The Quickie: Planned Parenthood Southwest Makes Sex Ed Accessible
For Immediate Release: Oct. 23, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: Planned Parenthood Pacific Southwest updates “Sex Ed To-Go”, infant mortality increases in states with abortion bans, and abortion coverage is restricted or absent from U.S. workplaces.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD PACIFIC SOUTHWEST MAKES SEX ED ACCESSIBLE: Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest is excited to share updates about Sex Ed To-Go, a free online sex education platform that makes medically accurate and inclusive sex education accessible for all. Sex Ed To-Go offers courses and training for busy teachers, provides helpful tips for parents/caregivers on how to talk to their kids about sex, and helps students get foundational knowledge about sexual health and relationships.
Sex Ed To-Go continues to expand their platform with even more courses in both English and Spanish, because students deserve barrier-free access to medically accurate and inclusive sex ed. The courses offered cover topics such as anatomy and physiology, consent, how to prepare for conversations about sex, California laws and policies, and more.
At a time when our basic human rights are being challenged like never before – when exercising your right to bodily autonomy depends on your zip code, and when schools are halting access to comprehensive, medically accurate, inclusive information and education – it is more critical than ever before that we provide people with straightforward, free and accessible sex ed. Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest is proud to offer these high quality educational resources to students, parents, and teachers across the country.
INFANT MORTALITY IS STEADILY ON THE RISE IN BAN STATES: A new study shows that in states with abortion restrictions, infant mortality has increased by 16 percent. Since this data focuses on 2014-2018, it doesn’t yet include the drastic impact that Dobbs has had on maternal health and infant mortality. The U.S. has some of the highest infant and maternal health outcomes in the world, which research attributes to a number of issues ranging from poor prenatal care to high-risk conditions worsened by poverty.
The study found that abortion restrictions have an even higher impact on infant mortality than either of these issues. This is particularly true for Black infant mortality, which is 2.4 times higher than white infant mortality. As states continue to pass bans with extremely strict exceptions that rarely actually help people with high-risk pregnancies, the problem is likely to worsen. Additionally, abortion bans have led to the closure of clinics that provide a wide range of reproductive health services, creating “maternal care deserts” across the country that will continue to negatively affect health outcomes.
Read more in Truthout.
ABORTION COVERAGE LIMITED OR NONEXISTENT IN WORKPLACES: A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that a quarter of large U.S. employers either do not cover or heavily restrict abortion coverage as part of their health benefits. Since the overturning of Roe and abortion restrictions in effect in 21 states, , more people than ever before are traveling out of state for abortion care. Without coverage through employee health insurance, many patients are left to pay for this care themselves.
KFF reports that the out-of-pocket cost for an abortion procedure in 2021 ranges from $568 to $775, not including potential costs for travel, lodging, childcare, and more. Only about a third of large companies offer full coverage for abortion care in most or all circumstances. Others, including major companies such as Disney, Meta, and Amazon, have opted to pay for abortion-related travel expenses instead.
Research from earlier this year found that employers that offered abortion travel benefits saw an increase in interest and applications. However, companies with male-dominated employees have also reported a drop in job satisfaction as a result of providing these benefits.
Read more in KFF Health News.