The Religious Consultation
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Philadelphia Inquirer (US) , March 24, 2005 N.J. Must Tell Rape Victims of Emergency Birth Control With a law signed
this week, it joins a short list of states
where hospitals must volunteer the info. New Jersey has joined the short but growing list of states that require hospitals to tell sexual-assault victims about emergency contraception, the standard treatment to prevent pregnancy after rape. The law, signed Monday by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, also mandates that New Jersey hospitals provide the pills upon a patient's request. Emergency contraception, popularly known as the morning-after pill, can prevent pregnancy if taken in two doses 12 hours apart within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Also Monday, the Colorado Senate passed a bill that would require hospitals in that state to provide emergency-contraception information and referrals to rape victims. The bill still requires the governor's signature. Five other states - New York, Illinois, California, Washington and New Mexico - require hospitals to provide the pregnancy-prevention method to rape victims, or at least to tell them how to get it. The pills contain high doses of one or both of the hormones used in standard birth-control pills. On the federal level, the Department of Justice has come under fire for omitting emergency contraception from its first national protocol for treating sexual-assault victims. The department released the 141-page protocol in September after three years of consultation with experts in medicine, criminal justice and sexual-assault response. In January, a letter from a broad coalition of medical and advocacy groups asked the department to correct the "glaring omission." The department has not responded to the request. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has been criticized for foot-dragging on an application by Barr Pharmaceuticals to sell its emergency-contraceptive brand, Plan B, without a prescription to females 16 and older. A year ago, the FDA rejected Barr's proposal for unrestricted nonprescription sales, but said it would consider allowing over-the-counter sales with an age restriction. That ruling delighted conservative groups that had lobbied the Bush administration, but went against the recommendations of the FDA staff, advisory panels, and major medical societies. Last week, Lester Crawford, Bush's nominee to head the FDA, said a decision on Plan B was imminent, but would not give details. New Jersey's law was written in consultation with the New Jersey Catholic Conference and the Catholic HealthCare Partnership of New Jersey, which represents the state's 15 Catholic hospitals. "We operate our hospitals guided by our belief that compassionate and understanding care should be given to sexual-assault victims," the conference said in a statement Monday. The statement explained that under the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' directive regarding ethical treatment of sexual-assault victims, Catholic hospitals can administer emergency contraception as long as a test shows the patient is not pregnant. Catholic dogma says life begins with the fertilization of an egg and must not be intentionally disrupted from then on. In deference to this position, the New Jersey law does not require hospitals to give emergency contraception "to a victim who is pregnant." Contact staff writer Marie McCullough at 215-854-2720 or mmccullough@phillynews.com << Philadelphia Inquirer -- 3/24/05 >>
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