Sadly, the Iowa Senate passed the #PillBill, SF 513, Wednesday, March 27. Most disappointing! Iowa women need your help. You can read Kathryn Kueter’s op-ed on the Senate vote here. Please see our action item at the bottom of the e-mail.
The bill allows hormonal contraceptives (HC) to be dispensed over the counter at pharmacies with No physician, No examination, No prescription, No consultation, No medical record, No medical care, though studies show that HC/birth control pills lead to deaths in 300-400 women each year. (1) Yet, the Senate voted to make it easier to get HC.
The same Medicaid eligible health clinics that Republicans touted when rightfully defunding Planned Parenthood (PPH) are geographically located across the state offering comprehensive care and likely extended hours, so there is NO hindrance for women 18 and older to acquire birth control. This bill endangers women and is not necessary!
This bill places women at risk as those taking HC under 30 years of age face a thirteen-fold increase of (VTE) venous thromboembolism in the first year of use when clot formation is highest, and that risk can jump to sixty-two fold increase in the first year of use should a woman have thrombophilia, genetic disposition to form blood clots. If SF 513 or its companion bill HF 727 passes the House, women will receive 27 months of contraceptives with no doctor’s oversight or physical exam though many risks greatly increase in the first year of use. Women may not be fully informed of the risk nor will they be under the care of a physician should symptoms arise that would indicate alarm. (2)
A 2017 Danish study showed breast cancer risk increase varies from 0% to 60%, depending on the specific type of oral combined hormone contraceptive. On cervical cancer, a study found a 10% increased risk for less than five years of use, a 60% increased risk with 5-9 years of use, and a doubling of risk with 10 or more years of use. (3)
Ironic, that as we celebrated Women’s History Month, the Senate passed a bill to relinquish primary care for women in Iowa. Especially as studies are just starting to examine the impact of steroidal hormones on women’s brains, warning the effects are likely to be dramatic and that women need to have all the medical and now, neurobiological, information they can use in informing their personal contraceptive decisions. (4)
Meningitis killed only 45 in 2017, yet many states mandate a meningitis vaccination. HC/birth control pills lead to deaths in 300-400 deaths a year; don’t women deserve the same preventative care?
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED TODAY!
Please call your state representative at 515-281-3221 or email first.lastname@legis.iowa.gov and tell him/her to VOTE NO on SF 513 or HF 727 (#PillBill) because IOWA WOMEN DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS BILL!
Click here to find the name of your state legislators.
Pray for the state representatives that they will seek God’s wisdom and guidance before voting on HF 727/SF 513, The #PillBill.
Thank you and blessings,
Tamara Scott
State Director
CWA of Iowa
director@iowa.cwfa.org
ia.cwfa.org
- https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/03/49896/
- https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/03/49896/
- https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/hormones/oral-contraceptives-fact-sheet