| Releases
& Statements
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23, 2007
Contact: Sarah Krauss
(212) 669-4193; (917) 541-0936
Release #: 056-2007
Gotbaum Report: City Fails to Provide Access to Emergency Contraception & Birth Control
– Only 39 percent of HHC teen health clinics have emergency contraception ready for same-day pickup –
– 75 percent of DOHMH sites fail to provide birth control –
MANHATTAN – The New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is failing to provide New York City women with easy access to emergency contraception (EC), according to new figures released today by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. Gotbaum’s office found that only 15 of 38 HHC teen health clinics had EC ready for same-day pickup. Furthermore, only one site provided an advance prescription of EC, despite an announcement made by the City in 2005 that all HHC facilities would provide these prescriptions.
More than 60 percent of all pregnancies in New York City are unintended, according to data from 2005. In 2000, the city’s teen (15-19 years old) pregnancy rate of nearly one in ten exceeded state and national averages. In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg announced a $1 million “Emergency Contraception Education and Outreach Campaign” to increase awareness and access to emergency contraception.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “Here is the reality: Emergency contraception prevents unintended pregnancies. Women shouldn’t be forced to scramble in the case of an emergency. We have the tools to stop unplanned pregnancies before they occur. Given that the city invested in a new outreach campaign, it is disappointing to find so few city facilities providing EC.”
Public Advocate investigators called 38 HHC teen health clinics and 11 Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) sites to determine if they provided patients with emergency contraception, birth control pills, and female condoms. Surveyors found that:
-More than sixty percent of the 38 HHC clinics failed to have emergency contraception readily available;
-73 percent of DOHMH sites failed to provide birth control by prescription; and
-Only 7 of the 38 HHC teen health clinics have female condoms that are readily available.
Silvia Henriquez, Executive Director of the Latina Institute, said, “We recommend improved training for personnel so that they may provide accurate and thorough information about the various methods of contraception, including EC and female condoms. Clinics should also provide linguistically and culturally appropriate services for women. These recommendations will further ensure that women will have easy and timely access to comprehensive family planning services.”
The report called for the City to expand its reproductive health education initiatives, and urged that staff members at all city sites to receive sensitivity and educational training on EC. The new report follows upon a 2006 investigation by the Public Advocate into EC availability at DOHMH sites.
Click here to view the full report.
###
|
