OK, so...big surprise to any of us that are breathing and awake, but an opinion study conducting by Hart Research concluded that most Americans support reproductive health and want better health services and sex education.  Here's the shocker--a mjority of Republicans, Catholics, and even evengelical Christians surveyed also agree.

Click here for a great article with more info and stats!

If you've ever had an inkling that surveys claiming men have more sexual partners than women just can't be right, you're not alone. Mathematician David Gale recently questioned the numbers because they just don't add up! And he has proven mathematically that they must be false. It is statistically impossible for men to have an average of 12.7 heterosexual partners in their lives while women have only 6.5 (as a recent British study showed its respondents claiming), regardless of any adjustments made for men having sex with prostitutes or foreign sexual partners.

Who is misreporting and why? And why did we believe the bogus numbers for so long?

Men and women face a ton of stereotypical expectations regarding their sexual behavior. "Manly" men are expected to be promiscuous and have a lot of sexual experience with many partners. The worst thing for a man to be is inexperienced. Or worse, a virgin! *gasp* For women, it's just the opposite. Women are expected to be "good girls" with little interest in sex, only enjoying it with monogamous partners. A woman with "too many" sexual partners or that has sex outside of monogamous relationships is labeled "easy" or a "slut." The best thing a woman can be is a virgin! Can you see the problem here?!

Perhaps it should be no surprise, then, that study from a few years ago showed that women are much more likely to lie about their "number" than men are. When handed questionnaires about their sexual experiences and told that the results would be anonymous, men's numbers stayed high, and women's numbers stayed low. But when respondents were told that they were hooked up to a lie detector (they weren't, really), men's numbers stayed about the same, while women's almost doubled!

All of this serves as yet another reminder that even though sex is everywhere (the news, the media, the web, the school bus, etc) honest discussion about healthy sexuality is hard to find. We all need to have the most comprehensive, medically-accurate, and honest education about sex so we can make informed choices about our sexual health. Abstinence-only programs only add to the shame and silence around sexuality.

Send your NYS legislators a message that we need REAL sex ed. And for good, updated info on sexual health and sexuality, check out Teenwire and Planned Parenthood. And remember, it is better to be honest about your "number" and sexual activity, especially with your doctor! As long as you are having consensual sex using safer sex methods to reduce the risk of pregnancy and/or STI's, your "number" is fine!

Our good buddy Cara is guest blogging this week on Feministing! Cara has been a volunteer/intern/advocate/amazingfriend of Planned Parenthood for a long time.

Her own blog, the Curvature, "a feminist perspective on politics and culture," attracted readers from Feministing, who asked her to join them as a guest blogger this week! Her first three entries are below. Check in to Feministing all week and support Cara, our favorite blogger from the Greater Rochester area!

Monday, August 6th - Ads That Really Suck
Monday, August 6th - The Attacks on Dr. Tiller Continue
Tuesday, August 7th - Pretty Wives

Yesterday, former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona spoke before a congressional committee and spilled the truth about the Bush administration's political influence on the surgeon general's office.  Dr. Carmona said that the Bush administration would not allow the surgeon general to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, and global health issues.  And according to the Washington Post, Carmona said he was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches — because clearly it's more important to mention the president's name than it is to mention programs that could prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS around the world.

The New York Times reported this week that FOX and CBS are refusing to air a condom commercial.  The reasons?  FOX believes that ads for condoms should not focus on pregnancy prevention. In a letter, FOX writes, "Contraceptive advertising must stress health-related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy."  Meanwhile, CBS defended its rejection of the ad, stating that it "did not find it appropriate" for the network.  Call me crazy, but in my mind condoms are used for two reasons that are equally important: to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections and to prevent unintended pregnancy.  And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that preventing unintended pregnancy IS a major public health issue.

In 2005, 70 percent of all television shows and 77 percent of prime-time shows contained sexual content.  FOX and CBS shows are no exception.  From Temptation Island and The O.C. (a show that broadcasts an average of 6.7 sex scenes an hour) on FOX and Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on CBS, both of these networks have been making millions on sex.  It's the height of hypocrisy that FOX and CBS routinely broadcast erectile dysfunction ads and sex-saturated, prime-time programming, but refused these condom ads.

Preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections are top public health priorities.  Television networks that pride themselves on public service should take every opportunity to educate the public about safer sex.  By rejecting the ad, FOX and CBS have made the wrong move for public health.
As major networks, FOX and CBS have an obligation to promote responsible decision making and commonsense public health solutions, including using condoms to prevent unintended pregnancy.  Tell FOX and CBS executives to stop the hypocrisy and air ads that protect public health.

Watch the Trojan ad!

If you thought that House Democrats had our back on family planning issues, think again.  Today, House Democrats are moving on a bill that includes the large increase in abstinence-only education funding that President Bush requested.  And by "large" I mean $27 million — the second-largest increase in the history of ab-only funding.  That would bring us to a grand total of $186 million for abstinence-only programs for this year.  
 
In the past 10 years, Congress has wasted more than $1 billion on dangerous abstinence-only programs that deny teenagers vital information about birth control and responsible decision-making — while approximately 750,000 U.S. teens become pregnant and four million get a sexually transmitted infection each year.  And now Democrats are proposing that Congress spend another $186 million on these dangerous programs.
 
It's time to stop wasting money.  The pro-family planning Congress that we elected in November should know better.  Tell your member of Congress to stop wasting money on abstinence-only programs and to support REAL sex education instead.

Call Senator Bruno at
518-455-3191
TODAY to Pass the
Healthy Teens Act (S.1342) 

Sometimes, it takes a lot of people to make enough noise to get the attention of the New York State Senate.  Even though 88 percent of New Yorkers want students to learn about contraception and how to protect themselves from STDs, it is still not enough.

Remember when you used to be able to buy birth control for $10 at your campus clinic?   At many health centers across the country, those days are no longer.  Just take a look at the headlines:

Birth control prices soar on campuses

Birth Control Doubles in Price
 
Birth control prices may increase to $50 per month
 
$50?!?  When I was in college, there's no way I could have spent $50 every month on birth control.  Money from babysitting and my work study job went straight to things like paying my phone bill or printing papers out at the computer lab.  For college students who are on a budget, the increased cost could simply make birth control unaffordable and inaccessible. 
 
So what (or who) is behind most of these price increases?  You guessed it, George W. Bush and Congress.  Many of these cost increase are due to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, a law passed by Congress that specifies which health centers and clinics can and can't receive low-cost drugs.  Unfortunately for young women trying to prevent unintended pregnancies, many campus health centers and low-cost clinics are falling into the "can't" category.  We should be doing everything we can to increase, not limit, access to birth control for those who need it most.  

Tell your member of Congress to act immediately to fix the Deficit Reduction Act so that all women have access to affordable birth control. 

This is too good to be true.  This week, Democratic leaders announced that they would stop funding a $50 million grant for abstinence-only education. 
 
"With all we know about how to prevent teen pregnancy and reduce sexually transmitted diseases, it is high time to redirect the millions of federal dollars that we squander every year on abstinence-only education to programs that actually work," Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) said.
 
And she's right.  With teens facing increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections, particularly HIV/AIDS, and a teen pregnancy rate that is still far too high, it is dangerous to deny them the age-appropriate, medically accurate information that can help them stay safe and healthy.
 
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, didn't mince words.  "Abstinence-only seems to be a colossal failure," he said. 
 
And it's not surprising.  In 2004, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) issued a report finding that the curricula used by more than two-thirds of government-funded abstinence-only programs contain misleading or inaccurate information about abortion, contraception, genetics, and sexually transmitted infections.  (My personal favorite false claim?  One program teaches teens that HIV can be transmitted through tears and sweat.) 
 
Teens — not just in Iowa, but all across the country — need medically accurate and science-based sexuality education so that they can make the best, most informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.  It's nice to have leaders in Washington who agree. 

SUPER AWESOME
SPECIAL OFFER

Click on the button below for a SPECIAL COUPON that entitles you to:

Free EC with your first appointment.*

or go to: http://www.pprsr.org/free-emergency-contraception/

Let your friends know about this AWESOME coupon!

Be a voice at the
Rally for Women's Lives!
On the 3rd Anniversary of the March for Women's Lives
April 25, 2007, 4:30pm-6:30pm
Corner of East Avenue and Goodman Street
Bring your own signs or use one of ours (limited quantity, first-come basis)

Protest the Federal Abortion Ban
By now you've undoubtedly heard, for the first time, the Supreme Court told women that, when their health is at risk during pregnancy, deciding what to do is no longer up to them and their doctors.

Now that the Supreme Court has opened the door to government intrusion,  every politician has to answer this fundamental question:  

When a woman's very health is at stake, whose role is it to decide about the health care she receives -- the woman and her physician, or politicians who know nothing about her condition and the circumstances of her situation?

Support the Freedom of Choice Act!
Thursday, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) applauded Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) for introducing the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).  FOCA would codify in federal law the protections for a woman's right to choose as outlined in Roe v. Wade.

PPFA President Cecile Richards had this to say about the introduction of FOCA:

"Every year, millions of women depend on Planned Parenthood for reproductive health care services, including birth control, cancer screenings, and abortion. We challenged the federal abortion ban in court because it jeopardizes women's health and safety.

"The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling yesterday in this case represents a seismic shift for the Supreme Court and the nation. With new Bush appointees, this court has unraveled more than 30 years of precedent protecting women's health...The future of legal access to abortion in this country is grim."

"It's time for Congress to stand up for women's health, women's safety, and a woman's right to make her own medical decisions. American women deserve the protection of federal law to preserve their right to make personal health care decisions free of government intrusion. We call on Congress to pass the Freedom of Choice Act."

Stand With Us!
Respond to the Supreme Court's reckless decision and sign the Planned Parenthood Pledge.

Be a voice at the Rally for Women's Lives!
April 25, 2007, 4:30pm-6:30pm
Corner of East Avenue and Goodman Street

It's a dark day for women's health and safety. In a serious setback for women across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a 5–4 vote to uphold the federal abortion ban passed by Congress and signed by President Bush signed in 2003. The ban criminalizes abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy that doctors say are safe and the best to protect women's health.

Justice Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that attorneys challenging the law "have not demonstrated that the Act would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases." Translation: Politicians can make important medical decisions that ought to be made by doctors. Kennedy was joined in his opinion by Justices Alito, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas. No surprises there.

Eve Gartner, deputy director of Litigation and Law at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, had argued one of the cases that challenged the ban — Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood. In a statement released by Planned Parenthood, she said:

"This ruling flies in the face of 30 years of Supreme Court precedent and the best interest of women's health and safety. Today the court took away an important option for doctors who seek to provide the best and safest care to their patients. This ruling tells women that politicians, not doctors, will make their health care decisions for them."

Justice Ginsburg, who was joined in her dissent by Justices Breyer, Souter, and Stevens, wrote:

"… the Court's opinion tolerates, indeed applauds, federal intervention to ban nationwide a procedure found necessary and proper in certain cases by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. For the first time since Roe, the Court blesses a prohibition with no exception protecting a woman's health. … [The federal ban] and the Court's defense of it cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away at a right declared again and again by this Court — and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women's lives. …"

Today is a dark day for women's health and safety. The court's decision unravels more than 30 years of Supreme Court rulings that said women's health must be protected from dangerous laws that restrict abortion.

Planned Parenthood is working to ensure that women are provided with the best and safest care under this dangerous law. You can get involved and help support that effort today.