Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., recently met with reproductive-rights advocates to discuss the need to ensure all Nevada women have access to birth control without a prescription.

In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first birth control pill which is set to be made available over-the-counter in early 2024. The price for the drug has yet to be released.

Cortez Masto emphasized the need for her re-introduced Affordability is Access Act, which would ensure women have affordable access to over-the-counter birth control without a prescription.

"This is the legislation I have introduced, is to make sure it is affordable," Cortez Masto stressed. "So to ensure that our insurance companies keep the cost low. Just like on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, we want to ensure that women can access contraception over the counter and it's affordable for them."

Cortez Masto pointed out the biggest barrier for many is cost. She added she is proud Nevada has remained a pro-choice state, and realizes many woman are coming to Nevada in search of reproductive health care services as some conservatives at the state and federal level aim to restrict or outlaw access to contraceptive care.

Lindsey Harmon, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada, said they have seen an increase in the number of people frequenting Planned Parenthood health centers in the Silver State as she observed they are scared or confused about the laws in their respective home states.

Harmon pointed out after the Dobbs decision which ended the constitutional right to abortion, some lawmakers are now targeting contraceptive access, to which she said they are fighting back.

"We are looking to cover a full spectrum of health care," Harmon emphasized. "Because we know that in this country elected officials, particularly those who are anti-women and anti-choice and anti-trans, are coming and targeting every part of a person's reproductive health care."

Advocates said for many across Nevada and the country, contraception is not about family planning but rather a health care issue. In June, Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed Assembly Bill 383, which would have protected the right to contraceptives for all Nevadans.


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Five hundred high school girls from Missouri are the stars of a new documentary.

Girls State is described as a political coming-of-age film. The girls participate in a weeklong, immersive democratic experiment. They build a mock government from scratch and deal with such significant issues as abortion rights and encouraging more women to serve in government.

The film is a companion to Boys State, which won a major film festival prize in 2020. Filmmaker Amanda McBaine, who co-directed both with Jesse Moss, said the comparison between the Girls State and Boys State programs was interesting to observe, as they were held during the same week for the first time.

"The degree of difference was what shocked me and the kids. I think they (the girls) were held back in a lot of ways from forming a government as quickly as the boys were," McBaine observed.

The filmmakers said they chose Missouri because it reflects America's political diversity. Girls State is trending now on the streaming platform Apple TV Plus.

McBaine described the communication among the young women as respectful despite their diverse views, and noted they didn't shy away from big subjects.

"They were empowered to build a Supreme Court, to hear a privacy case that very much mirrored the Dobbs Jackson case," she explained. "They took that moment and ran with it in a way that they recognized in each other, 'Oh, your politics may be different, but I see you in how much we need this empowerment.'"

McBaine added that the Girls State participants highlight the importance of representation in a democracy. According to Pew research, in 2023, only about 30% of state Senate seats were held by women. McBaine calls the documentary "a powerful look at politics through the eyes of young women."

Results of a new study show more American women are falling behind on getting critical breast cancer scans.

Nowhere is this perhaps more important than in Iowa, a state that is among the nation's leaders in lethal breast cancer cases.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. It claims about 40,000 women every year.

Researchers have historically broken down mammography use by state and demographics, but the University of Iowa's Iowa Cancer Registry Research Director - Sarah Nash - said that for the first time, this study took critical social factors into account when studying mammography use.

"And so they looked at several different things," said Nash, "and the strongest predictors among these social drivers of health were life dissatisfaction, feeling socially isolated, experiencing lost or reduced employment, receiving food stamps, lacking reliable transportation, and reporting cost as a barrier to care."

Nash said the results of this study point to the need to address social drivers and not just health care access when figuring out who needs help and how they can get it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only 65% of women ages 50 to 74, with three or more health-related social needs, are up to date with their mammograms.

Despite acknowledging the social determinants that can stand between a woman and her mammogram, Nash and other researchers have said the number one factor is cost.

"So, to address costs, we can think about making sure preventive care remains at no co-pay," said Nash. "We have a program in Iowa called the 'Iowa Care for Yourself' program, which helps provide low- or no-cost screening for Iowans who are under insured."

Scientists estimate early detection and treatment can reduce breast cancer deaths by almost a quarter.




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In the final days of the legislative session, Kentucky Senate lawmakers could consider the "Momnibus" bill, which would increase access to critical prenatal and post-birth care for new moms and babies.

House Bill 10 would extend the state's voluntary home-visitation program for expectant parents to when a child reachs age three, and would include lactation assistance and telehealth.

Bonnie Logsdon, a board-certified lactation consultant and birth doula, said many women have to return to work a few weeks after giving birth and often lack the tools or knowledge to have a positive lactation experience.

"They need access to those quality supplies," she stressed, "and they need someone who can teach them how to use the pump, which is again where that lactation support would come into play."

The Momnibus bill would add pregnancy to the list of qualifying life events, so pregnant people could get health-insurance coverage and begin prenatal care visits.

Kentucky has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The bill would also expand mental-health counseling through the Lifeline for Moms Psychiatry Access Program.

In Letcher County, Courtney Rhoades said she's had a complex pregnancy, and has struggled to cope with stress and maintaining her physical health. She noted it's critical that first-time moms like herself have a place to turn for support, where they don't feel judged.

"Then to be finding out we're having twins," Rhoades said, "I am really excited to know that there's these programs available that otherwise I didn't know about."

Renee Basham, executive director of Hope's Embrace, said communities increasingly are aware of the role doulas can play in pre- and post-natal care. She added many of her clients need assistance.

"A lot of the clients that we work with, some of them have support, a lot of them don't," said Basham. "Doulas are extra important in that role, because if we weren't there, they wouldn't have anybody with them as they gave birth."

House Bill 10 would open the door to more research on the role of doulas in the birth experience, and how their expertise is being used for care and to reduce disparities in the Commonwealth.


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