Planned Parenthood | Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund

First Lady to Nation: Women�s Health Matters!

September 22, 2009 2:13:19

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by Karina
Web Editor
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund

Recently, First Lady Michelle Obama addressed 140 women’s health advocates to discuss the importance of improving women’s health under health care reform. She was dead on in summing up the issue of women’s health. Via the Uptake:

In her speech, the First Lady discusses the unique role that women play in ensuring the health of their families.

“…Eight in 10 women, mothers, report that they're the ones responsible for choosing their children's doctor, for getting them to their checkups, for managing that follow-up care. Women are the ones to do it.”

She also points out the tremendous disparities that women face in the health care coverage that they receive.

We all know that women are more likely to work part-time, or to work in small companies or businesses that don't provide any insurance at all. Women are affected because, as we heard, in many states, insurance companies can still discriminate because of gender. And this is still shocking to me. These are the kind of facts that still wake me up at night; that women in this country have been denied coverage because of preexisting conditions like having a C-section or having had a baby. In some states, it is still legal to deny a woman coverage because she's been the victim of domestic violence. And a recent study showed that 25-year-old women are charged up to 45 percent more for insurance than 25-year-old men for the exact same coverage. And as the age goes up, you get to 40, that disparity increases to 48 percent—48 percent difference for women for the exact same coverage in this country.

She continues:

But it's not just women without insurance, as we've heard, as we know who are affected. Plenty of women have insurance. But it doesn't cover basic women's health services like maternity care or preventative care like mammograms or pap smears, which we all know we have to have. We can't go without these basic services. But many insurance policies don't even cover it. Or policies cap the amount of coverage that you can receive, as you've heard, or it drops coverage when people get sick and they really need the care. Or maybe people have coverage but they're worried about losing it if they lose their jobs or if they change jobs or if the company changes insurance carriers.

For all of these reasons and more, Planned Parenthood is committed to ensuring that any health care reform package that passes improves women’s health. As a primary health care provider for many women in our region, we see firsthand the effects this economic downturn is having on women. Everyday, we encounter women who are delaying care or getting by with the bare minimum or have lost their jobs and insurance coverage. This has got to change. With so many voices out there in this huge and heated debate, Planned Parenthood is an advocate for women’s needs and we will not support any health care reform package that does not include comprehensive reproductive health coverage and confront the disparities that the First Lady addressed.

I am thrilled that our First Lady is speaking out on this crucial issue that is essential to improving the lives of women. She summed up the stakes perfectly:

If we want to achieve true equality for women, if that is our goal; if we want to ensure that women have opportunities that they deserve, if that is our goal; if we want women to be able to care for their families and pursue things that they could never imagine, then we have to reform the system. We have to reform the system. The status quo is unacceptable. It is holding women and families back, and we know it.

We CAN make sure that reform is passed, but we need your help! There are plenty of ways you can get involved—see below for details.

You can read the entire transcript of the First Lady’s speech here.

Looking for ways to get involved?

1.   Tell us your story: Politicians need to hear real stories to understand the importance of improving women's health, so we are collecting stories! Have you been to Planned Parenthood? Have you received free or affordable birth control? How about an annual exam, STI test, or a cervical cancer screening? Tell us your story and why Planned Parenthood was an important health care provider for you.

2.   Write a Letter to the Editor: If you've been reading your local newspaper, you've probably noticed that there's an awful lot of crazy things being said about women's health, family planning, birth control, and abortion—- can you help us dispel the misinformation by writing a letter to the editor? Contact Sally at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) , so that we can contact you when come across a letter that requires a pro-choice response chock full of some good ol' fashioned facts. Contact Sally.

3.   Email Congress: and tell them that you won’t support health care reform that leaves women worse off than they are now. More info.