Sex Stories: Weeks in Review, 10/18-25, 2013
Sexual Health Rankings™ presents Sex Stories, a weekly roundup of sexual health news from around the country.
Teachers’ Unions Fight Bill That Would Bar Sex Offenders From Schools (Fox News)
Major teachers’ unions are attempting to block a bipartisan bill that would prevent sex offenders from working in schools. Supporters want a zero-tolerance policy while the unions are worried the measure will affect workers’ protections.
Stem Cell Transplants May Harm Recipient’s Sex Life (Health)
A new study shows that blood cancer treatments can impact the sex lives of patients even after recovery. Participants reported decreases in the frequency of sex as well as their sexual function, satisfaction, and drive. Overall, women reported significantly worse sexual effects than men.
Firm Loses Appeal in Contraception Provision Fight (The State)
An appeals court did not grant Eden Foods, a well known organic company, an exemption to the requirement that employers provide workers with free contraceptive coverage. Though Eden’s CEO claims such provision is against his beliefs, the court concluded that as a secular, for-profit company, Eden cannot exercise religious protection.
Public Costs from Unintended Pregnancies and the Role of Public Insurance Programs in Paying for Pregnancy and Infant Care: Estimates for 2008 (Guttmacher Institute)
A new study from the Guttmacher Institute argues that better family planning programs can not only help improve the health, social, and economic outcomes for women but also save the US $12.5 billion per year. This number equals the public costs for births resulting from unintended pregnancy and would be double if not for current prevention services.
Ingham County Couples Disappointed by Delay in Same-Sex Marriage Ruling (Lansing State Journal)
A federal jude in Detroit delayed the ruling for a pivotal lawsuit that challenges Michigan’s ban on same sex marriage and adopting a same-sex partner’s child. Rather then rule from the bench, the judge scheduled a trial for February 2014.
Gender-Neutral Housing Sparks Campus Debates (Rolling Stone)
The fight for gender-neutral housing, in which students can choose to live with someone of any gender, continues on at UNC-Chapel Hill since the Board of Governors’ vetoed the option for this year. The conversation about this issue which traditionally was part of the LGBTQ community has broadened to include most co-eds.
HIV Protective Drugs ‘Do Not Increase Sexual Risk-Taking’ (Medical News Today)
Using data from the Partners PrEP study, researchers found that rates of unprotected sex between heterosexual couples with different HIV statuses did not increase even when they knew about the effectiveness pre-exposure prophylaxis at preventing transmission.
Proposed Legislation Should Make Sex Trafficking an Expensive Crime (Macomb Daily)
A package of 19 bills seeks to deal with sex trafficking in Michigan from several fronts. These include but are not limited to: loss of parental rights for parents convicted of trafficking, eliminating the statue of limitations for such offenses, charging adult entertainment operators a fee per customer, and placing customers who purchase sex on the sex offender registry.
UO Designs Sex Ed App (The Register-Guard)
Over 100 people at the University of Oregon have created a smart phone app called SexPositive that teaches users about the risks of sexual activities, how to talk about them, and safer alternatives. The app uses two spinning wheels, one with body parts and the other with objects, to get the job done.