April 16, 2007                                             Support the Center now! "NO NEED FOR TRIAL"; CENTER FILES FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN CASE AGAINST FDA The Center filed on March 30 for summary judgment in our case against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the agency's handling of Plan B. The Center's brief lays out evidence that the FDA ignored scientific fact, allowed its decision to be swayed by improper White House involvement, singled out Plan B for a higher standard of approval than other over-the-counter drugs, and departed radically from its own typical practice in order to achieve an unlawful result. The Center is arguing that the facts make it unnecessary for the court to hold a trial, and that the court should order the agency to make Plan B available without a prescription to women of all ages. Read more on the case > > EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES LANDMARK ABORTION DECISION One of the world's most influential human rights courts held on March 20, for the first time, that governments must establish effective mechanisms for ensuring that women can get an abortion where it is legal. The Center filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Alicja Tysiąc, a Polish woman who is nearly blind because she was forced to continue a pregnancy that threatened her health. "It's one of the most important judgments the court has come down with regarding women's reproductive rights in the past decade at least," said Christina Zampas, senior legal adviser for Europe at the Center, in an interview with Reuters. Read more > > BONNIE SCOTT JONES DEFENDS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE IN PUERTO RICO Bonnie Scott Jones, senior attorney at the Center, traveled to San Juan to testify before the Health Department against new regulations that would have endangered women in Puerto Rico by inhibiting their ability to get reproductive health care. At public hearings in March, Jones spoke out against rules that required minors to get consent from both parents before an abortion and required hospitalization for all abortions performed after 14 weeks even though the vast majority of abortion procedures can be done safely in an outpatient facility. The Department agreed to change many provisions. Jones is reviewing the changes in anticipation of another public hearing in several months. Read more about avoiding the TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) > > CENTER DENOUNCES 8TH CIRCUIT'S RULING ON CONTRACEPTION The Center denounces a March 15 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which said that the country's largest railroad, Union Pacific, is not discriminating against women by excluding coverage for prescription contraceptives from its health plan. As a dissenting judge recognized, women are "uniquely and specifically disadvantaged" by Union Pacific's policy, because only women can become pregnant. The court's defense of such a policy is an affront to American women, and it opens the door for companies across the country to discontinue or exclude contraceptive coverage. Read our press statement > > INDIA MUST PROTECT WOMEN'S HEALTH, UN BODY SAYS In the country with the world's highest number of maternal deaths, where a woman dies approximately every four minutes due to lack of healthcare during pregnancy or childbirth, a UN body last month urged the Indian government to take action. The Committee monitoring compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) voiced concern about high maternal mortality rates, unsafe abortion, and inadequate obstetric and family planning services. The Center had called attention to these issues in a shadow letter submitted to Committee members, highlighting violations of Indian women's sexual and reproductive rights. Read more > > CENTER AWAITS SUPREME COURT DECISION ON THE FEDERAL ABORTION BAN A major decision is coming down from the Supreme Court, a decision that could change women's lives. The Center's case, Gonzales v. Carhart, will be decided between now and June 25. Will the court follow 30 years of settled law, and protect women's health? Will the court run roughshod over Roe, and outlaw a wide range of the safest and most commonly used abortion procedures? On the day the Court issues its opinion, we will send you an email alert, linking you to our Web site report on the decision and its implications.