Few Ob.Gyns. Perform Abortions
While nearly all ob.gyns. see patients seeking abortions, only about 14% report performing abortions themselves, according to a new survey. The self-administered survey of more than 1,000 practicing ob.gyns. across the United States showed that female physicians were more likely to perform abortions than were their male counterparts, with 19% of women providing the procedure compared with 11% of men. The findings were published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology (2011;118:609-14). Age was also a factor. The survey indicated that ob.gyns. aged 35 and younger were the most likely to perform abortions (22%), followed by doctors aged 56-65 years (15%). Physicians were also more likely to perform abortions if they lived in the Northeast, practiced in an urban area, and did not have strong religious beliefs, according to the survey, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago and Duke University in Durham, N.C. The researchers did not ask whether those ob.gyns. who do not perform abortions provide referrals for abortion. The researchers were supported by grants from the Greenwall Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.
Pregnancy Rate Disparities 'Troubling'
The rate of unintended pregnancies among poor women in the United States is rising dramatically, even as nationally that figure remains about the same. An analysis by the Guttmacher Institute found that between 2001 and 2006, the unintended pregnancy rate nationally rose from 50 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years to 52 per 1,000 women. But among women below the federal poverty line, it rose from 120 to 132 per 1,000 women between 2001 and 2006. The rate of unintended pregnancies actually dropped among higher-income women. For women whose incomes were at or above 200% of federal poverty, the rate fell from 28 to 24 per 1,000 women during the same time period. The analysts at the Guttmacher Institute also found that poor women tended to have higher rates of unintended pregnancies regardless of their education, race and ethnicity, marital status, or age. “The growing disparity in unplanned pregnancy rates between poor and higher-income women – which reflects persistent, similar disparities across a range of health and social indicators – is deeply troubling,” Sharon Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, said in a statement. “Addressing them requires not only improved access to reproductive health care, but also looking to broader social and economic inequalities.” The Guttmacher Institute researchers relied on federal government data such as the National Survey of Family Growth, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's abortion surveillance figures, and their own data on abortion in putting together the analysis.
SF Circumcisions Remain Legal
A well-publicized effort to ban male circumcision in San Francisco was blocked by the courts this summer. Opponents of circumcision had collected enough signatures to place a proposed ban of the procedure on the city's November ballot. If successful, the ballot measure would have prohibited the circumcision of boys under age 18 unless it was deemed medically necessary. The referendum did not include an exception based on religious beliefs. But in late July, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Loretta M. Giorgi tossed out the ballot measure, saying that the regulation of medical procedures can be done only by the state, not the city.
Know the Law on Expedited Partner Tx
Officials at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are urging ob.gyns. who work in states where the prescription of antibiotics to the male sex partners of female patients with a sexually transmitted infection is prohibited to work to change the law. In new committee opinion #506 published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, ACOG said its members should lobby for legalization of expedited partner therapy and work with their local health departments to develop protocols for its use. While statutes explicitly allowing expedited partner therapy are preferable, ACOG wrote that it may be easier to get a ruling from the state medical and pharmacy boards that the practice is not unprofessional conduct. Expedited partner therapy is currently allowed in 27 states, potentially allowable in an additional 15 states, and prohibited in 8 states.
Identify Human Trafficking Victims
ACOG is asking ob.gyns. to be aware of the problem of human trafficking of women and girls in the United States. In new committee opinion #507, ACOG offers tips that could help ob.gyns. recognize when patients are possible victims of human trafficking. For example, they may lack official identification such as a driver license or passport, offer inconsistent information, avoid eye contact, display signs of physical abuse, and have someone else with them who controls their money and pays for their visit. ACOG recommends asking open-ended questions and finding a way to speak with the patient in the presence of a chaperone away from the patient's partner. The policy statement was published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.