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Democrats at the federal and state levels are pushing to pass bills protecting sensitive reproductive health data before Republicans take control of key legislative chambers. (Panetta, 12/10)

Most women in the United States haven’t received birth control prescriptions or other family planning services in recent years, a new report suggests, even as abortion restrictions have grown. Family planning – including birth control, emergency contraception, sterilization and counseling for these services – is an important part of health care, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (McPhillips, 12/11)

A federal appeals court scrutinized the impact of Idaho’s strict abortion ban on emergency medical care on Tuesday, weighing whether the ban criminalizing abortions should be enforceable in life- and health-threatening situations. John Bursch, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom representing Idaho, asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel of 11 judges to urgently lift the injunction preventing the state from enforcing its abortion ban in emergency room settings, saying it “harms Idaho sovereignty, harms women, (and) harms unborn children.” (Boone and Ding, 12/11)

Women should have the option of taking their own test samples for cervical cancer screening, an influential health panel said Tuesday. Draft recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are aimed at getting more people screened and spreading the word that women can take their own vaginal samples to check for cancer-causing HPV. Women in their 20s should still get a Pap test every three years. But after that — from age 30 to 65 — women can get an HPV test every five years, the panel said. (Johnson, 12/10)

Testing for high-risk human papillomaviruses every five years – even with a self-collected sample – is the “preferred screening strategy” for cervical cancer starting at age 30, according to a new draft recommendation from the US Preventive Services Task Force. (Howard, 12/10)