Newsletter of the WIN Womens Health Policy Network

WEALTH
Last month, the Womens Health Policy and Women in the Law Networks hosted a discussion on the state of choice thirty-nine years after the Roe v. Wade decision. In the almost four decades since Roe, many anti-choice crusaders have attempted to have the case overturned. In the past year especially we have witnessed multiple attempts to enact laws to erode the Constitutional protections granted by Roe. As was predicted by the Thirty-Nine Years Later panelists, just a month and half into 2012 we are already facing new threats to reproductive and sexual health care access. freedom. In response, on February 10th, the Administration announced a compromise that would include contraceptive care in the basic package of benefits to be offered by all health insurance plans under the ACA. Under this compromise, religious institutions would not be required to bear any of the contraception cost (learn more here). Congressional Republicans, however, continue to oppose the compromise and insist that any coverage of contraceptive services interferes with religious groups constitutional rights to refuse to pay for coverage of contraceptive services.

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February 2012 Volume 4 Issue 2

Thirty-Nine Years Later the Fight Continues: Thoughts from Your Chairs
sion after massive public outcry, and Ms. Handel resigned, the decision is yet another in an ongoing war against Planned Parenthood clinics. Most dismaying about these debates is that womens health has been tangential throughout much of the discussions. In their critique of the contraception decision, no members of the opposition have raised the issue of womens needs and concerns. Similarly, the Komen Foundations decision ignored the underserved women who rely on Planned Parenthood for a range of health services.

As pro-choice advocates, WINers must help to ensure that womens health takes On January 21st, the day after our dis- Also this month, the board of the Susan its central position in the reproductive G. Komen Foundation announced a cussion, the Obama Administration health debate. As we move forward in announced its decision to require most decision to stop providing grants for 2012, pledge to blog, canvass, tweet, breast health programs at Planned religious-affiliated institutions to inParenthood affiliates. The decision was phonebook, call, speak, and march, and clude contraception without costlets bring the focus back where it bebilled as the result of a new policy not sharing in their employer sponsored longs. For some ways to get involved visto partner with organizations under health insurance. Immediately, there it: Naral Pro-choice America, RCRC, was public backlash from the Catholic investigation, and unrelated to Komens recent hiring of a staunchly anti-choice NOW, PPMW, RH Reality Check & Church and many in the Republican NAF. Party claimed that the administration vice president of public policy, Karen Handel. While Komen reversed its decihas launched an assault on religious

Network Announcements

Recent Womens Health Action on the Hill

January 31: The Senate approved a resolution (S. Res. 360) designating January 2012 as National Stalking Awareness Month & a resolution (S. Res. 362) designating February 2012 as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month February 1: The House approved the Welfare Integrity Now for Children and Families Act (H.R. 3567) February 2: The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (S. 1925) February 7: The House Judiciary Committee marked up the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 3541)

WINners, we hope you like reading our monthly Meet a WINner in Womens Health! feature as much as we love getting to know our membership better! Wed love to have your ideas for other WINers to be interviewed in future issues. If you would like to nominate a fellow WINner, even yourself, e-mail healthpolicy@winonline.org with WINner in Womens Health in the subject line. Thanks! March 23rd marks the one year anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA)! Mark your calendars for March 22nd to join the Womens Health Policy Network at a celebratory happy hour to say Happy Birthday ACA!

Source: Womens Policy Inc.

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Healthy WINers
February is:
American Heart Month: Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.? One in every three deaths is from heart disease/stroke and each year heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined. Women of color are more likely to have multiple risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. The Million Hearts Campaign is dedicated to empowering everyone to make heart-healthy choices and improving care for those that need treatment. Black History Month: Celebrate Black History Month with the U.S. Office of Minority Health - learn about disproportionate health risks and Black History Makers in Health!

Recommended Reading
Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women's Health by Gayle Sulik
Pink ribbon paraphernalia saturate shopping malls, billboards, magazines, television, and other venues, all in the name of breast cancer awareness. In this compelling and provocative work, Gayle Sulik shows that though this "pink ribbon culture" has brought breast cancer advocacy much attention, it has not had the desired effect of improving women's health. It may, in fact, have done the opposite.

Health First! The Black Womens Wellness Guide by Eleanor Hinton Hoyt and Hilary Beard
Health First! explores Black womens most critical health challenges, connecting the dots through honest discussions with experts and the uncensored stories of real womenfrom adolescence through elderhood. The focus is on prevention and awareness, across generations and circumstancesfrom candid conversations about reproductive health and HIV/AIDS to frank explorations of Black womens Top 10 Health Risks, including cancer, obesity, and violence.

February 26 - March 10 is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening conditions that impact emotional and physical health. ED frequently coexists with other illnesses such as depression, substance abuse, or anxiety disorders. For more information about ED, visit NIMH.

Upcoming Health Policy Events

February 15, 12 pm: The Roundtable on Women and the Economy Meeting. Access to In-Home Care and the State of Conditions for Home-Care Workers. Washington, D.C. February 15, 121:45 pm: Kaiser Family Foundation Screening & Discussion. U.S. Health Care: The Good News. Barbara Jordan Conference Center, Washington, D.C. Learn more. February 15, 3 pm: Black Womens Health Imperative Conference Call. What Will It Take for Black Women to be Healthy in America? Click here to listen live. February 20, 2:30 pm: HRSA Webinar. Measurement Selection and Development for Maternal and Child Health Research. Learn more. February 22, 5:30-8 pm: Fredrick Health Care Forum. Frederick, Maryland. Learn more. February 23, 6-9 pm: Disruptive Women in Healthcare Screening & Discussion: Miss Representation. Learn more. March 11-14: National Healthy Start Association 13th Annual Spring Conference. Washington, D.C. Learn more. March 24: Visions in Feminism Collective & American University Womens, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program: Visions in Feminism 2012 Conference. Learn more. March 26 - 28: CDC National Immunization Conference Online (NICO). Learn more.

New Health Policy Resources

CDC Report: State Initiatives Supporting Healthier Food Retail: An Overview of the National Landscape. HHS Online Tool: What Healthy People 2020 Means for Adolescents. Institute of Medicine Report: The Common Rule and Continuous Improvement in Health Care: A Learning Health System Perspective. Kaiser Family Foundation: Brief: Income-Relating Medicare Part B and Part D Premiums Under Current Law and Recent Proposals: What are the Implications for Beneficiaries? Brief: A Guide to the Supreme Courts Review of the 2010 Health Care Reform Law. Webcast: Essential Health Benefits: Balancing Affordability and Adequacy. National Academy for State Health Policy: Report: Community Health Centers and State Health Policy: A Primer for Policymakers. Report: Toward Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Populations: Issue for Policymakers' Consideration in Integrating a Safety Net into Health Care Reform. National Institute of Mental Health Report. Ethnic Disparities Persist in Depression Diagnosis and Treatment Among Older Americans. The Commonwealth Fund Report: The Income Divide in Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Help Restore Fairness to the U.S. Health System. Urban Indian Health Institute Report: 2011 National Aggregate Community Health Profile for All UIHO Communities.
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