associated with HRT. It is known to cause a slight increase in the risk of breast cancer if taken for longer than five years. This news report will no doubt raise concerns among many women taking, or considering taking, HRT.
The report is based on data from a large Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study in the US. However, the study was not directly investigating any link between breast cancer and HRT. Instead it looked at whether HRT increased the chances of detecting an abnormality on a mammogram that then required a biopsy for further investigation; this would not necessarily involve a diagnosis of breast cancer. The study's authors say that HRT seemed to increase the chances of having to undergo further investigation after a mammogram and reduced the ability of the mammogram to detect breast cancer accurately. They advise that these issues should be considered when doctors are discussing the risks and benefits of HRT with women, and this seems to be sensible advice.


Where did the story come from?

This research was carried out by Dr Rowan Chlebowski and other investigators for the WHI in the US. The WHI is funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services' National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. It was published in peer-reviewed medical journal Archives of Internal Medicine.


What kind of scientific study was this?

This study reports an analysis of data from a large randomised controlled trial in which the researchers aimed to clarify the effect of combined HRT (oestrogen and progestogen) on breast cancer detection.


The WHI researchers enrolled 16,608 postmenopausal women (aged 50 to 79 years) from 40 clinics in the US between October 1993 and December 1998. The women received either a combination of oestrogen and medroxyprogesterone in a single daily tablet (HRT) or a placebo tablet. Women were not included in the trial if they had a family history of breast cancer, had any other cancer within the past 10 years, or another medical condition that meant they could die within three years of the start of the study. All participants had a normal mammogram and breast examination at the start of the trial. Researchers also collected participants' personal information, including details of health, lifestyle and previous use of HRT.















The women were followed up six weeks after starting the tablets to check they were taking the medication as directed and to monitor any symptoms. They had a clinical assessment every six months and a yearly breast examination and mammogram. Any mammograms that were suggestive of abnormalities or possible cancer were referred to a doctor who decided whether further investigation was needed.

In their analysis the researchers looked at the mammograms of the women who received HRT and those who received the placebo. They monitored two factors: specificity, which refers to the proportion of women without breast cancer whose mammogram was, correctly, free from abnormalities; and sensitivity, which refers to the proportion of women with breast cancer whose mammogram correctly showed the abnormality. They also looked at the rates of false-positive and false-negative test results. They carried out this analysis after the women had been taking the medications for three periods of time: one to two years; three to four years; and five or more years. Non-adherence to study medications was taken into account when conducting the analyses.


Researchers report that medications in all women were discontinued when it was considered that the risks of combined HRT therapy outweighed any benefits. Women were advised to continue with follow up assessments every six months and yearly mammograms. The researchers used this later data to assess the accuracy of mammograms for correctly detecting breast cancers 2.4 years after the women finished taking the study medication.


What were the results of the study?

The average age of women in this study was 63 years. There were no differences in demographics, lifestyle or relevant medical factors between the HRT and placebo groups. During the course of the study, breast cancers were diagnosed in 199 of the HRT group and 150 of the placebo group (giving a small increase in the risk of breast cancer in the HRT group). When breast cancer was diagnosed in the HRT group, it was generally at a later stage. These results have already been published.


The frequency of detecting an abnormality on a mammogram was higher in the HRT group (35% compared with 23% for the placebo group) with a corresponding increase in the number of biopsies that needed to be carried out. The increase in the chances of having an abnormal scan with HRT compared with placebo increased during the time HRT was taken (4% increase with one year of HRT, rising to an 11% increase with five years of HRT).


The researchers found that the specificity of mammograms was very similar in the HRT and placebo groups. However, the sensitivity of mammograms for correctly identifying women with breast cancer was reduced with HRT. Of all the women who went on to have a biopsy after a mammogram, fewer in the HRT group demonstrated actual breast cancer (14.8%) than those in the placebo group (19.6%).


For 12 months after the participants stopped taking HRT, the effects upon abnormality detection at mammography remained significant; however, they decreased after this time.


What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?

The researchers concluded that the use of combined oestrogen and medroxyprogesterone HRT increased the rates of finding any abnormality on a mammogram and of needing to have a biopsy investigation, while "compromising the diagnostic performance of both". This, they say, results in "one in 10 and one in 25 women having otherwise avoidable mammogram abnormalities and breast biopsies, respectively".


What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?


This was a complex and well-conducted study in which the WHI researchers attempted to clarify how HRT affects the risks of having an abnormal mammogram test. This follows on from the earlier findings of this study that use of HRT for over five years increases the risk of developing breast cancer. Being a large study, it offers valuable information; however, there are still points that should be taken into account:


- The newspaper headline in The Daily Telegraph that "HRT could increase breast cancer risk" is a slight oversimplification of the study's findings. The actual increase in the number of cases of breast cancer in the HRT group compared with the placebo group was relatively small, and was not the focus of this investigation. The main finding of the study was that the diagnostic accuracy of mammography was decreased in women who had taken combination HRT.


- This study only investigated one type and one dosage of combination HRT. The findings may not be the same with other drug combinations or for oestrogen therapy alone in women who have undergone a hysterectomy. The effects upon women with a family history of breast cancer are also unclear.


- This study was conducted in the US. Findings may be similar in other countries, but care should be taken when applying the results to the UK or elsewhere because the sensitivity of detection of abnormalities on mammograms may be slightly different.


- The researchers suggest that the decrease in diagnostic accuracy of the mammograms may be due to the increase in breast density that occurs because of hormone therapy. This was not assessed by the study, the researchers explain, so the precise role of this factor remains unknown.


The authors say that the emotional and economic costs for women who have an abnormal mammogram and need further investigation may be significant. They therefore advise that these issues are considered when doctors are discussing the risks and benefits of HRT with women. At the current time, this seems to be sensible advice.


Sir Muir Gray adds... One of the reasons that breast screening shows less benefit in women under the age of fifty is that the breast tissue is denser before the menopause. It is therefore not surprising that HRT makes mammograms more difficult to read.


Links to the headlines


HRT could increase breast cancer risk.
The Daily Telegraph, February 26 2008


Links to the science


Estrogen Plus Progestin and Breast Cancer Detection by Means of Mammography and Breast Biopsy.
Chlebowski RT, Anderson G, Pettinger M, et al.
Arch Intern Med 2008; 168:370-377

This news comes from NHS Choices

Odds Of Experiencing Sexual Aggression 19 Times Greater On Days Of Binge Drinking For College Women

According to researchers at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), the odds of 18-19 year old college women experiencing sexual aggression are 19 times greater when they binge drink than when they don't drink. Binge drinking or heavy drinking was defined as drinking four or more drinks on a drinking occasion.


The analysis that led to this finding was based on daily reports of 179 young college women during an eight-week study. The majority of the women, 118 (66 percent of the sample), reported drinking alcohol during the study. Among those who drank, 73 women (62 percent) reported one or more days of heavy drinking. For this particular group of women, heavy drinking translated to on average, seven drinks.


Reports of aggression were provided by 63 women (35 percent) in the sample of 179. Across the entire sample, a total of 127 days of aggression was reported. Sexual aggression was reported on 26 of these days (or 20 percent of the time). The odds of experiencing sexual aggression were 19 times greater on heavy drinking days compared to non-drinking days. Physical aggression was reported on 16 of the days (or 13 percent of the time). The odds of experiencing physical aggression were 12 times greater on heavy drinking days compared to non-drinking days.


According to Kathleen A. Parks, Ph.D., principal investigator on the study, "Our goal was to investigate the relationships among drinking, aggression, and mood. What we found - in the very high odds of sexual and physical aggression on heavy drinking days - indicates major consequences of binge drinking for women that no research study had previously established."


Parks is a senior research scientist at RIA with expertise in women's substance use and misuse, and alcohol-related victimization of women.


Verbal aggression was reported on 85 of the 127 days of aggression (or 67 percent of the time). The odds of verbal aggression were a little over two times greater on heavy drinking days compared to non-drinking days. This is of some interest because verbal aggression often precedes physical and sexual aggression. When women experienced negative psychological symptoms or moods (described as depression or anxiety), the odds of verbal aggression increased by three times. Furthermore, the odds of alcohol consumption were three times higher for the 24 hour period following involvement in verbal aggression.


The researchers also determined that not all drinking puts women at risk for experiencing aggression. Rather, heavy drinking (consuming four or more drinks per occasion) increased women's risk for involvement in sexual, physical, and, to a lesser degree, verbal aggression.


"These findings provide support for the need to develop intervention programs targeted to this problem," Parks concluded. "In addition, they help define characteristics that put women at increased risk for aggression, regardless of alcohol consumption. Women who enter college with a history of experiencing aggression or a history of heavy drinking are at greater risk for later aggression, as are women who experience depression or anxiety while in college."


This study was part of a larger four-year investigation of 995 first-time freshmen college women. It took place during the spring semester of the second year at college when the women were 18-19 years old. Sixty-one percent of the women were white, 15 percent were black, 13 percent Asian, and the remaining 10 percent were from other ethnic groups.



A complete report of the study was published in the June 2008 issue of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.


Parks conducted this study in collaboration with Ya-Ping Hsieh, Ph.D., data manager and analyst; Clara M. Bradizza, Ph.D., senior research scientist at RIA and research assistant professor of psychiatry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; and Ann M. Romosz, M.A., project director.


The Research Institute on Addictions has been a national leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999.


The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.


University at Buffalo

Supreme Court Denies Appeal Of Lower Court Ruling That Alaska Right To Life Committee Must Adhere To State Campaign Finance Laws

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday without comment denied an appeal by the Alaska Right to Life Committee to a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said Alaska's campaign finance laws do not violate the First Amendment, the AP/Anchorage Daily News reports (Volz, AP/Anchorage Daily News, 10/2). The Alaska Legislature in 2002 approved a law requiring interest groups that produce political materials within 30 days of a general election to register with the state Public Offices Commission, report the expenditures involved in the campaigning and disclose their identities in advertisements. The Alaska Right to Life Committee, which is affiliated with Alaska Right to Life, in a lawsuit filed in November 2002 said that the rules are "too broad" and thus can "also encompass issue advocacy," which is protected by the Constitution. The suit -- which was seeking to have certain sections of the law declared unconstitutional -- cited a telephone campaign that the group planned to launch shortly before the Nov. 5, 2002, election. The campaign focused on the gubernatorial race between Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) and former Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer (D). Campaigners would have telephoned households and asked people their position on abortion; if respondents identified themselves as "antiabortion," callers would have outlined the abortion positions of Murkowski and Ulmer. Although the campaigners would not have "explicitly" endorsed either candidate, they would have stated that Murkowski "supports Alaska Right to Life's pro-life vision." The suit said that officials from the Public Offices Commission -- which is charged with enforcing the law -- told the organization that "due to the nature of the campaign," the calls would have to be funded and directed through the AKRTL Political Action Committee, not the organization itself (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/26/02). A lower court dismissed the lawsuit, and the 9th Circuit Court in March upheld the decision.

Reaction
"It's good to know that our electioneering definition will withstand a court challenge," Public Offices Commission Executive Director Brooke Miles said. AKRTL Executive Director Karen Lewis said she is disappointed that the Supreme Court would not hear the case, adding, "It seems like we're being silenced. Free speech should always be in place." Lewis said the group would release its campaign messages for the November election through its PAC within the 30-day period (AP/Anchorage Daily News, 10/2).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Issues In Various States

The following highlights recent state news on women's health issues.
California: A state law that effectively bans vaccines that contain the preservative thimerosal from use in pregnant women and children younger than age three took effect Saturday, the Sacramento Bee reports (Griffith, Sacramento Bee, 7/4). California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) in September 2004 signed the legislation (AB 2943), which restricts use of vaccines containing more than trace amounts of ethyl mercury in pregnant women and young children because of concern that the mercury could damage the developing brains of fetuses or children. The law requires physicians to stop administering vaccines containing more than trace amounts of thimerosal -- a preservative that is about 50% ethyl mercury -- to pregnant women and infants. The law allows state officials to waive thimerosal restrictions during a public health emergency, including a severe flu vaccine shortage (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/30/04). To comply with the law, the state has ordered 50,000 doses of thimerosal-free flu vaccine for children ages one to three and 15,000 such doses for pregnant women. State Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Belshe issued a 12-month exception for vaccination against the mosquito-borne disease known as Japanese encephalitis. She said the "risks of fatal disease or brain injury far exceed any risk of mercury in the vaccine." There is no mercury-free substitute available. California distributes about 32,000 doses of the Japanese encephalitis vaccine annually, though there is no data available that show how many pregnant women and young children receive it, according to the Bee (Sacramento Bee, 7/4).

California: Bill Gross, founder and CEO of the bond and money market manager PIMCO, and his wife Sue have pledged $10 million to the University of California-Irvine's proposed stem cell research center, UCI announced Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Grosses initially will give $2 million for staffing and equipment needs (Suarez, Los Angeles Times, 7/6). The other $8 million will be a matching gift for the proposed research center, Bill Gross said (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 7/5). UCI spokesperson Farnaz Khadem said the university hopes the other end of the matching $8 million donation for the $80 million facility will come from a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine grant (Los Angeles Times, 7/6). "We feel it is important to face your convictions and do the right thing -- even if controversy follows a cause you support," Gross said in a statement (Reuters, 7/5). Gross' family has donated $53 million to health and education groups over the last 18 months, including a $20 million donation to build a women's health tower at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, Calif. (Los Angeles Times, 7/6).

Minnesota: The AP/St. Paul Pioneer Press on Thursday profiled some of the groups receiving $4.75 million in state Department of Health grants as part of a public information campaign about fetal development, alternatives to abortion and other services for pregnant women (Lohn, AP/St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/6). Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) last year signed into law a bill (SF 917) that establishes a "positive alternatives" to abortion program and requires the health department to launch a public information campaign about fetal development, alternatives to abortion and other services for pregnant women. The measure allows state funding for organizations that mention abortion as an option but do not encourage abortion or arrange for abortion services. The law prohibits funding from going to organizations that give "inaccurate medical information." The health department earlier this month began awarding the grants for the two-year program to 37 not-for-profit groups that discourage abortion, encourage adoption and provide prenatal counseling and other health care services for pregnant women (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/3). The largest grant, of $285,000, went to Roseville, Minn.-based Cradle of Hope, which provides cribs to pregnant women in the state. The AP/Pioneer Press also profiled the North Side LifeCare Center in Minneapolis, which received a $129,180 grant to help expand its prenatal care and other services, and the Face to Face Health and Counseling Service in St. Paul, which does not have a position on abortion and received a $145,215 grant for pregnancy support services (AP/St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/6).















"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Actions Taken On HPV Vaccine Proposals In California, Texas; Washington

The following highlights recent state news related to human papillomavirus vaccines. Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. FDA in July 2006 approved Gardasil for sale and marketing to girls and women ages nine to 26, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices later that month voted unanimously to recommend that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the vaccine. GSK in April plans to file for FDA approval of Cervarix, and it expects approval by the end of this year. CDC has added Gardasil to its Vaccines for Children Program, which provides no-cost immunizations to children ages nine to 18 covered by Medicaid, Alaska Native and American Indian children, and some uninsured and underinsured children (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/1). Summaries appear below.

California: Assembly member Ed Hernandez (D) on Tuesday withdrew consideration of a bill (AB 16) that would require all California girls entering the seventh grade to receive an HPV vaccine so he can consider revisions to the measure, the Sacramento Bee reports (Benson, Sacramento Bee, 3/14). The legislation, which would take effect in July 2008, includes an exception for girls whose parents file a letter stating that participation is against their beliefs. It does not seek to allocate state funding to cover the cost of the vaccine (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/11/06). The measure was originally authored by Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Sally Lieber (D), but she dropped the legislation because her family owned Merck stock, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Assembly Health Committee members from both parties during a hearing on Tuesday expressed concerns about the legislation, including a lack of information on how parents could opt their daughters out of the requirement, how to pay for vaccinations and the novelty of the vaccines. Hernandez said he will "try to meet with every single (committee) member to address their concerns" and reintroduce a revised measure next month for the committee to consider (Yi, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/14).














Texas: The House on Wednesday voted 118-23 to pass a bill (HB 1098) that would halt any mandatory HPV vaccination program for girls in school, the Houston Chronicle reports (Elliott/Hernandez, Houston Chronicle, 3/14). Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Feb. 2 issued an executive order that mandates that all girls entering the sixth grade beginning in September 2008 receive an HPV vaccine. Perry has said the executive order will allow parents who do not want their daughters to receive an HPV vaccine "for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs," to opt out of the requirement. Under the executive order, girls and women ages nine to 21 who are eligible for public assistance will be able to receive Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil at no cost beginning immediately (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/13). The Senate is expected to hold a committee hearing on the measure soon, the Austin American-Statesman reports (Selby, Austin American-Statesman, 3/13). Perry's office did not say whether the governor would veto the measure if the Senate approved it (Frosh, New York Times, 3/14).

Washington: The House on Monday voted 73-22 to approve a bill (HB 1802) that would require all schools in the state to provide information about HPV and HPV vaccines, the Spokane Spokesman Review reports. Under the bill, all public and private schools would be required to give parents of children entering the sixth grade information on HPV, its symptoms and causes, and places where vaccines can be obtained. The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Jeannie Darneille (D), now goes to the Senate (Spokane Spokesman Review, 3/14).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


View drug information on Cervarix [Human Papillomavirus Bivalent; Gardasil.