North Dakota Planned Parenthood Advocate

President Obama Reaffirms Commitment to Women’s Access to Birth Control; Fight Continues in Congress

In the face of an outrageous assault on women’s health, the Obama administration has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring all women will have access to birth control coverage, with no costly co-pays and no additional hurdles, no matter where they work.

“Our number one concern is making sure women have access to basic health care, including access to contraception, and Obama’s announcement today means that all women will have that access no matter where they work or who their employer is,” said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS). “The compliance mechanism does not compromise a woman’s ability to access critical birth control benefits.”

Statement of Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, on the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Decision to Reinstate Funding for Breast Cancer Screenings at Planned Parenthood Health Centers Nationwide

The outpouring of support for women in need of lifesaving breast cancer screening this week has been astonishing and is a testament to our nation's compassion and sincerity.

This show of support underscores what a critical resource Planned Parenthood is in the fight to detect and prevent breast cancer.  We were so heartened by the calls and emails we received from people in our region, who made it clear that they did not like to see politics playing a role in women’s health care. 

Planned Parenthood Statement on Komen Foundation Succumbing to Political Pressure and Ending Breast Cancer Prevention Funding

Planned Parenthood today expressed deep disappointment in response to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s decision to stop funding breast cancer prevention, screenings, and education at Planned Parenthood health centers. Anti-women’s health groups have repeatedly targeted and boycotted the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation for partnering with Planned Parenthood to provide these lifesaving cancer screenings and news articles suggest that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation ultimately succumbed to these pressures.

“As a health care provider to more than 60,000 women in our community, Planned Parenthood is trusted a leader in helping women identify breast cancer early. Women are deeply alarmed that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation appears to have succumbed to political pressure from a vocal minority”, said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS). “For years, opponents of women’s health have waged an aggressive pressure campaign aimed at the Susan G. Komen Foundation at the expense of women’s health and lives.”

Planned Parenthood Recognizes National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month By Urging Women to Get Regular Checkups

 

Making New Year’s resolutions? As part of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) is urging women in North Dakota to put preventive checkups, including cervical cancer screenings, at the top of their lists. 

Every year, approximately 13,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about 4,000 American women die of the disease. 

“The New Year is the perfect time to see if you’re due for a checkup,” said Sarah Stoesz, PPMNS President and CEO.  “Regular screenings and preventive care, including the HPV vaccine, are the keys to combating cervical cancer.”

Moorhead Health Center Now Open 7 Days a Week

Planned Parenthood’s Moorhead health center will expand its weekday hours and add weekend hours.

“We’ve been part of the Moorhead community for more than 25 years, and we provide basic, preventive care to close to 5,000 people in Moorhead each year,” said Sara Stoesz, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS). “In these challenging economic times, it is crucial that women have access to reproductive and basic preventive health care.”

Planned Parenthood Statement on Decision by Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals To Rehear South Dakota Biased Counseling Law

Today the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals announced they will hold an en banc hearing on South Dakota’s “informed consent” law that requires a doctor to tell a woman who is seeking an abortion that she faces an “increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide.” This comes after a three judge panel of the court struck down this requirement in September, finding there is no reliable medical evidence for a link between abortion and an increase in mental health problems.

“The scientific research is on our side,” said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS). “We are confident that the en banc court, after reviewing the merits of this issue, will uphold two prior decisions which held that the weight of reliable evidence says abortion does not subject women to an increased risk of suicide.”

The Power of Parent-Child Connectedness

Parents are the strongest influence in their children’s lives when it comes to the choices they make about sexual behavior.  That’s according to a study released by Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. The study points to a model called Parent-Child Connectedness that reinforces to the important role that parents play in these choices that children make. The report reiterates to parents they can be the best influence in controlling some of the worse outcomes of too early sexual behavior.

Court Blocks South Dakota ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center’ Abortion Law

In a decisive victory for Planned Parenthood and the women and families of South Dakota, a federal court today blocked a state law from going into effect that would have gone further than any in the country in restricting access to abortion and intruding on women’s personal medical decisions.

 “This law represents a blatant intrusion by politicians into difficult decisions women and families sometimes need to make,” said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. “We trust women and families in South Dakota to know and do what is best for them, without being coerced by the government. And we stand with them in our efforts to overturn this outrageous law.”

Planned Parenthood attorneys fight South Dakota abortion restrictions

Attorneys for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota will argue today in federal district court in Sioux Falls, S.D., against a new law that severely restricts abortion access.

The law requires a woman who is seeking an abortion to first prove that she has received “counseling” from one of the state’s unlicensed, unaccredited and unregulated crisis pregnancy centers. Further, it imposes a 72-hour mandatory delay for an abortion (the longest in the country) after a woman’s initial consultation with her doctor.

“The people of South Dakota twice have told their legislators at the ballot box that they don’t want politicians intruding in personal medical decisions,” said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. “But lawmakers persist in creating these costly and divisive distractions. Their actions show complete contempt for voters’ wishes, not to mention women’s ability to make their own personal medical decisions.”

Planned Parenthood Files Suit to Protect Women’s Health and Safety

Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS), represented by attorneys from Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and joined by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed suit today in Federal District Court in Sioux Falls, S.D., against a new law that severely restricts abortion access.

PPMNS v. Daugaard challenges HB 1217, which passed the South Dakota Legislature in March and is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2011. The law would require a woman who is seeking an abortion to first prove that she has received so-called “counseling” from an unlicensed, unaccredited and unregulated crisis pregnancy centers. Further, it imposes a 72-hour mandatory delay for an abortion after a woman’s initial consultation with her doctor and requires her doctor to obtain written proof from her that she sought counseling at a crisis pregnancy center. The mandatory delay would be the longest in the nation