Any guesses? December 1 is a day for the world to stand united in the fight against HIV and show their support for those living with HIV and remember those who have lost their life to HIV and AIDS. An estimated 33.3 million people globally are living with HIV. We’ve come a long way from the first World AIDS Day in 1988, but from the official website, we’ve still got a long way to go:

Today, many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. But despite this, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others from HIV, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with HIV. World AIDS Day is important as it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

 

 With the release of the new iPhone 4S, the voice software Siri has been heralded as one of the greatest inventions at America’s fingertips. At the push of a button and a spoken request, Siri can find nearby Chinese food restaurants, narrow down the ones that deliver, and even call them for you. However, folks are outraged by the recent discovery that Siri returns no results for birth control or abortion locations.

I can see both sides of this argument and I don’t think there will be any clear winners. Whether or not Apple takes action to correct this issue, the decision will anger a lot of people. Those who don’t want this resolved can change the parental controls to limit what children search for with Siri, so that point isn’t arguable. But, for those who don’t accept abortion or contraception view changing Siri as insensitive. However, if Siri can search for local pharmacies for Viagra, then why can’t it search for everything, including birth control, as protesters for change argue.

In a recent press release (news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-to-Fix-Siri-s-Search-Results-Omission-for-Birth-Control-237719.shtml), Apple claims it will fix this issue and remove the block from Siri. What will be the outcome of that? How far will this issue go?

 It’s official: Intra-uterine devices (IUDs) have been approved for young adult use. So why do people keep saying that only women who have been pregnant can use them? For quite a while, physicians would only insert IUDs on women who had been pregnant at least once because of the shape of the uterus, and the idea that older women were at a lower risk of STIs. IUDs were also put on the backburner and got a bad rap after the failure of the Dalkon shield in the 1970’s.

However, the popularity of IUDs ParaGard and Mirena are gaining popularity and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have OK’d these long-acting contraceptive methods. So why are some physicians still refusing to insert them on teen patients, citing that they aren’t safe? Are they ignoring the new research?

Get more information here:
kidshealth.org/parent/growth/sexual_health/iud.html#a_Who_Uses_an_IUD_

And here:
yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/womenshealth/story/2011/06/IUDs-officially-recommended-for-healthy-women-teens/48687984/1

The last day of the Urban Retreat was a scheduled lobby day. Over 80 meetings were scheduled for all of the youth activists to meet with their representatives of Congress. I didn’t even know what lobbying really meant and I definitely wasn’t ready to do it on my own!

The first thing to do when you lobby is identify what it is you’re passionate about and decide a relevant time to discuss it. Talking to our Congressmen when we did was important at that time as reproductive health funding was threatened to be cut. Know your senator’s or representative’s stance on the issue and find out their voting history. This will help you to know if you’ve got an ally or a stumbling block in Congress. Finally, speak with people who have lobbied before who can give you tips. A wise activist told me “They can’t argue with your opinion. The story you believe is always right.” That guided me through each congressional meeting. We went there to press our Congressmen to support reproductive health, not take it away, and each advocate had a story to tell and a passion for their work.

Contact your congressional representatives about scheduling a meeting. Do research on the topics you present, and leave your senator or representative with some information with points you spoke about. Make your voice heard – they are the ones who work for us.

I must admit that I was less-than-enthused about going to the Urban Retreat with 100 other youth activists. BUT coming out the weekend I felt energized and renewed about the work I was doing and am so glad I was able to gain experience from a diverse group of advocates.

The weekend was full of trainings to make ourselves better advocates for youth reproductive health and times for mingling and hearing the stories from other advocates across the country. It was so amazing to be surrounded by so many people who are passionate about the same thing and are a united force that won’t give up. I realized that though we may feel weak and small in the grand scheme of things, we as young people are a force to be reckoned with. I had an awesome time and am more prepared and pumped than ever about the work I love!

For more info on the UR:
www.advocatesforyouth.org/blogs-main/advocates-blog/1861-another-amazing-urban-retreat

In past sexual health courses, I’ve learned about the wide array of contraceptive methods. There are methods like condoms and birth control pills and then there are the methods usually described as out of date or for older women. For this reason, I was shocked to hear recently about the push for long-acting reversible contraceptives, namely Implanon.
     
So, what is Implanon exactly? It’s an implant inserted into the arm that releases hormones to prevent pregnancy for up to 3 years. 3 years?! No pills or shots!

Check out Planned Parenthood’s information about Implanon and other long-acting contraceptives!

www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-implant-implanon-4243.htm

FINALLY! Evidence-based, comprehensive sex education may be on its way to South Carolina public schools. According to Bluffton Today, the School Board approved a program for Beaufort County high schoolers called Safer Choices. I’m so glad to see South Carolina moving forward and affording our youth a better education in sexuality. Check out the post from Bluffton Today and get more information on Safer Choices below.

http://www.blufftontoday.com/blog-post/sarawright/2011-07-19/school-board-approves-comprehensive-sex-ed-program-high-schools

http://www.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.ebpDetail&PageID=131

If you had to guess (and judging from your own experiences), how many dads talk about periods? Who even wants to think about dads talking about periods?! I watched this hilarious skit by The Frantics and it really made light of what is usually an awkward situation. Periods affect everyone in some way or another, why is talking about it so taboo?!

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/ed64755ab1/her-first-period

Since my previous blog about funding cuts for Planned Parenthood, not a lot of development has occurred…other than to continue to cut funds and legislate against the organization. However, in a recent report released by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Institute of Medicine charts several essential services for women. Where would a women get such services that are a vital part of being well? Well, if you’ve got insurance and/or you can easily cover the out-of-pocket fees, head to your local gynecologist or general practitioner. But I think we all know by now the state of insurance and how many people are largely under-covered. So that leaves local health departments and clinics…like Planned Parenthood. The organization provides so many services to women who need them the most and charges them what they can pay. It still blows my mind that politicians want to cut funding simply because these same clinics may or may not provide abortion services. There are so many questions left unanswered and so many scenarios that I feel politicians should run through before making such a big decision. The wives and daughters of male politicians and female politicians themselves need these services for good health…they just have the resources to get them where they wish. But what about the underserved who need all the help they can get?

http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Clinical-Preventive-Services-for-Women-Closing-the-Gaps/Recommendations.aspx

I was blown away by a new campaign to raise money and awareness for cervical cancer. Julyna is a month-long campaign that seeks to increase awareness of cervical cancer while promoting healthy lifestyle choices that prevent the transmission of HPV. I think you’ll be surprised to find out Julyna’s awareness-raising tactics...check out this article from the Huffington Post to get the details.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/01/julyna-canadian-cervical-_n_888554.html