The Advocacy Committee continues its hard work in the setting of our current sociopolitical climate and all the things that continue to affect reproductive healthcare. This is particularly important for sexuality and gender minority adolescents and young adults. Below is a summary of the committee’s most recent accomplishments and activities:
The North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG) has served as a leader in advocacy for unrestricted, unbiased, and evidence-based reproductive care for adolescents. We recognize and emphasize the potential health, social, and economic implications of mistimed or unplanned pregnancy during adolescence and have previously released a statement supporting the availability of oral progestin-only contraceptive pills to adolescents.
As I write this update from JPAG, Thanksgiving 2023 is in the rearview mirror.. As usual, my family gathered at our home, and there were adult kids, a grandchild, the outlaws (daughter-in-law’s parents), and friends who for various reasons will join our gathering. There was much to be grateful for this year, and Thanksgiving Day allows us the tradition of a day honoring gratitude. We are healthy, we have plenty, we are together. The bounty of our home garden once again supplied side dishes of spinach, lettuce, persimmons, apples, various fruit jams and jellies, pickled beets, pickled peppers, and even some tomatoes fresh from the vine. I’m grateful that hubby cooked the turkey. We live in beautiful California, where our Thanksgiving day included high temperatures near 70 degrees; we ate outside All reasons to give thanks. We are reminded by near-tragedies that we are grateful for the safety of relatives who lost their beautiful home and all their possessions this year to a wildfire.
NASPAG, like many other major medical organizations, has been disheartened to see limitations placed on the provision of sexual health education to our youth. Comprehensive sexuality education has been shown to better prepare young persons to make informed and healthy decision about their sexual health and sexual health behaviors. In support of the provision of unrestricted, evidence based comprehensive sexual health education to our youth, the NASPAG Advocacy Committee has released a position statement.
NASPAG’s mission is to advocate for the reproductive well-being of children and adolescents and the provision of unrestricted, unbiased, and evidence-based practice of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. The Texas Senate Bill 8 undermines the ability of Pediatric and Adolescent health care providers to align with NASPAG’s mission. This bill impacts critical reproductive health care, which undoubtedly will disproportionately impact those with poorest resources and access to care. This is one of the most restrictive abortions bans in the US, making abortion illegal with no exceptions for rape, sexual abuse, incest, or fetal anomaly diagnosis.
Congratulations!
OnTuesday, May 9th, NASPAG was one of 37 different organizations and/or individuals to speak at the Open Public Hearing session of the joint meeting of the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Obstetrics, Reproductive and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA. The Advisory Committee was assembled to review the application from HRA Pharma for a "prescription-to-OTC" switch for Norgestrel 0.075mg (Opill) as a progestin-only oral contraceptive. Speakers included several major medical societies, reproductive justice and advocacy organizations, and many youth who boldly shared their personal stories! Out of the 37 speakers, 35 spoke in strong support of the proposal.
Hello NASPAG members:
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson is an egregious attack on bodily autonomy, removing a pregnant person’s right to autonomous decision making over the most personal and most consequential of life decisions. While this is devastating for all persons, adolescents and young adults will suffer greatly from this decision. This ruling reversed nearly 50 years of legal precedent, issued a direct assault on reproductive justice and the public’s health, and curtailed the status of pregnant persons as free and equal citizens (as noted in the dissenting opinion). We are collectively opposed to this violation of human rights, which will be especially harmful to vulnerable and marginalized populations including adolescents and young adults. We object to any restrictions placed on the reproductive rights of adolescents and young adults. Access to safe abortion is a basic part of comprehensive reproductive health care. This ruling contradicts the broad medical and scientific consensus that abortion is a fundamental component of healthcare, abortion is safe, and abortion is a human right.
NASPAG will continue to support and advocate for comprehensive sexual and reproductive care for all. We continue to oppose legislation that interferes in the patient - health care provider relationship. Please see this ACOG Message for a summary of strategies that supports access to and provision of abortion care.
With ongoing COVID-19 surges, the need for vaccine uptake among adolescent and young adults is critical to safety and decreasing transmission. Although there is no preferred vaccine formulation, the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine is the sole formulation that received full FDA approval. Twelve to seventeen-year olds are currently only eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine. The FDA has also recently approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for those 5-11 years of age, and it is anticipated that other countries will approve the same in the coming weeks around the world.
Thank you for a tremendous ACRM 2023!
