[Peace-discuss] Help sexual assault survivors access EC!!

[Brooke Anderson]

Dear Friends,

WE NEED YOUR IMMEDIATE HELP to ensure that sexual assault survivors 
have access to Emergency Contraception. Please read on for more 
information and TAKE ACTION TODAY!

The U.S. Department of Justice has just released their first and only 
protocol on the treatment of sexual assault survivors in hospitals. 
The protocol is designed to be a step forward in providing more 
uniform and higher quality health care for sexual assault survivors 
in our nation's emergency rooms (some of whom live in states where 
only 6% of hospitals in their state give information about EC to 
sexual assault survivors). However, not once in its 141 pages does 
the protocol mention Emergency Contraception (EC), a highly effective 
pregnancy prevention option for sexual assault survivors.

Since EC is most effective the sooner it is taken, failure to provide 
EC to sexual assault survivors in the emergency room greatly 
increases their chance of becoming pregnant as a result of being 
raped. We cannot let the Department of Justice let politics trump the 
needs and basic health care rights of sexual assault survivors.

So far, 17 C-U organizations and dozens of national organizations 
have signed onto a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to 
include EC in the protocol. But they need to hear from individuals 
too! Let's overwhelm their inboxes and keep their phone lines ringing 
off the hook until they do the right things for sexual assault 
survivors!!


*** PLEASE EMAIL OR CALL THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TODAY  ***

Please email or call the U.S. Department of Justice today to tell 
them to add comprehensive and detailed information about Emergency 
Contraception to their protocol for the treatment of sexual assault 
survivors.

Here is a sample message to the Dept. of Justice:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diane Stuart, Director of DOJ Office of Violence Against Women

Dear Ms. Stuart,

I am writing with concern that the national protocol for the 
treatment of sexual assault survivors, recently published by the 
DOJ's Office of Violence Against Women, does not include any 
information about Emergency Contraception (or EC).

Emergency Contraception is a special dose of ordinary birth control 
pills, that when taken up to 120 hours after unprotected sex, 
contraceptive failure, or sexual assault, can prevent unintended 
pregnancy.

The protocol should serve as a tremendous resource for providing more 
uniform, and higher quality, health care services to sexual assault 
survivors across the country. However, the exclusion of any 
information about Emergency Contraception is preposterous and a great 
disservice to the women whom you purport to serve.

I urge you to immediately amend the protocol to include comprehensive 
and detailed information about the right of survivors to be provided 
with Emergency Contraception in the emergency room.

Sincerely,
PUT YOUR NAME HERE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Email:    diane.stuart at usdoj.gov
Phone:   (202) 307-6026

Please bcc all emails to brooke at shout.net (or email us if you have 
made a phone call instead) so that we can keep track of how many 
people have called the Department of Justice.

Thank you for taking time to advocate for the rights of sexual 
assault survivors. For more information, contact Brooke Anderson at 
(217) 352-6533, ext. 17 or at brooke at shout.net. You can also visit 
the Campaign for Access to Emergency Contraception at 
http://www.healthcareconsumers.org/EC.


Sincerely,
Brooke Anderson

on behalf of the Campaign for Access to Emergency Contraception
-- 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brooke Anderson, Community Organizer
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
44 E. Main St., Suite 208
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone = (217) 352-6533, x 17
Fax = (217) 352-9745
Email = brooke at shout.net
Web = http://www.healthcareconsumers.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~