Sexual Assault Survivors Care Bill before congress

[niyad]

Please read the story of the woman who was one of the reasons for this bill. be prepared, though)
. . . . .

The report's findings, coupled with accounts like Leah's, have spurred new legislation that aims to help survivors get access to specialized care.
The Survivors' Access to Supportive Care Act, introduced in Congress on Wednesday by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), aims to improve access to qualified examiners through various means.
Echoing findings in the report, the bill addresses a fundamental deficit in health care for sexual assault survivors: no federal oversight of SANE programs and no national standards for training and certifying examiners.
The bill "would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a national training and continuing education program, to be tested and incorporated by health care providers nationwide," a Murray aide said.
The bill would appropriate $12 million to support a pilot grant program that would expand training and state-level surveys to evaluate needs.

. . . . .

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/18/health/sexual-assault-examiner-shortage/



Murray, Boxer, Blumenthal, Warren, Booker Introduce Bill to Increase Emergency Contraception Access and Education
Sep 23 2014
Despite improved availability of emergency contraception, provider and patient awareness still lacking

Bill focuses on increased access and education for sexual assault survivors

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced they have introduced the Emergency Contraception Access and Education Act of 2014. The legislation would require any hospital receiving federal funding under Medicare or Medicaid to provide survivors of sexual assault with accurate and unbiased information about emergency contraception (EC) and promptly provide EC if the patient so requests it. In addition, hospitals must provide these services to survivors of sexual assault regardless of their ability to pay.

“Emergency contraception is a safe, responsible and effective means of preventing unintended pregnancies – a goal we all should share,” said Senator Murray. “Unfortunately, in spite of its increased availability, emergency contraception remains an underused prevention method in the United States, especially for survivors of sexual assault. I’m proud to introduce this legislation with my colleagues who understand the importance of educating both provider and patient on this critical element of a woman’s health care. Sexual assault survivors deserve access to a full range of quality health care, and that includes emergency contraception,” said Senator Boxer. “This bill will ensure that emergency rooms provide women with accurate information about their options and timely medical care when they need it most.”

“Survivors of sexual assault have a right to all support, services, and treatments that they need in order to avoid additional suffering following an assault,” said Senator Blumenthal. “The Emergency Contraception Access and Education Act guarantees that women will receive medical care that is appropriate after a sexual assault – a requirement that has been in place in Connecticut for more than seven years. It is time for the rest of the country to follow Connecticut’s lead and ensure that women everywhere have the same protections and secure, safe access to contraception.”

"We must protect women's access to reproductive health services, especially to emergency contraception, which is currently being denied to some women at the point of care -- even when they are victims of sexual assault," said Senator Warren. "This bill is a significant step that will give doctors the tools they need to provide women with more information and critical care. No woman should be forced to endure the trauma of sexual assault and the potential unintended outcomes without knowing all of the options available to her,” said Senator Booker. “I am pleased to join my colleagues to introduce legislation that ensures victims are not only treated compassionately but also given timely, unhindered access to emergency contraception.”

http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=6fa74492-e58a-4765-b4f3-c9a0b6950b5e

[mercuryblues]

1. this is

long over due. The biggest problem I see with this is religious affiliated hospitals. As it is they will not even tell a rape victim about the morning after pill, let alone give it to them. They will claim "deeply held religious beliefs" to continue denying women FULL access to medical care.

[niyad]

2. sadly, you are quite correct. and, since one in six hospitals is catholic-owned, the problem grows.

[mercuryblues]

3. yeah.

I would think human compassion would over rule in situations like this. Even if they wouldn't provide the pill on site, they could write a Rx for it, but they won't.

One of the things any hospital should be capable of doing is getting blood and urine samples. The sooner testing is done increases the chances of finding any drugs the rapist may have used. It also could provide a baseline for STDs.

Workable solutions are needed. Fund rape crisis centers to provide transportation in areas where there aren't SANE professionals or the only facility is associated with a religion and withholds full treatment.

[niyad]

4. with reference to the catholic hospitals:

1 in 6 Hospital Beds Are In Catholic Facilities That Deny Critical Healthcare to Women
by Feminist Newswire on May 6, 2016 • 3:24 PM
No Comments

A new report issued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and MergerWatch found that one in six hospital beds in the United States are located in a Catholic facility that denies critical reproductive health care services, even when a patient’s life or health is endangered.

According to the report, Health Care Denied, hundreds of healthcare facilities in the U.S. follow a set of policy guidelines issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Called the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” these guidelines prohibit basic reproductive health care services for women, including contraception, sterilization and infertility treatments as well as abortion—even when a the patient’s life or health in endangered.

The facilities at issue are sometimes owned by a Catholic health system or diocese, but even other hospitals follow Catholic directives, including hospitals affiliated with a Catholic hospital or system (which may include public hospitals that are managed by Catholic health systems) and historically Catholic hospitals which are currently owned by a secular non-profit or for-profit health care system. In some areas, more than 40 percent of all hospital beds are in a facility that follows Catholic directives, and entire regions have no other option for hospital care, leaving many women without access to essential care.
After her water broke when she was only 18-weeks pregnant, Tamesha Means, who is featured in the ACLU/MergerWatch report, went immediately to the nearest hospital, Mercy Health Partners in Muskegon, Michigan. Although it was highly unlikely that Means would deliver a healthy baby, the hospital, operating under the Catholic directives, never discussed with her the option of ending the pregnancy, arguably the safest course of action. Nor did the hospital provide Means with a referral to alternative providers. Instead, Means was sent home with painkillers. Means returned to the hospital the next day showing signs of infection and complaining of bleeding and severe pain; but, according to the report, the hospital sent her home once again. The hospital did not provide care until Means, then in extreme pain, appeared a third time and went into labor. The baby died hours later.

“When a pregnant woman seeks medical care a hospital, she should be able to trust that decisions about her treatment will be based on medicine, not religious policies,” said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling. “Distressingly, in an increasing number of hospitals across this country, that is not the reality. We all have a right to our religious beliefs—but that does not include the right to impose those beliefs on others, particularly when that means closing the door on patients seeking medical care.”

. . . .

http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2016/05/06/1-in-6-hospital-beds-are-in-catholic-facilities-that-deny-critical-healthcare-to-women/

[niyad]

5. alas, your proposals are based on a assumption that rape survivors are somehow important

and deserve care.

[0rganism]

7. long overdue and probably DOA

i doubt the house republicans will let it out of committee

[niyad]

8. sadly, you are quite correct.

[procon]

6. The Republican just passed a bill to legalize discrimination against LBGT folks.

Given their aggressive positions on waging War on Women, they are incapable of passing any legislation that offers to assists women under any circumstance.

[niyad]

9. that was pretty much my thought as well.

[niyad]

10. . . . .

[smirkymonkey]

11. K&R

I am always amazed at how little people on a supposed liberal website care about violence against women. Really sad.

Thanks for posting.

[niyad]

12. you are most welcome. I am frequently disheartened by the lack of interest in women's

issues, especially violence and reproduction, on ostensibly liberal sites.