skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Missouri House Needs Sex Education

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 30, 2009   

Jefferson City, MO – Advocates for reproductive rights say the Missouri House of Representatives needs to take a lesson in sex education, after the House this week passed an amendment to protect pharmacies that refuse to fill birth control prescriptions.

Reproductive rights advocates with Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri say lawmakers need to get their facts straight. Michelle Trupiano with Planned Parenthood of St. Louis say restricting access to birth control does not prevent abortions, but increases unintended pregnancies.

"We believe that every woman who goes into a pharmacy should be given her prescription without discrimination or delay."

Pro-life proponents say pharmacists who are morally opposed to abortion should have the right to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions. They say abstinence-only education is the best way to prevent abortions.

The Rev. Rebecca Turner, executive director with Faith Aloud, a group that advocates for reproductive rights, says however that religious leaders have a moral obligation to tell young people the truth.

"Abstinence-only education is a public health threat. It is damaging our young people, and we simply must give young people the information they need."

Turner says research has shown that abstinence-only education does not prevent unintended pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases.

Planned Parenthood and Faith Aloud rallied at the Capitol this week. Both groups say lawmakers need to focus their attention on legislation like the Prevention First Act, which supports sex education. Planned Parenthood of St. Louis will rally again this weekend at a town hall meeting.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021