Proposed HHS Rule Would Override MN Emerg. Contraception Law

Feminist Daily News 7/31/2008: Proposed Health and Human Services Rule Would Override MN EC Law

A proposed rule change to Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations would endanger a Minnesota law that requires doctors to offer rape victims emergency contraception. The federally proposed rule would expand the definition of abortion to falsely label several types of birth control – including emergency contraception, the pill and IUDs – as abortifacients, reports the Feminist Daily News Wire. It would also deny federal funds to medical providers who will not hire doctors or nurses that object to abortion.

State laws that require doctors to provide the option of emergency contraception to rape victims, would be effectively nullified. Minnesota's law has been in place since 2007 and was passed with an overwhelming majority, according to the Star-Tribune. A press conference was held at the State Capitol Tuesday, where advocates and lawmakers expressed concern over the rule change's ability to limit access to birth control in Minnesota and around the nation. The rule would affect over 500,000 medical facilities, reports the National Partnership for Women & Families...