Tag Archives: Women’s health

Last week, together we secured a victory against efforts that would have harmed women’s health. After hearing from women and men across the country, Susan G. Komen for the Cure reversed its decision to stop funding breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood health clinics. When people come together to protect access to critical women’s health services, we’re a force to be reckoned with.

But opponents of women’s health are at it again. They’re attacking the recent Obama administration decision to make contraception widely available to women without co-pays. Help us push back on these attacks on affordable access to birth control — tell the Obama administration you support no-cost birth control by signing the petition on the White House website.

The Administration’s decision did give 335,000 houses of worship exemptions from providing this critical coverage to their employees. But contraception opponents aren’t satisfied with that and want to take away contraceptive coverage to millions of women. They are filling the airwaves and editorial pages with messages opposing contraception coverage for women who need it to protect their health and the health of their families. We can’t let them shout us down!

We need your help! Thank the Obama administration for moving women’s health forward and for making no-cost birth control a reality. The Obama administration has committed to responding to petitions that collect 25,000 signatures on its website, and while we’re closing in on that number, opponents of birth control have already surpassed it with their own petition. They don’t want you covered, but we won’t be silent!

It takes just a few minutes to add your name to the petition on the White House “We The People” website

—Create your own account on WhiteHouse.gov, which allows you to sign petitions.

— Once you’ve created an account, look for an email with the subject line “Almost done! Verify your WhiteHouse.gov account.”

–Click the link to verify your account, sign in, and then click “Sign This Petition.”

Don’t forget, once you’ve signed, forward the petition to your friends!

We’ve been telling you for months, but it bears repeating: contraception is more than about preventing pregnancy— it also has proven health benefits that improve women’s health. Women must have access to affordable birth control to prevent unintended pregnancies, plan the timing and size of their families, and protect their health. Nearly all sexually active women in the U.S., regardless of their religious beliefs, use contraception at some point in their lives.

All women should have access to contraception, have it without a co-pay, and have it no matter where they work. But, opponents of birth control don’t want you covered, and we can’t let them sway public opinion — sign the petition on the White House website supporting this big step forward for women’s health.

You helped before and we won.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center

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Help Us Protect the Contraceptive Coverage Decision …Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

02/01/2012 Nativegrl77


	Help Us Protect the Contraceptive Coverage Decision



	Please donate today to help us protect the contraceptive coverage decision and fight for other issues vital to women.

	WWW.NWLC.ORG

We recently told you about an important victory for women: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a final rule providing contraceptives without co-pays AND without an expansion of the religious employer exemption.
But contraception opponents aren’t giving up, even though there is a religious exemption: they’ve launched a full-court press to try to overturn this crucial decision. They’ve filed court cases, they’re pressuring politicians and they’re taking to the airwaves and editorial pages in a coordinated effort to try to turn back the clock on contraceptive coverage. They don’t want you covered, and we can’t let them win.
Please help NWLC push back, by making a generous donation to support this fight on contraceptive coverage and our other fights to protect women and women’s health.
Over the summer, HHS deemed birth control a necessary preventive health service, thus requiring insurance plans to cover it without co-pays under the Affordable Care Act. This month’s announcement affirmed that momentous decision, and your work was vital in assuring that it happened. Since the summer, you sent over 100,000 comments in favor of the policy, and HHS listened.
The agency’s decision did allow a narrow set of religious employers to deny this critical coverage to their employees. But opponents of contraception aren’t satisfied: while they’d prefer the coverage to be dropped altogether, for now they’re trying to find alternative routes to expand the exception to include religiously “affiliated” hospitals, universities and other organizations. More than 1 million employees and the women in their families would be affected if they were to succeed.
We can’t let them win — help us work to keep this vital advance in place.
For many years, the National Women’s Law Center has advocated for equity in health insurance coverage, including working to ensure that women have access to affordable contraception and other preventive services. And, with support from friends like you, this year the hard work paid off. Please don’t let this victory be temporary — help us protect the contraceptive coverage decision and fight for other issues so vital to women.
You helped before and we won. But the struggle isn’t over, and I know you’ll do your part once again. Thank you.
Sincerely,

Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Please help today by making a generous donation to support NWLC’s work on contraceptive coverage and other fights vital to women and women’s health.

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Breaking News: Access to No-Cost Birth Control Secured …Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

01/23/2012 Nativegrl77


	ALL Women Need Birth Control without a Co-Pay



	Thank Secretary Sebelius for standing firm and issuing a final rule providing women access to birth control with no co-pays.

Because of you, many women will not lose access to no-cost birth control under the health care law.

WWW.NWLC.ORG
For months now, we’ve been updating you on a new “interim” rule that would provide women across the country access to birth control with no co-pays. This morning, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it was issuing a final rule providing contraceptives without co-pays and refused to expand the religious employer exemption.
Over the summer in its temporary rules, HHS deemed birth control a necessary preventive health service for women, thus requiring coverage without co-pays by the Affordable Care Act. It also would allow a narrow set of religious employers to deny this critical coverage to their employees. But that didn’t satisfy opponents of contraception.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

They wanted the coverage to be dropped, or at least to expand the exception to nearly 1.5 million employees and the women in their families. HHS stood firm, taking a giant step forward in protecting women’s health.
Join us in thanking Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for standing firm and issuing a final rule providing women access to birth control with no co-pays.
It is crucial that women have access to affordable birth control to prevent unintended pregnancies, plan the timing and size of their families, and protect their health. The reality is that nearly all sexually active women in the U.S., regardless of their religious beliefs, use contraception at some point in their lives. Contraception is a preventive health service that should be covered, as HHS has determined. While any exception is unwarranted, an expansion of the exemption would have meant that nearly 1.5 million employees and the women in their families would lose the right to no-cost birth control.
For many years, the National Women’s Law Center has worked to get contraception covered in all health insurance plans, and we won’t stop now. Over the past few months, you’ve joined our effort and sent over 100,000 messages as part of our birth control — we’ve got you covered campaign. And we need your help again — thank Secretary Sebelius for the basic coverage now provided, and urge her to work to make sure that those women whose employers fit into the exception get access to contraception.
Thank you for all that you do to support women’s access to reproductive health care.
Sincerely,

Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your support allows us to continue to improve the health care of women and their

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President Obama All Women Need Affordable Birth Control …National Women’s Law Center

11/30/2011 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Original post 11/20

They’re at it again. Opponents of birth control are trying to put women’s health at risk.

Tell President Obama All Women Need Affordable Birth Control

Over the summer, we secured a big victory when we helped get all forms of FDA-approved contraceptives covered and without a co-pay. However, we were dismayed that the administration allowed some employers to deny this coverage to their employees. Now, some opponents of contraception are pressuring President Obama to deny this critical benefit to more than a million more women.

The reality is that nearly all of sexually active women in the U.S., regardless of their religious beliefs, use contraception at some point in their lives, and it is a preventive health service that should be covered regardless of where they work.

This summer over 60,000 of you joined our effort to say: birth control — we got you covered! We need your help again to ensure that ALL women have access to affordable contraception — tell President Obama to give ALL women access to contraception without co-pays.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

In signing the Affordable Care Act, President Obama championed leveling the health care playing field. The current exemption and certainly any expansion of it will re-open the door for women to be treated like a pre-existing condition.

All women should have affordable access to the contraceptives they need, regardless of where they work. Please give ALL women access to contraception without a co-pay.
Thank you for continuing to stand up for the health of women and their families.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your support allows us to continue to improve the health care of women and their families as well as work on many other critical issues. Please consider making a contribution today. WWW.NWLC.ORG

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Last Chance: Make the Health Care Law Work Better for Women …Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

10/21/2011 Nativegrl77

Over the past few months, you helped us send nearly 15,000 messages to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make sure ALL women get birth control without a co-payment through the health care law.

We need your help again. HHS is deciding how key parts of the health care law will work and is accepting comments from the public until the end of the month. Join us in telling HHS how to improve the way the health care law works for women!

There are three things HHS can do right now that are crucial to women’s health:

: Include strong consumer protections to make it easy for women to enroll in high quality, affordable health care plans that meet their needs.
: Simplify the rules for insurance plans that cover abortion so women can choose the health plan that’s right for them.
: Maintain strong, enforceable standards to protect women against discrimination.

We need your help! Tell HHS to move women’s health forward by including these three important provisions in the implementation of the health care law.

The new health law has already helped millions of women: insurance companies are prohibited from dropping patients when they become sick and can no longer limit the amount of money they will pay for benefits over a woman’s lifetime, and women can get no-cost preventive health care like mammograms and pap smears.

We will continue to work with you to make sure that we keep this important law strong for women and their families.

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your support allows us to continue to improve the health care of women and their families, as well as work on many other critical issues. Please consider making a contribution today.