The FDA and Women's Rights Need Our Voices
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Happy Wednesday Advocates
I would like to encourage comments and suggestions from you if you have time. If there is a special topic you’d like to see please let me know. Please use the comment button below. By the way lots of deep breaths help. So do cute pictures.
Nobel Prize News - Modified RNA Vaccines!!
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19
The discoveries by the two Nobel Laureates were critical for developing effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020. Through their groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.
You can read how they discovered this technique and what makes it work here.
Quite a twist of fate because in 1995 Karikó was demoted at her position at the University of Pennsylvania because she could not bring sufficient funding to the school to support this same research. She retired and moved to BioNTech where she was successful, wildly successful. (Link to story). So many of us were able to survive because she would not give up.
Reproductive Health News
Mifepristone, the abortion care medicine, is in front of the Supreme Court. They will decide whether the FDA has the authority to determine what is safe and effective. Meanwhile, there are states who ban the importation of the drug into their state by mail.
If you need it check out https://www.plancpills.org. Even if your state restricts the sale, they have ways to obtain them.
Meanwhile, Idaho, the Taliban bastion in the Northwest, has a problem with insufficient maternity care due to their cruel and vindictive stance on abortionn. NBC wrote about it last week here. One hospital, Bonner, lost their entire maternity department when all 4 ObGyn’s moved out of state. This trend means it is harder and harder to find maternity care, and when you do they are further away. There are consequences.
Research has shown that women who lack access to hospitals with obstetrics care are more likely to face health consequences, including a higher risk of preterm birth, which is associated withasthma, hearing loss, intellectual disabilities and other lifelong impacts for children. An analysis published in 2019 found that rural residents had a 9% greater chance of maternal morbidity and mortality compared to urban residents, in part because of limited access and longer travel times to obstetrics care. (Women of color had at least 33% higher odds of those negative outcomes than white women regardless of where they lived, according to the research.)
Let’s focus on of 5 things that need to change.
The FDA needs to be able to determine what safe and effective means for the entire country - for abortion care - for all healthcare and cannot be overturned by the courts.
We need to enact HR 12 the Women’s Health Protection Act to make abortion legal nationwide
Enact HR 782,Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, protecting women’s right to travel for abortion care;
Enact HR 3420, My Body, My Data Act, protecting women’s digital health care privacy; and
Enact HR 4303, Abortion Justice Act, protecting access to abortion care for all.
ACTION
Let’s let our representatives and senators in Congress know. You can use RESISTBOT by texting SIGN PVIIRK to 50409 to send this message to your representatives - Or you can get their contact information in the Resources section below and call/email
I am your constituent. I see that Mifepristone, the abortion medication’s access is in front of the Supreme Court.
I want you to make sure that Mifepristone, and any medication used for prescription abortion is legal by supporting and passing HR 767 / S 237, Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act of 2023
I want you to craft and enact legislation that ensures that when the FDA says it is safe and effective it cannot be overturned in the courts. If that’s the case, the abortion and vaccines will disappear.
I want you to cosponsor/support the following 4 bills in the House and their companions in the Senate they are:
HR 12 the Women’s Health Protection Act to make abortion legal nationwide
HR 782,Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, protecting women’s right to travel for abortion care;
HR 3420, My Body, My Data Act, protecting women’s digital health care privacy; and
HR 4303, Abortion Justice Act, protecting access to abortion care for all.
STOP ALLOWING WOMEN TO BE TREATED AS LESS THAN HUMAN.
RESOURCES
Healthcare Advocacy (Us)
Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Plan
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. NARAL’s abortion resource
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org