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Ohio Prevention First Act and CARE Act
Posted 7/2/2010 8:42am
The Ohio Prevention First Act (OPFA) was recently re-introduced into the Ohio state legislature. OPFA contains provisions for the prevention of unplanned pregnancies, including requirements that hospitals offer Emergency Contraception to victims of sexual assault. With Ohio currently ranked 48th among the states in access to contraceptives, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center supports Ohio Prevention First Act as a vital step in dealing with this important public health issue.
OPFA includes provisions that:
- Ensure that victims of sexual assault have access to Emergency Contraception(EC) and CDC-recommended treatment for sexually transmitted infections in all hospital emergency departments (also introduced as H.B. 333 – Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies)
- Require sex education classes to provide students with medically accurate, factual information
- Require all pharmacies to dispense prescribed contraceptives in a timely manner
- Require the Department of Health to create materials to educate medical professionals and the general public about emergency contraception and to make them available on their website
- Mandate insurance companies that cover prescription drugs to cover contraceptives
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center strongly supports all aspects of this legislation, but is particularly pleased about the provision that will protect the rights of sexual assault survivors by ensuring that all emergency departments dispense EC, HB 333. Though sexual assault survivors experience a host of concerns after being assaulted, fear of pregnancy is one of the concerns most often cited by our clients. Sexual assault survivors, on top of being assaulted, should not also have to worry about access to EC. This legislation is critical to ensuring that rape survivors from all areas of Ohio have guaranteed access.
