DOJ Omits EC From Sexual Assault Treatment Guidelines
The Department of Justice in its first-ever medical guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault survivors has omitted provisions for issuing emergency contraception, which is the "standard precaution against pregnancy after rape," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The 141-page protocol, published in September, includes a section on pregnancy "risk evaluation and care" that instructs health care personnel to consider "seriously" a survivor's fear of pregnancy, administer a pregnancy test and "discuss treatment options, including reproductive health services," according to the Inquirer. Five states -- California, Illinois, New Mexico, New York and Washington -- have laws that require hospitals to provide EC or information on how to find it to sexual assault survivors. Gail Burns-Smith, retired director of Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services who reviewed the protocol during its three-year development, noted that EC was included in an early draft of the guidelines. However, she added that "in the climate in which we are currently operating, politically, it's a hot potato." Petition The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is collecting signatures to assemble a petition that urges DOJ to correct the "glaring omission" of an EC protocol in an "otherwise thorough" document, the Inquirer reports. According to advocates, EC reduces the risk of pregnancy by 75% to 90% if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. The petition says, "This narrow window of effectiveness makes the timely access to emergency contraception critical." DOJ Response DOJ spokesperson Eric Holland wrote in an e-mail, "The goals of the protocol are to ensure that all victims, regardless of differences in background or location of service, receive the same high-quality medical and forensic exam, while being treated with respect and compassion and to improve prosecution of sexual assault cases through the appropriate collection of evidence." Reaction Medical professionals and survivor advocates are "frustrated and angered" by the omission, according to the Inquirer. "It is very unfortunate to set forth a model national standard that is not giving women the best care available," Lynn Schollet, an attorney with the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said. But opponents of EC believe it should not be included in national guidelines. Dr. George Isajiw, a board member of the antiabortion group Physicians for Life, said that by administering EC, "you're giving a dangerous drug that's not doing any good, or else you're causing an abortion," adding, "As a moral principle, a woman has the right to defend herself against an aggressor. But she doesn't have the right to kill the baby" (McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/31/04).
The following information is from The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report (published for www.kaisernetwork.org.)
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