Health and Education, Policy Updates
Spring into Action: WREN Policy Updates
by WREN Staff on Mar 3, 2017
In a recent poll conducted by Winthrop University, eighty-one percent of respondents favored requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees, and nearly 70% favored requiring schools to base their reproductive health curriculum solely on evidence-based research.
The people of South Carolina have spoken. Now let’s make it happen.
Stand with WREN in advocating for legislation that supports the well-being of pregnant employees and the health and education of our young people. Here’s where three of our priority pieces of legislation currently stand:
- The 12-Month Supply of Contraception bill, H.3809, was introduced last week in the House and has already been assigned to a subcommittee agenda for Wednesday, March 8, 9am in room 110 of the Blatt building. This bill would require insurance plans to cover a year’s supply of prescribed, self-administered contraceptives.
- The Pregnancy Accommodations Act, H.3865, was introduced this week in the House and would require workplaces to make reasonable accommodations for employees who are pregnant, as long as they do not place an undue hardship on the business. Have you ever been in a job where you did not receive a reasonable pregnancy accommodation? Click here and scroll below to share your story. If you’d like to learn more, click here to watch the WREN webinar on pregnancy accommodations.
- The Healthy Youth Act, S.461, was introduced in the Senate last week after being introduced in the House a week prior (H.3663). Both the House and the Senate version of this bill would require health education programs to be evidence-based, while holding school districts accountable for complying with any updated curriculum. Click here to sign a petition in support of evidence-based health education.
The time for action is now. Thank you for standing with us in supporting a healthier, economically stable South Carolina. {read more}