Obama may pull support for birth control

According to the Washington Independent, expanded Medicaid coverage of birth control may be pulled out of the proposed stimulus package. House leaders say that the Obama administration has requested that the Democrats take out the family planning section, which would have allowed states to provide birth control for low-income people under Medicaid, without having to ask the federal government for permission, which is how it stands now.

Anti-choice groups had a field day when it was first announced that this was part of the stimulus package. Already angry about the overturning of the global gag rule (booya!), Republicans are up in arms about this 'funding of the abortion industry.' They are arguing that the provision would not stimulate the economy; it was just a hand-out to Planned Parenthood, thanking them for their support of Obama. However, Democrats argue that this would help shore up the Medicaid program as well as create new health-care jobs, and the Congressional Budget Office (a non-partisan entity) stated that it would save money in the long run.

A decision is supposed to be announced tomorrow, so we'll just have to wait and see.

STIs Still on the Rise!

So it looks as if Mr. Bush's sex education policies haven't done much to curb the rate of STI infection among teens/young adults, women, and minorities. A recent article posted on CNN's website details the unsettling fact that rates of infection are increasing, including a 15.2 percent increase in Syphilis cases, a sexually transmitted infection that has recently resurfaced as a problem around 2001.

The facts show that we are still desperately in need of Planned Parenthood's services and education. If you haven't been tested for STIs recently get to your local health clinic, campus health center, or Planned Parenthood to be screened. The Mayo Clinic has a good reference of what to ask for/know before getting tested for STIs.

Remember, just because you don't have symptoms doesn't mean you're healthy! Scary/gross thought, I know, but its an important thing to think about.