Help Us Protect Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Today!
Jun 24
When I give a presentation about the abortion services we provide in our family medicine clinic, people often ask, “Do you have a counselor to meet with your patients to help them?” I’m a bit put off by this question. I want to say, “It’s my patients with a new diagnosis of diabetes or high blood…
Jun 19
Spring is a busy season at the Reproductive Health Access Project. In the past few months we’ve presented an a number of academic conferences across the United States. Here’s a peak at some of our spring travels. On March 7th-8th our educational director Dr. Ruth Lesnewski presented at the ACU Health IT for the Underserved…
May 15
The Reproductive Health Access Project publishes a variety of patient education materials and clinical tools. Now, you can purchase these materials at our new online store! Visit it today at store.reproductiveaccess.org We believe in promoting evidence-based, patient centered medicine. All of our patient education materials are medically accurate, drawn from the latest clinical information. We field test our patient education…
Apr 30
The concept of cervical barriers has been around for a long, long time. Some of these (pretty creative) objects have included partially squeezed lemon halves, oiled paper disks, algae and seaweed, sponges, and even balls of opium, just to name a few. However, the first official cervical barrier was invented by German gynecologist Friedrich Wilde,…
Apr 16
I work once a week at a high volume abortion site. When I’m there I often don’t have the chance to have much of an interaction with the patients in the minute or so that I see them before the anesthesia takes effect. But the other day, I had a quick conversation that really stuck…
Apr 02
As part of my work with the Reproductive Health Access Project, I am a doula for women undergoing reproductive health procedures like colposcopies, IUD or implant insertions or manual vacuum aspiration. A doula, in essence, is someone who provides emotional support. At first, I was not sure how I was going to be able to…
Mar 20
We’ve just released two new birth control fact sheets covering Natural Family Planning and Permanent Birth Control (Sterilization). The Natural Family Planning (NFP) fact sheet lays out seven common methods of natural family planning, and compares them by efficacy. The sheet explains how each NFP method works and lists common pros and cons. The Permanent Birth Control…
Mar 05
We at RHAP have always known that just because clinicians are trained in abortion care doesn’t mean they will provide abortion care. Whether or not clinicians can provide this care rests on many factors including: where the individual practices are located, the support of their colleagues, the ability to access the right equipment and supplies,…
Jan 30
A couple of years ago, when the Reproductive Health Access Project celebrated its 5th anniversary, we created a special tagline to mark the occasion: making choices real. I loved it. I still love it. It telegraphs the fact that, even though abortion and contraception are legal, many women still face tremendous barriers in accessing this…
Jan 17
Nexplanon/Implanon is a type of birth control that lasts three years and is over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. A health care professional inserts the implant in your arm, and it is thin plastic rod that releases progestin. Over the 30 years since the implant was introduced, it has gone through many phases and several…