NCJW Unites with Reproductive Health Advocates to Protect Birth Control, Launches Plan A

June 7, 2007, Washington, DC -- Citing strong public support for access to contraceptives, a group of reproductive health organizations today observed the 42nd anniversary of the legalization of birth control by launching campaigns to defend that right against growing restrictions.

The campaigns are aimed at mobilizing constituents to break the political logjam that has prevented progress on a comprehensive reproductive health policy in the United States. A new poll on voter support for birth control and prevention strategies released at today's briefing shows strong voter support for the campaigns' goals.

The campaigns -- BirthControlWatch.org, sponsored by the Women Donors Network, and Plan A, sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) -- reflect the views of many pro-choice leaders who believe it is now time to move forward on an agenda that puts prevention first and "outs" the opposition to birth control. They also mark the shifting of the political landscape on reproductive health to a broader agenda that focuses on prevention.

"It's outrageous that we're still having this debate," said Phyllis Snyder, president of the National Council of Jewish Women. Snyder then announced the launch of Plan A: NCJW's Campaign for Contraceptive Access, an initiative that aims to educate, organize, mobilize, and activate the progressive community, the faith-based community, and the public at large to ensure that every woman has access to contraception and medically accurate sexuality education. Detailed information about the campaign is available at www.ncjw.org.

Snyder added, "Make no mistake -- reproductive rights are closely tied to religious freedom. For one religion's view to be imposed on all of us defies the very meaning of religious liberty and the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution."

"Americans' support for birth control is anchored in our core American values," said Margery Loeb of the Women Donors Network, which sponsored the poll and the new Web site, BirthControlWatch.org.

In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled in Griswold v. Connecticut that Americans had the right to use contraceptives, and recent polls show that 92 percent of Americans strongly support broad access to birth control, said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners polling firm. "It's a core value related to independence and freedom."

According to the BirthControlWatch.org poll, between half of voters and six in ten strongly agree that to achieve equality women must have access to birth control, that health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs should also cover birth control, and that the federal government should provide funding for birth control for women with low incomes.

But the remaining "small but powerful minority" has used the abortion issue to camouflage their fundamental opposition to contraceptive use and sidetracked action on other important life decisions, such as comprehensive sexuality education and stem cell research, Snyder said.

"We must flip this conversation," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation. "This is not an academic discussion."

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), chair of the House Committee on Rules and a pro-choice champion, noted that conservatives are undermining Americans' access to family planning information and services through "conscience clauses" that allow pharmacies to refuse to dispense contraceptives; funding for abstinence-only sex education; and opposition to emergency contraceptives and stem cell research. Many insurance companies do not cover the costs of family planning, she said, causing great hardship to poor women.

Slaughter has introduced the bipartisan Prevention First Act that would require health plans, including Medicaid, to offer the same level of coverage for contraceptives as for other prescription drugs and services. It would also mandate comprehensive sex education in schools and access to emergency contraception for rape victims.

"This is a must-pass bill" that offers "a revolutionary approach" to reducing the nation's high rates of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, Slaughter said. Several anti-abortion legislators have co-sponsored her measure "because it is just common sense," she said.

Dr. Susan Wood, who resigned as assistant commissioner for women's health at the Food and Drug Administration to protest the agency's foot-dragging in approving emergency contraception, said most people were surprised when they learn that policymakers are opposed to birth control. "Then they become outraged," she said.

NCJW is a volunteer organization, inspired by Jewish values, that works to improve the quality of life for women, children, and families and to ensure individual rights and freedoms for all through its network of 90,000 members, supporters, and volunteers nationwide. The Women Donors Network is a national organization whose members engage in progressive philanthropy to create social and environmental change.

Contact:
Debbie Stillman
202 296 2588 x2; debbie@ncjwdc.org