Attendees will receive a resource toolkit that includes pamphlets, scripts for public service announcements, posters and fact sheets about the medication, which is not synonymous with RU-486, the so-called “abortion pill.”
TULSA, Okla. – One organization is bringing its campaign to improve women’s reproductive health in Indian Country back to Oklahoma.
The Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center, based out of Lake Andes, S.D., is hosting two free workshops in Oklahoma on emergency contraception and its availability through Indian Health Services.
The first session is scheduled for May 14 at the Lawton Indian Hospital, located at 1515 N. Lawrie Tatum Road. The second is scheduled for May 16 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa, Okla., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Open to the public, attendees are asked to reserve a seat by contacting Maya Torrelba at
“When we were in Oklahoma last time, it was astounding that there was so many myths around what emergency contraception is all about and a lot of them had gotten that impression from the opposition – right wing, religious right and even the media,” NAWHERC director Charon Asetoyer said. “What we realized is that we have to go in and de-mystify these myths about what emergency contraception is.”
The workshops will focus on providing information about emergency contraception, what it does and does not do and what the restrictions are in place concerning its use. Attendees will receive a resource toolkit that includes pamphlets, scripts for public service announcements, posters and fact sheets about the medication, which is not synonymous with RU-486, the so-called “abortion pill.”
“One of the things we have to remember is that emergency contraception can reduce the number of abortions that occur,” Asetoyer said. “If you’ve been sexually assaulted, an abortion is a potential residual effect of that and we want to minimize that trauma.
“If it’s just a matter of taking emergency contraception, it can reduce the amount of trauma and won’t force a victim to deal with that potential consequence. In Indian Country, one in three Native women will be raped – we want to do everything possible to ensure she’s not facing additional trauma.”
A 2012 NAWHERC survey of 63 IHS pharmacies in the Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Aberdeen, S.D., and Bemidiji, Minn., service areas showed that almost half carried some form of emergency contraception – either Plan B or its generic counterpart -- but did not have it available over the counter, despite the Food and Drug Administration eliminating the prescription requirement in 2006 for women older than 18. Earlier this year, the prescription requirement was eliminated for women age 15 and older.
Among the pharmacies surveyed, only four had a version of the emergency contraception available as a true over the counter medication, not requiring a doctor’s appointment or prescription. Forty-three percent did not carry any form of emergency contraception, despite the fact that one out of every three Native American women will be raped in her lifetime.
The survey, coupled with an open records request from the Native American Community Board and the American Civil Liberties Union for IHS’ written policies, procedures, directives and requirements for emergency contraception dispensation, prompted Indian Health Services to make the medication more readily available over the counter this year, but a written policy is still not in place.
“Most of the IHS pharmacies are now providing emergency contraception over the counter,” Asetoyer said. “Not all, but most.
“IHS does not have total control over the tribally-run facilities, which is even more of a reason for us to go in and do this education, share this info so people will advocate for it within their tribally-run facilities.”
Similar workshops are scheduled for July 17 in Albuquerque and July 19 in Espanola Valley, N.M. Planning efforts are tentatively underway to offer the workshop in additional states in the future.
