Birth Control

Mo. Attorney General to Republicans: Enough "Foolishness" on Contraception Coverage

In a scathing rebuke of conservative lawmakers, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster today called on Republicans to end their continued bickering over contraception coverage outlined in the federal Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. "The Republicans' attempt to deny contraceptive coverage to ... More >>

Birth Control: Our Lady's Inn, GOP Pressure Chris Koster to Appeal Contraception Decision

The fight over mandatory birth control coverage in Missouri -- as outlined by federal health care law -- is heating up once again, with renewed pressure this week from from Republican lawmakers as well as Our Lady's Inn, a St. Louis nonprofit that opposes contraception requirements. The individual ... More >>

Missouri Catholic Conference on Anti-Abortion Bill, Rape Victims: "Those Are Difficult Cases"

One of the more controversial proposals at the Missouri legislature this year is a GOP bill that would allow doctors to refuse to perform procedures that "violate his or her conscience or principles." Critics, like Planned Parenthood, say this is "denial of care" legislation that could prevent rape ... More >>

Catholic Bishops Slam Birth Control Ruling: "Pray for the Protection of Religious Liberty"

The Catholic bishops of Missouri are praying that the legal fight against federal health care mandates for birth control coverage is not over. "We now call upon all people of good will to pray for the protection of religious liberty and for defense of the First Amendment freedoms we all hold dear, ... More >>

Contraception: Tim Jones Still Fighting Birth Control Mandate After Ruling, Cites Free Speech

Should employers and insurers in Missouri be allowed to deny coverage of birth control if it violates their religious beliefs? A federal judge, as we reported earlier this week, ruled that they cannot be exempt -- in a decision overturning a Missouri law that directly contradicted President Barack O ... More >>

Birth Control: Court Overturns Missouri Law Allowing Moral, Religious Coverage Exemptions

Last week, we reported on a GOP proposal in Missouri that would give doctors the right not to perform procedures that go against their moral beliefs -- such as abortions. Meanwhile, a federal judge has struck down a Republican proposal with a similar theme that became law last year; this now over ... More >>

Abortion: Could GOP Bill Prevent Rape Victims From Accessing Emergency Contraception?

A bill that got its first round of approval yesterday in the Missouri House says that anyone providing medical services can't be required to perform procedures that "violate his or her conscience or principles." At the center of this bill is a debate around abortion. But would the proposal block acc ... More >>

St. Louis Archdiocese Fight Against Contraception: Mandate Lawsuit Dismissed

Last May, the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Catholic Charities went up against the United States government with a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a health care contraception mandate -- and this week, a federal judge decided to dismiss the case. But the battle is not over. So say offic ... More >>

Domino's Pizza Founder Believes Contraception Is "Gravely Immoral," Sues Federal Government

It's like national pizza chains don't want our business these days. Following President Barack Obama's reelection in November, Papa John's chief executive John Schnatter threatened to cut employee hours to dodge offering health insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or, "O ... More >>

BREAKING: Birth Control Leads to Fewer Abortions. Also, Sky is Blue

Here's some absolutely shocking news for all you abstinence supporters and abortion fighters out there: Women who use birth control have fewer unplanned pregnancies and fewer abortions than women who don't. Common sense might have told you that, but now it's been scientifically proven by researchers ... More >>

Why Did A Federal Judge Throw Out a St. Louis Catholic's Challenge to "Obamacare"? FAQs

Got questions about a federal judge's dismissal of a local Catholic's lawsuit against "Obamacare"? Daily RFT's got answers! Q: So, who sued who?Frank O'Brien and his company, O'Brien Industrial Holdings (near South Kingshighway and I-44) sued our federal government last March. Q: Why?

Missouri Legislature Overturns Nixon's Veto on Anti-Contraception Bill

It's official: In Missouri, employers, insurance companies or anyone else involved in an individual's health care can legally refuse to cover the Pill. In a not-so-surprising move, both houses of the Missouri Legislature voted to override Governor Jay Nixon's veto of Senate Bill 749. SB 749 give ... More >>

Todd Akin: Ban Morning-After Pill "Totally For Everyone"

Updated with statement from Planned Parenthood representatives. The media has gone nuts this week over Congressman Todd Akin's far-right positions, as he prepares to take on Senator Claire McCaskill in November. Buzzfeed says he supported a right-wing militia in the 1990's. The Hill notes that he v ... More >>

Gov. Nixon Vetoes SB 749

In a decision anxiously awaited by both pro-life and reproductive rights groups, Governor Jay Nixon vetoed Senate Bill 749 today. The bill would have made it possible for any "employer, health plan provider, health plan sponsor, health care provider, or any other person or entity" to refuse to prov ... More >>

IUD, Implants More Effective Birth Control Than Pill, Patch or Ring, New Study Shows

If you don't want to get knocked up unexpectedly, your best bet, according to a new study out of Washington University Medical School, is a long-term method of contraception, namely an IUD or an implant. Either one of these methods is twenty times more effective than shorter-term methods like the Pi ... More >>

All Hands on the Bad One

MO Rep. Stacey Newman Proposes Bill to Restrict Vasectomies

​Well, well, well. The birth control debate has finally come to our swimsuit areas, gentlemen. Yesterday Missouri State Representative Stacey Newman (D-St. Louis County) filed HB1853, which would only allow a man to have a vasectomy when doing so would protect him from serious injury or prevent hi ... More >>

Senate to Vote on Roy Blunt's Opt-Out Bill for Contraception Coverage

It's nearly March, just six months before the G.O.P. convention, which sounds like a perfect time to celebrate our quadrennial political tradition: culture wars. In Michigan, Republican presidential nominee Rick Santorum is telling folks there shouldn't necessarily be a complete separation of churc ... More >>

Dancin' in the Streets About Birth Control, Bollywood-Style

Dancing birth control pack? Check.​By now, surely you've heard that the Department of Health and Human Services has determined that birth control is basic preventive health care and is required to be provided without a co-pay by health insurers. (You've probably also heard about the moronic compar ... More >>

Implantable Birth Control Most Effective, Wash. U. Study Finds

​The best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions, a study finds, is to implant birth control into women's bodies. The Contraceptive Choice Project, which aims to enroll 10,000 women and girls in St. Louis city and county, is a project of Washington University. Participants -- more than ... More >>

Missouri Gets Top Grades in Denying Women Healthcare

Are we headed back to this?​Thanks to Roe v. Wade, the law of the land in this country is that abortion is legal. However, plenty of states are enacting laws that chip away at a woman's right to have the procedure. And in a piece yesterday on AlterNet.org, Amanda Marcotte ranked the ten worst stat ... More >>

More Restrictions on Reproductive Health Move Forward in the House

Not if the pharmacist doesn't want you to have them.​Today in Jefferson City, Missouri representatives added language to a bill that places more hurdles in front of women seeking legal abortions, in addition to fettering their access to emergency contraception.The bill, HCS HB 28, first came befor ... More >>

U.S. House Voting to Defund Planned Parenthood

Rep. Mike Pence doesn't want you to have these.​As soon as today or tomorrow, members of the U.S. House of Representatives could approve bills to strip Planned Parenthood and other reproductive care centers of federal funding. Such a move would leave millions of low-income women nationwide without ... More >>

Wash U Program Aims to Prevent Pregnancy in Foster Girls

​Nearly half of all girls in Missouri's foster care system are pregnant or give birth before age 19. That's a lot of babies facing challenges from their first breath of life -- many of these girls and young women are aging out of the system without health insurance of their own or a reliable safet ... More >>

Births, control: Readers debate how much say men should have in abortions

'Fight McCain, Have Sex': Free Condoms Go Quickly at Debate

The Egg Man

Dr. Sherman Silber says he can extend a woman's fertility by decades. All he needs is an ovary and some ice.

Unreal's Local Blog O' the Week

Loretta Lynn

Sunday, August 21; Harrah's Casino and Hotel Outdoor Stage (777 Casino Center Drive, Maryland Heights)

Best News Story To R.I.P.

Steve Fossett, hot-air balloonist

Misplaced Morality

There's nothing holy about the war on family planning

Female Trouble

Historyonics' Ahead of Her Time: Four Women in the Twentieth Century and the Washington University Performing Arts Department's Gitanjali are similarly flawed

WHEN PRO-LIFE MEANS MORE ABORTIONS

Have You Test-Driven the So-Called Female Condom?

Letters to the Editor

Fertile Ground

Planned Parenthood seeks to require Missouri's health-insurance industry to get consistent and provide coverage for birth control