Letter to Senator Reid Conveying the American Civil Liberties Union's Strong Support for the Prevention First Act

The Honorable Harry Reid
United States Senate
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Dear Senator Reid:

We write to convey the American Civil Liberties Union's strong support for the Prevention First Act and to commend you for your leadership in making this bill one of the Senate Democrats' top priorities for this Congress. This comprehensive bill will give women the tools they need to exercise their full right to reproductive freedom by helping them to prevent unintended pregnancies.

The Prevention First Act is a proactive initiative that moves us toward common goals: preventing unintended pregnancies, preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and reducing the number of abortions. The Act recognizes that family planning services are central to women's health and reproductive freedom, and calls for an increase in the funding of the national family planning program, Title X, to $643 million. More specifically, the Act addresses these other important goals:

• It fights insurance discrimination against woman by requiring private health care plans to provide the same level of coverage for prescription contraception that they do for other prescription drugs and services;
• It promotes reproductive freedom by improving awareness, understanding, and availability of emergency contraception through funding of public education initiatives;
• It provides compassionate assistance for sexual assault survivors by requiring that hospitals receiving federal funding inform women about, and provide access to, emergency contraception;
• It highlights the need for comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education for teens; and
• It addresses access to reproductive health services for low-income women by allowing states to expand Medicaid family planning services without having to apply for a waiver from the Federal Government.

As you stated when introducing the Act, ""It is time to put prevention first."" The ACLU applauds your efforts to address the basic health care needs of all women -- including low-income women, teens, and sexual assault survivors -- and to protect their reproductive rights.

Sincerely,

Laura W. Murphy
Director

Gregory T. Nojeim
Associate Director and Chief Legislative Counsel