Women’s Health Legislation introduced in Michigan Senate

LANSING – Senator Rebekah Warren (D – Ann Arbor) today announced the pending introduction of legislation in the Senate to improve women’s access to healthcare in the state of Michigan. Senator Warren and Representatives Gretchen Driskell, Jeff Irwin, David Rutledge and Adam Zemke held a press conference this morning announcing the House and Senate packages of legislation to enact new women’s health requirements. The packages will be introduced on the Senate and House floors this week.

“By and large, women are still the primary caregivers of our children and our aging population, the chief consumers in our economy and the gatekeepers of our families’ health, so when we limit their ability to make responsible, informed choices about their own well-being, we hurt those that depend on them as well.” said Senator Warren. “I challenge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to act surely and swiftly to put women and their families before the political maneuvering that has become all too commonplace in Lansing for the last three years, and enact these common-sense measures.”

The package of legislation includes three resolutions which would declare this week, May 12-18, to be “National Women’s Health Week” in Michigan; urge the DCH to address inequities in the prevention, treatment and research of diseases that threaten women; and ask the state to take action to reduce teen pregnancies. The package also includes three bills, to ensure that women receiving care following a rape would be offered emergency contraception; direct the Michigan Department of Community Health to inform women about emergency contraception, including a description of it, how it works, its safety and its availability; and make sure young people receive age-appropriate, objective and accurate sexuality education.