Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act Filed in the Missouri State Senate
(St. Louis, MO) ¡V Leaders of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri announced that Senator Maida Coleman (D) of the 5th District in conjunction with Senators Joan Bray (D), Rita Days (D), Chuck Graham (D), Charles Wheeler (D) and Yvonne Wilson (D) filed the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act (SB 379) in the Missouri State Senate today.
Each year 25,000 women in the United States become pregnant as a result of rape. An estimated 22,000 of these pregnancies¡Xor 88%--could be prevented if sexual assault victims had timely access to emergency contraception. Emergency contraception is a safe, responsible, and effective back-up method of birth control that prevents pregnancy after sexual intercourse. Emergency contraception does not cause abortion and does not work if a woman is already pregnant.
While emergency contraception is theoretically available to women in the United States, a nationwide study found that fewer than half of all sexual assault victims eligible for emergency contraception actually received treatment during a visit to the emergency room. Data gathered for The Access Project Report conducted by NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Foundation found that 39% of Missouri hospitals do not provide emergency contraception for rape victims entering the emergency room. Recent polling data suggests that Missourians strongly support making emergency contraception available to rape and incest victims in emergency rooms. Carolyn Sullivan, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, said that, ¡§Hospitals can help alleviate some of the trauma associated with sexual assault by providing a rape victim with immediate access to emergency contraception if she so chooses as part of compassionate emergency care.¡¨
To this end, the CARE Act has been filed as a way of improving the medical treatment rape victims receive in Missouri. The CARE Act will require that hospitals and health care facilities do the following:
„X Provide each sexual assault victim with medically and factually accurate information about emergency contraception;
„X Orally inform each victim that emergency contraception may be provided at the hospital; and
„X Provide the complete regimen of emergency contraception immediately to the victim who requests it.
Carolyn Sullivan went on to add that, ¡§Ensuring that sexual assault victims receive emergency contraception services as part of standard hospital emergency room treatment is critical.¡¨
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