Hospitals Didn’t Give Rape Victims Emergency Contraception
When a rape victim goes to the hospital for help, it’s crucial they receive comprehensive care. Part of that care includes receiving emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy resulting from the assault. Over the years, lawmakers across the United States have recognized the urgency in requiring medical facilities to provide EC to victims, with 13 states plus the District of Columbia enshrining that responsibility into law.
Yet multiple hospitals in those states have failed to provide victims with emergency contraception. In February, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services fined 22 hospitals, including SSM Health St. Mary’s in Madison — a repeat offender — for violating its Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act, which mandates all hospitals offer sexual assault victims information about and access to emergency contraception. And in March, the Pennsylvania Bulletin released its annual list of healthcare facilities that cite “religious or moral belief” for failing to follow the state’s administrative code dictating EC distribution to rape victims; 14 hospitals made the list this year.
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