NYS Rejects Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding!

Victory for our Neighbors: NH Repeals Unconstitutional Parental Notice

US Supreme Court Fails Women,  Allows Politicians to Interfere with Personal Medical Decisions

Bronx Girls demand Sex Ed!

More Than Half of Teens Who Sign Abstinence Pledges Do Not Remain Committed, Study Says

The Frieden Files: A NY Debate on Privacy and Testing

Majority of New York City Public High Schools Did Not Order Condoms in Last 18 Months, HIV/AIDS Advocacy Group Says

Three Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Sex Education Programs Teach False Information, Instill 'Fear' in Students, SEICUS Report Says

Laws Requiring Parents To Be Notified When Teens Access Birth Control Could Lead to Increase in Unsafe Sex, Study Says

1 out of 4 of Sexually Active NYC Public High School Students at High Risk for STIs, Including HIV

Vast Majority of Americans Say Sex Education Should be Taught in School: New NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy Poll

New York State has a new Medicaid program that provides free family planning services and will safeguard your confidentiality: the Medicaid Family Planning Benefit Program (FPBP)!

NYS Rejects Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding!

[September 20, 2007] Today New York State Department of Health publicly announced that they have cancelled all existing contracts awarded under Title V, one of the principal federal funding streams for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, and it has pledged to use the state-matching funds for programs aimed at pregnancy prevention.

"It's time to stop wasting taxpayer money on ideologically driven programs that don't work," said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. "While spending millions of dollars on these ineffective programs, the state hasn't spent a single dollar on age-appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality education. This must change."
 
Since 1981, the federal government has allocated more than $1 billion for abstinence-only-until marriage programs throughout the nation. New
York is currently the third largest recipient of federal money for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, behind Texas and Florida. In fiscal year 2006, New York accepted more than $10 million in federal funding -- matched by nearly $4 million in state funds -- for dozens of such programs.

Taxpayer-funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in New York State have used materials that rely on scare tactics, contain inaccurate
and medically unsound information, include religious messages and leave youth unprepared to make healthy decisions about sexuality, concludes
Financing Ignorance: A Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York, a report released today by the Reproductive Rights Project of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

This report recommends the following steps:

1. Comprehensive sexuality education should be funded at both the state and federal levels:
   • The New York State Legislature should pass the “Healthy Teens Act.”
   • Congress should enact the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act.
   • New York should amend the State Education Law to include a requirement that all students receive comprehensive, scientifically accurate, age-appropriate sexuality education in New York State public schools.
   • This should include -- but not be limited to -- an abstinence message.
   • “Medically accurate” should be defined to ensure that programs are objective and scientifically accurate.
   • The commissioners of the Departments of Health and Education should be empowered to promulgate regulations providing guidance on formation of curricula, teacher training and monitoring and evaluation of programming.

2. Funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs should be stopped:
   • Congress should cease all funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
   • New York should join a growing number of states explicitly rejecting federal abstinence-only-until-marriage restricted funding.

Victory for our Neighbors!  New Hampshire Gov. Lynch Signs Bill Repealing Law That Required Parental Notification for Minors Seeking Abortions
Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org*

[Jul 02, 2007] New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) on Friday signed legislation (HB 184) to repeal a state law (HB 763) that required physicians to notify by certified letter a parent or guardian of a minor who is seeking an abortion at least 48 hours before performing the procedure, the
AP/Washington Post reports. New Hampshire is the first state to repeal a parental notification measure (Love, AP/Washington Post, 6/29). The law
also barred parents from forbidding the procedure, and the notification requirement could have been bypassed by a judge if a doctor determined
that the minor's life was in danger.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England; the American Civil Liberties Union; the Concord Feminist Health Center; the Feminist Health Center of Portsmouth, N.H.; and Manchester, N.H.-based ob-gyn Wayne Goldner in November 2003 filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. U.S. District Judge Joseph DiClerico and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently struck down the entire law. New Hampshire
Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) appealed the rulings to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that the judicial bypass clause in the measure combined with other state laws that allow doctors to act in an emergency protect a woman's health.

Lynch said, "I strongly believe parents should be involved in these decisions, providing important support and guidance. Unfortunately, that
is not possible in every case" (AP/Washington Post, 6/29). He said that the "Supreme Court found this law unconstitutional because it fails to
protect the health and safety of all women, which is why I am signing its repeal." Lynch added, "I deeply believe that as a state we must
continue to work to reduce the need for abortions and to achieve greater parental involvement in these important decisions, in a manner
consistent with our constitution" (Fahey, Manchester Union-Leader, 6/29).

*Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org
You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_women.cfm. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a
free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. (c) 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family
Foundation. All rights reserved.

US Supreme Court Fails Women,  Allows Politicians to Interfere with Personal Medical Decisions

[April 18, 2007] The NYCLU condemns the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Federal Abortion Ban, which bans many second-trimester abortions without providing an exception for cases in which a woman's health is in danger.

"We've said it, our clients have said it, the medical establishment has said it, and we'll say it again now: The Federal Abortion Ban represents an unprecedented and dangerous federal intrusion into women's health," said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU Executive Director. "It threatens women in medical crises and undermines New York's ability to provide a safe haven for all women who need abortions. For a state that has repeatedly rejected attempts to ban abortion procedures, the Supreme Court's ruling is a devastating blow."

The court's 5-4 ruling rejected challenges by women's health advocates to the Federal Abortion Ban (called by its sponsors the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act"), which President Bush signed into law in 2003 and which is the first-ever federal law to ban a medical procedure.

"This is a dark day for women's health and safety," said Galen Sherwin, Acting Director of the NYCLU Reproductive Rights Project. "The Supreme Court today has disregarded both the medical opinions of leading doctors and more than 30 years of its own established law by upholding a far-reaching abortion ban that fails to include protections for women's health."

New Yorkers are exploring state legislation to further protect the right to choose.

Bronx Girls demand Sex Ed!

[June 21, 2006] Ten seventh grade girls from PS 218 collected 206 signatures to petition their school for sex education reports the New York Post (Andreatta, New York Post, 6/19). Quotes from the story:

"The only sex education we have is music videos, the Internet and books because our parents don't talk about it with us and we don't get it in school," said Ashley Reyes, 13.

Katherine George, 13, who helped write the petition in an after-school program run by the Women's Housing and Economic Development Corp. (WHEDCo), said "abstinence only" lessons just don't cut it.

Lessons on those subjects are left to the discretion of schools, and most city schools ignore them. ( Andreatta, New York Post, 6/19)

The girls say that PS 218 has not taught the HIV/AIDS lessons required by state law because of parent complaints.

NYS receives $12 million in abstinence-only-until-marriage money, more than any state other than Texas in 2004.

More Than Half of Teens Who Sign Abstinence Pledges Do Not Remain Committed, Study Says   Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org*

[May 09, 2006] More than half of teenagers who sign public pledges to remain abstinent until marriage have sex within one year of making the pledge, according to a report released this week by Harvard University, the Los Angeles Times reports (Mehren, Los Angeles Times, 5/8). Janet Rosenbaum, who conducted the study -- which was published in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health -- examined data from the government-sponsored survey, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which was conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Development ( Nagourney, New York Times, 5/9). The survey interviewed 14,000 U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 18 in 1995 and again in 1996 and 2001. According to study findings, 52% of participating teens who made the pledge in 1995 reported having intercourse within one year. In addition, 73% of the respondents who in the first survey said they had signed a pledge but later had sexual intercourse denied making the pledge when they were surveyed again. Nearly one-third of participating adolescents who in the first survey said they had had intercourse reported in the second survey that they had never had intercourse ( Los Angeles Times, 5/8). The study says, "Survey respondents typically reconcile their memories with their present beliefs. ... Respondents may recall only memories consistent with their current beliefs or report actions that did not occur but are consistent with their current beliefs" ( New York Times, 5/9). Rosenbaum said that adolescents who sign virginity pledges "are more likely to give bad information ... about their sexual history" ( Los Angeles Times, 5/8). According to the New York Times, the study does not only discuss the "reliability of the [virginity] pledges and abstinence programs, [but also] raises concerns about whether" these programs make tracking STIs more difficult ( New York Times, 5/9).

*Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org
You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_women.cfm. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2006 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Frieden Files: A NY Debate on Privacy and Testing

by Nicole Joseph for POZ.com at http://www.poz.com/articles/401_2921.shtml

Reprinted with permission from POZ.com

March 29, 2006 — Falling in line with the national trend toward loosening HIV confidentiality and consent for HIV testing, New York City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, is petitioning the state to open up patient files to public officials, collect as-yet undefined “additional information” and stop requiring counseling and written consent before every HIV test. But judging from the reaction this week among the urban advocates likely to feel the proposed changes most, it will be a bumpy fall.  

“It’s a sledgehammer approach to fixing the problem of not [seeing] as many people being tested as there should be,” argues S.J. Avery, chief executive officer at Bronx AIDS Services. She is also concerned about the effects of such a law on “the confidentiality we have had with our clients over long periods of time.”

Terri Smith-Coronia, director of NYC Public Policy at Housing Works, the HIV advocacy group that leaked the draft proposals to the public last week, says simply, “The bill needs to come off the table.” Her organization worries that “additional information” could encompass “anything from further medical details to particulars of the person's sexual or drug-using history.” (Currently, New York state collects the names of those who test positive as well as the results of CD4 viral load and resistance tests and basic demographic and doctor information.)

Certain aspects of the city proposals enjoy key support, though. A statement from the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) said the organization and Frieden “agree in concept that the Health Department [should] have access to currently collected health information and be able to use this information.” And LCOA president Dennis deLeon told POZ, “We’re in favor of the idea of routine testing, as long as the person can opt out. Written consent is a hindrance in about 20% of testing cases.”

Kim Nichols of the city’s African Services Committee, whose services include HIV testing, backs the idea of doing away with written consent because she doesn’t like doctors deciding who should be tested and who should not. “If you let people know that [HIV testing] would be a routine part of screening,” she says, ”then the physician’s role is [only] to let the patient know that they can opt out.”

Concerns about doctor-patient care have guided the city’s recommendations, says Dr. Scott Kellerman, the man in charge of HIV issues at the city’s Department of Health. For instance, he told POZ that he’s heard from plenty of doctors and health care workers who could use some help from the Health Department in tracking down people who drop out of the health care system—or are clearly getting bad care. “Doctors don’t have the staff to do this; they don’t have the resources,” he says.

As for community input on all this, Kellerman says the state legislature in Albany doesn’t get the city’s final proposal for a couple more months—and that meanwhile, his door is open. “We’re trying to get feedback from all sides,” he says.

Some proposals suggest compromise more than others. DeLeon, for instance, says a clearer and more careful process for gaining access to a patient’s medical files would address many of his worries. “We’d like to see some kind of step-by-step scenario where you exhaust [all possibilities] before you go knocking on someone’s door,” he says.

Avery, on the other hand, doesn't see much wiggle room on testing. “Sure, it would be great for physicians to offer it when people go in for routine checkups,” she says. “But don’t take away informed consent. Don’t take away counseling. Finding out that you have HIV is not like finding out that you’re diabetic.”

Majority of New York City Public High Schools Did Not Order Condoms in Last 18 Months, HIV/AIDS Advocacy Group Says  Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org*

A majority of New York City public high schools -- 212 of 379 -- over the last 18 months did not order condoms for distribution to students, and schools that did purchased a total of 310 boxes, each containing 1,000 condoms, according to the city's Department of Education statistics obtained and released on Thursday by the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project, the New York Post reports (Andreatta, New York Post, 11/4). CHAMP Coordinator Sarah Howell said the figures translate to 1.4 condoms for each sexually active student in the city, a "drastic and dangerous shortage" (Yan, Long Island Newsday, 11/4). Almost half of the students who attend public high schools in New York City are sexually active, and nearly 25% of sexually active students engage in sexual behavior that puts them at high risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to a study released last year by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey -- based on a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire designed by CDC -- involved 7,400 students in grades nine through 12 in 77 public high schools in the city ( Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/21/04). "New York City has historically been a focal point of the AIDS epidemic, and what that means is that the Department of Ed and the city has a huge responsibility to students," Howell said. DOE officials said CHAMP's data do not consider the condoms ordered more than 18 months ago. They noted that schools stock condoms as needed and are required to distribute condoms only to students who request them. CHAMP has recruited more than 60 student HIV/AIDS advocates to participate in its "Find the Condoms In Your School" campaign, during which students will request condoms from faculty members and survey their friends on the availability of condoms in their schools. The group expects to release the campaign's results later this month (Long Island Newsday, 11/4).

*Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org
You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_repro.cfm. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Three Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Sex Education Programs Instill 'Fear' in Students, Teach False Information, SEICUS Report Says Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org*

Three federally funded abstinence-only sex education programs spread messages of "fear and shame" among students and teach medical misinformation on issues such as the effectiveness of contraception and the risks of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, according to reviews released on Monday by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States at its third annual "back to school" briefing, CQ HealthBeat reports. The council reviewed the "Passion and Principles," "Worth the Wait," and "Navigator," curricula, which have been taught in more than 12 states and used in programs that have received more than $4 million since fiscal year 2001, according to SIECUS. SIECUS says "Passions and Principles" promotes bias and provides inaccurate information when stating that "one in five times condoms will fail for pregnancy." The group also lists statements in the three curricula it says are religious and inappropriate for public school, use negative messages or offer false information. According to their findings, abstinence-only sex education programs have received more than $600 million in federal funds since 2000. For FY 2006, the Bush administration requested $206 million for such programs, an increase from about $170 million in FY 2005. The Responsible Education About Life Act (HR 2553, S 368), co-sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and supported by SIECUS, would provide $206 million annually in grants to states to provide comprehensive sex education programs. According to the group, "no federal funding stream currently exists for this type of education." (CQ HealthBeat, 9/26).

*Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org
You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_repro.cfm. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Laws Requiring Parents To Be Notified When Teens Access Birth Control Could Lead to Increase in Unsafe Sex, Study Says Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org*

[Jan 19, 2005] Laws that would require clinics to notify a teenager's parents if she sought contraception likely would not reduce the number of teens who engage in sexual activity and could lead to an increase in unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, according to a study conducted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute and published in the Jan. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports (AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/19). Currently, Utah, Texas and McHenry County, Ill., have laws in place requiring teenagers seeking contraception at clinics that receive certain types of funding to have a signed parental consent form before accessing the clinics' services (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 1/19). In addition, U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that would require parental involvement when teenagers seek contraception at clinics, with the reasoning that the requirements might discourage teen sex (McCook, Reuters Health, 1/18). In order to investigate how such laws might affect teenagers' behavior, AGI researcher Dr. Rachel Jones and colleagues surveyed 1,526 girls under age 18 who attended federally funded family planning clinics in 33 states (AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/19). The girls were asked to complete anonymous questionnaires about what they would do if they were required to get permission from their parents in order to receive contraception (Reuters Health, 1/18).

Findings, Conclusion
About 60% of the teens surveyed said their parents already were aware they visited a family planning, and 59% of respondents said they would continue to seek contraception if parental notification laws were enacted (AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/19). However, 70% of respondents who said their parents were not aware they visited a clinic said they would stop using clinic services if a parental notification law for contraception were enacted in their state, according to Reuters Health. Nearly half of those teenagers said they would switch to an over-the-counter method of contraception, such as condoms, instead of using prescription contraceptives, while 7% said they would stop having sex (Reuters Health, 1/18). Eighteen percent of those teenagers said they would rely on the rhythm method or withdrawal -- both of which are "far less reliable" in preventing pregnancy than other contraceptives, according to the AP/Times-Dispatch (AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/19). "The implication is that parental notification wouldn't be a good thing," Jones said, adding that teenagers "wouldn't stop having sex, they would just have unsafe sex" (Reuters Health, 1/18). The study findings "echo" the findings of several smaller, local studies, according to the AP/Times-Dispatch (AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/19).

*Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org
You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_repro.cfm. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

One-Quarter of Sexually Active NYC Public High School Students at High Risk for STDs, Including HIV, Study Says
[Oct 21, 2004] Almost 50% of students who attend public high schools in New York City are sexually active, and nearly 25% of sexually active students engage in sexual behavior that puts them at high risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to a study released on Tuesday by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island Newsday reports. The 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey -- based on a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire designed by CDC -- involved 7,400 students in grades nine through 12 in 77 public high schools in the city, according to Newsday (Bowles, Long Island Newsday, 10/20). Findings
The study, which has been conducted every two years since 1997 and also surveys students on other risk behaviors, had the following sex-related findings:

• 48% of public high school students in New York City reported engaging in sexual intercourse at least once (Seifman, New York Post, 10/20).
  
  
• 17% of sexually active students reported having had more than four sexual partners (Williams/Colangelo, New York Daily News, 10/20).
  
  
• 24% of sexually active students reported that they did not use a condom the last time they had sexual intercourse (AP/WNBC.com, 10/19).
  
  
• One in 10 high school students reported having first sexual intercourse by age 13 (Long Island Newsday, 10/20).
  
  
• 6% of respondents reported being forced to have sex (New York Post, 10/20).

Comparison With Previous Findings
A smaller percentage of New York City public high school students reported engaging in risky sexual behavior in 2003 than in 2001, the New York Post reports. In 2001, 51% of city public high school students reported being sexually active, and of those, 19% had four or more sexual partners and 25% reported not using a condom during last intercourse, according to the Post (New York Post, 10/20).

Reaction
Although the percentage of sexually active New York City public high school students who reported not using a condom during last intercourse declined between 2001 and 2003 and is significantly lower than the 2003 national average of 37%, the percentage is "definitely far too high for our liking," Dr. Lorna Thorpe of the New York City health department said (AP/WNBC.com, 10/19). "For sexually active young people, responsible sexual behavior -- including using a condom while having sex -- is essential to protecting their health," health department Director Thomas Frieden said (Long Island Newsday, 10/20). New York City high schools currently make available -- but do not distribute -- condoms to students in a resource room. However, the NYC Department of Education's new sex education curriculum does not include demonstrations on the proper use of condoms, according to the Daily News. NYC Council member Christine Quinn (D), who chairs the Council's Health Committee, said the lack of communication about sex and condoms has "in no way slowed down sexual behavior." She said she was "especially disturbed" by the percentage of students with multiple sexual partners, according to the Daily News. "We have to change what we are doing and change it quickly before we see higher HIV rates and higher teen pregnancy rates," Quinn said (New York Daily News, 10/20).

*Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_repro.cfm. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2004 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Vast Majority of Americans Say Sex Education Should be Taught in School: New NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy Poll
[Jan 29, 2004] 90 percent of Americans consider it important to include sex education is school curriculum according to a new project by National Public Radio, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University's Kennedy School. Among the results: only 15 percent believe only abstinence from sexual intercourse should be taught. “In many ways, abstinence-only education contrasts with the broad sex ed curriculum that most Americans want,” the summary reports. 77 percent of Americans think information on how to obtain and use condoms makes it more likely teens will practice safe sex now or in the future. The project examines Americans' views on sex education in the nation’s public schools including whether Americans think sex education should be taught in school, what kind of sex education should be taught. In addition the project surveys middle school and high school principals on what is actually happening in the schools. You can find links to the report at http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr012904oth.cfm

New York State has a new Medicaid program that provides free family planning services and will safeguard your confidentiality: the Medicaid Family Planning Benefit Program (FPBP)!

New York State has a new Medicaid program that provides free family planning services and will safeguard your confidentiality!

Eligibility: Minors as young as 10 may be eligible. You must be

• a permanent resident of New York State and
• a US citizen or a legal, documented immigrant.

Services Covered
FPBP will cover the following benefits for at least two years:

• All types of birth control
• Emergency contraception
• Pregnancy testing
• STD testing
• HIV testing and counseling

How to Enroll
You can enroll at any family planning provider such as The Door (see "other resources and links" tab), PCAP provider, or local Medicaid office.  You can call 1-800-541-2381 with questions.

You will need:

• to bring a Photo ID,
• to bring proof of residency or address, and
• to know your Social Security number.

On the application you will be able to give alternate contact information to preserve your confidentiality-if you do, no information will be sent to your house regarding your enrollment in the program or any services you receive under this program.