Women Are Watching: Guarantee Access To Women's Healthcare

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Guarantee Access To Women's Healthcare

How can uninsured and underinsured women in this country possibly be comfortable when they are refused affordable health care services such as family planning, contraception, hormonal therapies, counseling, cancer screening, vaccinations, physical exams, etc?  

How can women be comfortable when forced to carry a pregnancy that resulted from date rape, family rape, incest or that is likely to cause death or serious damage to the mom or fetus?

When and how did these services become the business of politicians, most of whom KNOW that pregnancy prevention and knowledge are the best alternatives to abortion?

Planned Parenthood Services Essential To Women’s Comfort And Strength

I recently attended a local informational meeting to hear Tara Broderick, CEO of Planned Parenthood of NE Ohio (PPNEO) and Ashley Thornton, local organizer who helped dispel myths and explore issues that have been extremely public and controversial this past year. 

They wanted us to know that:

1. PPNEO started in Cleveland in 1928 as a maternal health center and that remains its primary focus today. 
2. Nationally, only 4% of its budget (all from private donations) is used for terminating early and unwanted pregnancies. (Their preventive services have radically decreased the need for abortion which is what we ALL want.) 
3. The rest of Planned Parenthood’s budget (96%) is used for women's health. This part of their mandate is funded by insurance companies, private pay for services based on a sliding scale, and supplemented by limited Federal and state funding most of which will be lost if radical Republicans gain control in their legislative branches. 
4. For every dollar spent in preventive services to women, a national budgetary savings of $4.00 (per dollar spent) is realized. 
5. In addition to working to defeat anti-choice legislation at the state level and in DC, Planned Parenthood is working proactively to advance legislation regarding prevention of unplanned pregnancies (SB190/HB281) and promotion of sexual health education in public schools (SB232/HB338).

Planned Parenthood is the Number One provider of health care services to women. Those of us in healthcare MUST advocate for women as we all enter into the political campaign season in earnest. Letters, phone calls, and e-mails to potential voters have the collective power to CHANGE OUTCOMES.  

Empower Our Conversations Around The World

Learning about candidates who support preventive and health services for women is critical, and spreading the word on social media such as Facebook and Twitter will help dispel falsehoods and elect pro-women candidates . 

Follow the "Women are Watching" campaign and/or check out the informative national Planned Parenthood (PPAO) web site. America Votes is another very informative web site.  

As a nurse, it is my ethical obligation to support women in this fight. Can you help me by passing my message along to everyone you know?….

Thank you very much!    

 Dr. K

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Copyright 2012 Kathy Kolcaba, PhD., RN. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works. The Comfort Line, Cleveland, Ohio USA. Phone: 440-655-2098 Web: http://thecomfortline.com/

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