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Planned Parenthood of North Texas Calls for Emergency
Contraception As Standard of Care for Sexual Assault Survivors
DALLAS -- Planned Parenthood of North Texas (PPNT) has
released the results of its survey of North Texas hospitals that provide
treatment to survivors of sexual assault. The survey was designed to measure
access to emergency contraception for survivors who come to emergency rooms for
care.
The survey reveals how access to emergency contraception
depends on which doctor is on call that day and his/her knowledge of emergency
contraception and willingness to share that knowledge with the patient. The
survey, which is the latest of hospitals in Texas, was supported by a grant from
the National Council of Jewish Women.
Key findings include:
- 74 percent of hospitals surveyed do provide survivors
of sexual assault with information about emergency contraception.
- 44 percent of hospitals have a written policy that
survivors of sexual assault must be provided information about emergency
contraception.
- 33 percent of hospitals give out emergency
contraception medication while the woman is in the emergency room.
- 15 percent of surveyed hospitals tell sexual assault
survivors about emergency contraception only if the survivor asks.
- 11 percent of hospitals do not give sexual assault
survivors any information about emergency contraception, even if the
survivor requests it.
"It is unconscionable for medical practitioners to
unnecessarily place women who have been sexually assaulted at risk of the
additional trauma of an unwanted pregnancy and, perhaps, of deciding whether or
not to have an abortion," said Jim Roderick, president and CEO of PPNT.
"These results underline the critical need for consistent standards among
hospitals, standards that provide women with all their options and the care they
need while they are in the emergency room."
Recommendations from PPNT include:
- The Texas Legislature pass legislation requiring Texas
hospitals to provide information about emergency contraception and to
dispense emergency contraception as requested to all survivors of sexual
assault who go to an emergency room for treatment.
- Hospitals educate their emergency room staff about
emergency contraception and its use in preventing unintended pregnancies so
patients who have been sexually assaulted receive consistent and unbiased
information.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) filed H.B. 2629 that
would require hospital emergency rooms to inform sexual assault survivors about
emergency contraception and to provide it in the emergency room as requested.
Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) sponsored the companion bill in the Senate.
In February 2003, Thompson filed H.B. 1381, which would allow pharmacists who
have completed a training program on emergency contraception to dispense it
without a prescription.
Emergency contraception is a Food and Drug Administration
(FDA)-approved method of birth control that can be taken up to 72 hours after
unprotected intercourse to help prevent an unintended pregnancy. It is more
effective the sooner after unprotected intercourse it is taken and can reduce
the risk of pregnancy by 75 percent to 85 percent. The most common side effects
are nausea and vomiting, and even women who cannot regularly use oral
contraceptives may safely use emergency contraception.
Emergency contraception should not be confused with
Mifeprex (also known as RU-486), the medical abortion pill. Emergency
contraception cannot terminate an existing pregnancy and will not harm an
existing pregnancy.
PPNT surveyed 54 hospitals in North Texas that serve women
who have been sexually assaulted. PPNT staff measured hospital policy through
phone inquires with emergency room staff.
Off the Bookshelf
Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice, second
edition
 Edited
by Patricia W. Iyer, MSN, RN, LNCC
CRC Press and American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants; 2003
This authoritative tome, which weighs in at a hefty 1,132
pages, is the earnest and impressive work of 99 contributors and nine editors.
Authorship of this immensely comprehensive text draws from the leading experts
in the field, including several forensic nurses. It delivers the most current
thought without being pedantic and provides an exhaustive road map to one of the
most complex, challenging and pertinent fields of nursing. Firmly parked at the
intersection of medicine and law, this body of work is highly recommended for
forensic nurses who endeavor to understand the entire continuum of the
medico-legal process. It is a must-read for clinicians who need to understand
the basic tenets and wish to enter legal nurse consulting or individuals who
wish to further master the intricacies and subtleties of their profession. Of
particular value to forensic nurses is the chapter titled, "Evaluating
Forensic Cases," penned by Doug Davis, BSN, RN, DABFN; Diana Faugno, BSN,
RN, CPN, FAAFS; Joseph R. McMahon III, JD; and Patricia Steed King, RN. They
cover crucial aspects of criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence,
investigation, the LNC's role in handling cases of child abuse, elder abuse,
domestic violence, sexual assault, driving under the influence and death
investigations. The section on evidence is quite good, and is a springboard for
the forensic nurse's ongoing pursuit of knowledge.
Date Book
July 2003
7-8 The 15th annual "Selected Topics in Child
Abuse" course will be held at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Contact
Jesse Davis at (207) 872-3386 or log on to: www.colby.edu/spec.prog/cme.html
14-18 The "Introduction to Bloodstain Pattern
Analysis" course will be held at the University of North Texas in Denton,
Texas. Contact Edward Hueske at (940) 565-4988.
August 2003
4-8 "Conducting Forensic Evidentiary Interviews With
Children Exposed to Child Abuse, Family or Community Violence," sponsored
by the Chadwick Center for Children and Families, Children's Hospital, will be
held at the Westin Horton Plaza in San Diego. Contact Linda Wilson at (858)
576-1700, ext. 4972.
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