Birth control

Florida officials pressure schools to roll back sex ed lessons on contraception and consent

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Florida officials pressure schools to roll back sex ed lessons on contraception and consent

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Some Florida school districts are rolling back a more comprehensive approach to sex education in favor of abstinence-focused lessons under pressure from state officials who have labeled certain instruction on contraception, anatomy and consent as inappropriate for students. Officials from the Florida Department of Education, led by an appointee of Republican Gov. … Read more

Mark Robinson Waves Hand By Groin, Says Women Must ‘Get This Under Control’

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Mark Robinson Waves Hand By Groin, Says Women Must ‘Get This Under Control’

WASHINGTON ― In a newly unearthed video from 2022, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) scoffs at the idea that young women should have access to birth control and, repeatedly waving his hand near his groin, says they just need to “get this under control.” During a January 2022 appearance at Hilltop Baptist Church … Read more

More women had their tubes tied after Roe v. Wade was overturned

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More women had their tubes tied after Roe v. Wade was overturned

More women chose to have their tubes tied after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, a new study shows, and the biggest increases were in states that ban abortion. A research letter published Wednesday in JAMA examined insurance claims data from 2021 and 2022 for around 4.8 million women who got tubal ligations, which … Read more

Alaska governor vetoes expanded birth control access as a judge strikes down abortion limits

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Alaska governor vetoes expanded birth control access as a judge strikes down abortion limits

JUNEAU, Alaska — In competing developments about reproductive rights in the nation’s largest state, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill to expand birth control access while a judge struck down decades-old restrictions on who could perform abortions. The Republican governor’s veto Wednesday stunned supporters of the measure, which would have forced insurance companies to … Read more

Supreme Court won’t allow Oklahoma to reclaim federal money in dispute over abortion referrals

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Supreme Court won’t allow Oklahoma to reclaim federal money in dispute over abortion referrals

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Oklahoma’s emergency appeal seeking to restore a $4.5 million grant for family planning services in an ongoing dispute over the state’s refusal to refer pregnant women to a nationwide hotline that provides information about abortion and other options. The brief order did not detail the court’s reasoning, … Read more

In Catholic Paraguay’s 1st sex ed program, condoms can’t be trusted, love is forever, boys don’t cry

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In Catholic Paraguay’s 1st sex ed program, condoms can’t be trusted, love is forever, boys don’t cry

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — Ahead of her 15th birthday, Diana Zalazar’s body had gotten so big she could no longer squeeze into the dress she bought for her quinceañera to celebrate her passage into womanhood in Paraguay. Her mother sought help from a doctor, who suspected that growing inside of the 14-year-old Catholic choir girl could … Read more

WHO Europe laments declining rates of condom use among sexually active teens

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WHO Europe laments declining rates of condom use among sexually active teens

GENEVA — GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization’s office for Europe on Thursday decried a decline in condom use by adolescents in recent years, warning of risks of infection and unplanned pregnancies in countries from Canada to central Asia. The findings come in the latest report by WHO Europe on health behavior in school-age … Read more

Appeals court spikes Tennessee’s bid to get family planning dollars despite abortion rule

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Appeals court spikes Tennessee’s bid to get family planning dollars despite abortion rule

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A federal appeals court has shot down Tennessee’s attempt to collect millions of dollars in family planning funds without complying with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals due to its current ban on the procedure. Last year, Tennessee’s Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a federal complaint seeking to overturn the … Read more

North Carolina Medicaid recipients can obtain OTC birth control pills at pharmacies at no cost

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North Carolina Medicaid recipients can obtain OTC birth control pills at pharmacies at no cost

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina Medicaid recipients can begin receiving over-the-counter birth control pills at no cost this week through hundreds of participating pharmacies. The oral conceptive Opill will be covered and available without a prescription to Medicaid enrollees starting Thursday at more than 300 retail and commercial pharmacies in 92 of the state’s … Read more

My Parents’ Obsession With Purity Nearly Ruined Us. Years Later, I Found Their Secret In A Box Of Their Things.

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My Parents’ Obsession With Purity Nearly Ruined Us. Years Later, I Found Their Secret In A Box Of Their Things.

My first sexual intercourse, just before I started college, was unplanned. It would have been largely forgettable if we’d used birth control. Looking back, it’s hard to admit to my own foolishness. I’d had the same boyfriend for 18 months. While our Catholic upbringings were a factor in this long period of chastity, my unpreparedness … Read more