Posts Tagged Department of Health and Human Services

Catholic university sues feds over birth control mandate

By Ashley Lopez | 02.21.12 | 11:39 am | More from The Florida Independent

Ave Maria University, a Catholic university in a town outside of Naples, Fla., is suing the federal government over a recent mandate requiring health insurers to cover contraception as a preventive service. More…

HHS secretary disputes claims that birth control decision disrespects religion

By Ashley Lopez | 02.06.12 | 5:28 pm | More from The Florida Independent

In an op-ed printed in USA Today yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius takes on accusations that a recent federal decision requiring health insurers to cover contraception as a preventive service is an attack on religious groups. More…

Report: Morning after pill not always available to women 17 and older

By Ashley Lopez | 12.20.11 | 4:52 pm | More from The Florida Independent

In the wake of the federal government’s decision to overrule the FDA’s request to expand access to over-the-counter emergency contraception to women under the age of 17, a new report shows that even some women 17 and older are unable to obtain the morning after pill when they need it. More…

Judge may hear challenge to federal decision on Plan B

By Ashley Lopez | 12.14.11 | 5:17 pm | More from The Florida Independent

A women’s health advocacy group plans to reopen a legal fight to challenge the federal government’s decision to overrule a request from the FDA to expand access to the morning after pill, also called Plan B, to women under the age of 17. More…

AP: 2.5 million young adults obtained health insurance under Affordable Care Act

By Ashley Lopez | 12.14.11 | 1:27 pm | More from The Florida Independent

According to new information, a provision in the Affordable Care Act has helped 2.5 million young adults gain health insurance since the law took effect. More…

Senate Dems ask Sebelius for ‘scientific rationale’ behind emergency birth control decision

By Ashley Lopez | 12.13.11 | 5:24 pm | More from The Florida Independent

Fourteen U.S. Senate Democrats have sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for the “scientific rationale” behind her decision to reverse an FDA request to expand access to over-the-counter emergency contraception for teenagers under the age of 17.

In a statement announcing her decision More…, Sebelius said

Reproductive rights groups compare Obama to Bush for Plan B decision

By Ashley Lopez | 12.08.11 | 12:26 pm | More from The Florida Independent

Women’s health advocates all over the country were stunned yesterday when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reversed an FDA request to expand access to over-the-counter emergency contraception for teenagers under the age of 17. In press releases denouncing the decision, a common theme has emerged: President Obama has followed in the More…

NOW asks Obama to resist demands from bishops on birth control

By Ashley Lopez | 12.06.11 | 5:52 pm | More from The Florida Independent

The National Organization for Women (NOW) More…, the largest organization of feminist activists in the U.S., has joined reproductive rights advocates in asking President Obama not to cave in to pressure from the Catholic leaders asking that he strike a recent decision that increases access to birth control for women.