Frequently Asked Questions
Sex Education
Do parents want to see comprehensive sex education taught in the classroom?
- A 2007 Quinnipiac University poll found that 71% of Ohio voters (81% for voters who have kids in school) felt that the best approach to sex education in Ohio's schools is to focus equally on abstinence as well as the value of condoms and contraception use.
- A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 98% of parents want their children to learn about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and 90% believe teens need to be taught about birth control
Why shouldn’t we teach abstinence-only?
- A 2005 report by Dr. Scott Frank, Director of Public Health at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, concluded that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Ohio have implemented curricula in schools throughout the state that “contain misleading and false information, scientific errors, and substantial inaccuracies regarding gender stereotypes, STDs, and contraception.”
- A Congressionally mandated report found that elementary and middle school students who received abstinence instruction were just as likely to have sex in the following years as students who did not get such instruction.
- According to the Journal of Adolescent Health , peer-reviewed scientific data does not demonstrate the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs in delaying the initiation of sexual intercourse.
- U.S. Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) released a 2004 report showing that two-thirds of the curricula most commonly used in federally funded abstinence-only programs contained serious medical inaccuracies, including misinformation about HIV and other STIs and condom effectiveness. Dr. Frank’s report reached the same conclusion in a review of Ohio curricula.
- In 2005, 47% of high school students (46% of female high school students and 48% of male high school students) reported ever having had sexual intercourse. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey
Would every child be required to take comprehensive sex education?
- No. The bill will have an opt-out provision if parents did not want their child(ren) to participate in the instruction.
Isn’t the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections getting lower?
- In 2008, the CDC released results of a study estimating that 26% of American girls between the ages of 14 and 19 - 3.2 million teenage girls - are infected with at least one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Even more shocking, the study also found that nearly half of the young African-American women (48 percent) were infected with an STI.
Virginity pledges seem to be popular. Shouldn’t we encourage our child(ren) to take a virginity pledge
- Virginity pledges, one of the common tools used by abstinence educators, have been shown not to be effective. Teens who sign virginity pledges are one-third less likely to use contraception when they do become sexually active, placing them at a higher risk of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.
- The January, 2009 issue of PEDIATRICS, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, contains a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health comparing the behavior of teenagers who took "virginity pledges" and those who didn't. The study concludes that “the sexual behavior of virginity pledgers does not differ from that of closely matched nonpledgers, and pledgers are less likely to protect themselves from pregnancy and disease before marriage. Virginity pledges may not affect sexual behavior but may decrease the likelihood of taking precautions during sex. Clinicians should provide birth control information to all adolescents, especially virginity pledgers.”
Is sex education really effective?
- Multiple peer-reviewed studies have found that comprehensive sexuality education programs that teach teens about abstinence, contraception and disease control are effective at delaying onset of intercourse, reducing the frequency of intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners, and increasing condom and contraceptive use.
- Age-appropriate, medically accurate health education that includes instruction in abstinence and contraception, is proven to reduce the risks of teen pregnancy.
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Emergency Contraception
What is emergency contraception?
- Emergency contraception, also known as the morning after pill, is a concentrated dose of ordinary birth control which can prevent pregnancy after a contraceptive method fails, after unprotected sex, or a sexual assault.
Isn’t emergency contraception the same as the “abortion pill?”
- It is critical to note that emergency contraception is not an abortion pill and will not do anything to disrupt an established pregnancy. Emergency contraception is simply a higher dose of the same hormones which are in regular birth control.
How soon must emergency contraception be taken in order to prevent a pregnancy?
- Emergency contraception should be taken orally and is most effective when taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
Don’t hospitals already provide emergency contraception to rape victims?
- A 2007 survey of emergency room policies towards the distribution of Emergency Contraception to women, by the NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Foundation , revealed that
- Only seventy-eight percent of the hospital emergency rooms surveyed said that they routinely give emergency contraception to rape survivors
- Seven percent of hospitals reported that they would deny emergency contraception to anyone requesting it, even a rape survivor.
- Only two hospitals identified that the medication was now available over-the-counter for women 18 and over, and that patients could get access to the medication without seeing a doctor.
- Two hospitals also gave answers that were medically inaccurate, stating that emergency contraception was the same as the “abortion pill” or saying that the medication would harm a developing fetus if the woman were already pregnant.
Would the bill require Catholic hospitals to provide emergency contraception?
- Yes. Many communities have only one hospital and, often, this is a Catholic hospital. One in three women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime, and the assaults happen everywhere. Getting access to emergency contraception should not depend on where she lives.
Would the bill require an individual doctor to provide emergency contraception if he or she had a moral objection to it?
- The bill’s language is clear that the responsibility for providing emergency contraception should be with the hospital not an individual physician. Therefore, if an individual doctor employed by a hospital in the emergency room does not wish to provide emergency contraception, the bill would require the hospital to have a mechanism in place to make sure that the rape survivor has access to emergency contraception in a timely manner and without judgment.
Providing emergency contraception for rape survivors seems like a no-brainer. How much support is there for this?
- A 2005 poll conducted for Planned Parenthood Federation of America showed that voters overwhelmingly (79 percent) favor access to emergency contraception for rape and incest survivors.
Do I need a prescription to obtain emergency contraception?
- On August 24, 2006, the FDA announced its approval of the sale of emergency contraception over-the-counter to women and men 18 and older. Non-prescription packages of Plan B became available in pharmacies across the country in November 2006. The exclusivity agreement for Plan B over-the-counter status expires on August 25, 2009. When the exclusivity period ends we are hopeful that generic versions of emergency contraception will be available over-the-counter.
- On March 23, 2009, the federal district court for the Eastern District of New York issued a ruling that may expand minors’ access to emergency contraception. Specifically the court ruled that:
- The FDA cannot prevent emergency contraception from being sold over the counter to 17 year olds, effective within 30 days. Plan B®’s manufacturer submitted new packaging for approval by the FDA and Plan B® and Plan B OneStep® are now available over-the-counter for those 17 years of age and older.
- The FDA must reconsider whether minors under the age of 17 should be permitted to obtain emergency contraception over the counter, which could expand even further who can get access to emergency contraception without a prescription
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Teen pregnancy
How does Ohio rank among all states regarding teen pregnancy?
- Ohio has the 26th highest teen pregnancy rate in the United States.
What is the “cost” of teen pregnancy?
- Teens that have children are much less likely to finish high school and are more likely to be victims of abuse. They are also more likely to receive public assistance. 81% of unmarried women who have children before the age of 20 are on welfare within 10 years.
- Teens are more likely to have preterm babies. Preterm children are one of Medicaid’s costliest populations. These costs can be prevented with funding for birth control. Nationally, for every $1 spent on the family planning program, $4.02 is saved in averted Medicaid birth costs. In Ohio, the savings is $4.70 for every $1 spent on the family planning program.
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Pharmacy Access
I’ve heard that some pharmacists have refused to fill prescriptions for birth control. Is this true?
- Unfortunately, it is true. What makes this most incredible is that 98% of women will, at some point in their lives, use birth control. Many women need these medications for reasons other than preventing pregnancy. Birth control is basic health care and no pharmacist should be able to stop a woman from getting a medication that she and her doctor have decided she needs.
- Read the stories of Rebecca Meiser (clevescene.com) and Tashina Byrd (columbusdispatch.com and springfieldnewssun.com) who have dealt firsthand with this issue.
What if a pharmacist has a religious opposition to birth control? Will this bill require that person to fill a prescription for birth control?
- No. The burden is on the pharmacy rather than the individual pharmacist. The pharmacy must have a policy in place whereby all legal prescriptions will be filled and over-the-counter medications will be provided without delay
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Contraceptive Equity
Wouldn’t it be expensive to require insurance companies to cover birth control?
- Studies show that the coverage of the full range of FDA-approved prescription contraceptives costs only $1.43 per employee per month, an increase of less than 1%. When considering the cost savings of preventing pregnancy and the costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth, employers would be saving money by covering prescription contraceptives.
How many other states require insurance companies to cover birth control?
- 28 states require insurers that cover prescription drugs in general to provide coverage of the full range of FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and devices; 17 of these states specifically require coverage of related outpatient services. Ohio is not one of these states.
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