The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55939

Lois Uttley, MPP, Mergerwatch, Family Planning Advocates of NYS, 17 Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207, 518-436-8408, ext. 211, lois@mergerwatch.org

Each year, more than 600,000 American women are raped, with an estimated 25,000 of those assaults resulting in pregnancy. As many as 22,000 of these pregnancies could be prevented by timely administration of emergency contraception pills (ECPs). Yet, many hospital emergency departments do not consistently offer ECPs to rape victims.

Four states -- California, Washington, Illinois and New York -- have adopted policies to improve rape victims' access to ECPs. In 2001, Illinois enacted a law requiring hospitals to inform rape victims about pregnancy prevention. But, in a concession to the state Catholic conference, the law did not require hospitals to actually dispense ECPs. In 2002, California and Washington went a step further, enacting laws requiring hospitals to actually dispense ECPs on site to rape victims. New York tried an administrative approach in 2002, issuing Department of Health protocols calling for hospitals to inform rape victims about EC and strongly recommending (but not requiring) immediate provision of ECPs. By 2003, 83 percent of New York hospitals had adopted policies of dispensing ECPs, but 14 percent had not and the remainder had inconsistent policies, according to original research which will be presented.

This paper will compare the efforts in the four states, assess the effectiveness of legislation, regulation, litigation or voluntary action, and offer guidance to state-based advocates working on this health access issue

Learning Objectives:

• This presentation will enable participants to assess the provision of emergency contraception to sexual assault survivors by hospitals in their home states and identify gaps in access to emergency contraception. Moreover, it will present "best practices" experiences from four states to enable participants to determine which policy approach -- legislation, regulation, litigation or voluntary action -- would be most feasible to ensure the consistent offering of EC in the ER in their own states.

Keywords: Emergency Department/Room, Reproductive Health

Related Web page: www.fpaofnys.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.