Women's Health - Issues in Reproductive Health

Issues in Reproductive Health

One example of this is the Cartwright Inquiry in New Zealand, in which research by two feminist journalists revealed that women with cervical abnormalities were not receiving treatment, as part of an experiment. The women were not told of the abnormalities and several later died. In many countries feminists have campaigned for the right to legal and safe abortion, arguing that it is a health rather than a moral issue. In countries where contraception is difficult to access, campaigns for readily available contraception are conducted on the same lines. Conversely, there have also been campaigns against potentially dangerous forms of contraception such as defective IUDs.

Even in affluent countries like the United States, women’s reproductive health is neglected. For example, in Arizona, conservative members of the state legislature have in the recent decade continuously introduced bills that restrict information about and access to reproductive health. These measures are much to the discontent of many citizens, but Arizona is a majority conservative state. The prominent bills restricting sexual education, contraception, and abortion include:

Sexual Education
Senate Bill 1309 (2010)
  • Requires parental consent for any sex education given to a child in school
Senate Bill 1009 (2012)
  • Schools are required to promote adoption and rearing the child over abortion
Contraception
House Bill 2625 (2012)
  • Would have allowed religious employers or those with moral obligations to remove covering birth control for employees’ health insurance
  • Would have required a women using birth control for reasons other pregnancy prevention to have submitted proof of a medical condition
Abortion
House Bill 2564 (2009)
  • Requires minors to have a notarized parental signature for abortion
  • Requires 24-hour waiting period after initial visit
  • Permits nurse practitioners from performing 1st trimester surgical abortions
  • Allows any healthcare worker to refuse information or access to abortion care and birth control
Senate Bill 1030 (2011)
  • Permits nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants from dispensing abortion-by-pill
House Bill 2416 (2011)
  • Requires one-hour waiting period after ultrasound before abortion procedure
  • Abortion-by-pill cannot be administered via telemedicine

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