GirlSpring's Wine Tasting
Fundraiser Held at ArtPlay

Our recent Wine Tasting fund raising event was very successful and a great deal of fun, too. The Gallo Family Vineyard offered many of their finest brands for our tasting, we auctioned an Alys Beach three-day getaway and tasted hors d'oeuvres from Cafe IZ, Continental Catering, Little Savannah and Tom Bagby.

GirlSpring's Fall Gathering
Inspiration Station Held at ArtPlay

Youthful Accomplishments
and Casual Conversation

Our fall Gathering was both inspirational and a lot of fun! Girls (and mothers) from around the city came together to hear the stories of three amazing young women and to participate in the joy of dance presented by girls from The Red Mountain Theater Company.

FDA approves Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive without a prescription for women 15 years of age and older

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved an amended application submitted by Teva Women’s Health, Inc. to market Plan B One-Step (active ingredient levonorgestrel) for use without a prescription by women 15 years of age and older. 

After the FDA did not approve Teva’s application to make Plan B One-Step available over-the-counter for all females of reproductive age in December 2011, the company submitted an amended application to make the product available for women 15 years of age and older without a prescription.

The product will now be labeled “not for sale to those under 15 years of age *proof of age required* not for sale where age cannot be verified.” Plan B One-Step will be packaged with a product code prompting a cashier to request and verify the customer’s age. A customer who cannot provide age verification will not be able to purchase the product. In addition, Teva has arranged to have a security tag placed on all product cartons to prevent theft.

In addition, Teva will make the product available in retail outlets with an onsite pharmacy, where it generally, will be available in the family planning or female health aisles. The product will be available for sale during the retailer’s normal operating hours whether the pharmacy is open or not.

Plan B One-Step is an emergency contraceptive intended to reduce the possibility of pregnancy following unprotected sexual intercourse – if another form of birth control (e.g., condom) was not used or failed. Plan B One-Step is a single-dose pill (1.5 mg tablet) that is most effective in decreasing the possibility of unwanted pregnancy if taken immediately or within 3 days after unprotected sexual intercourse.

Plan B One-Step will not stop a pregnancy when a woman is already pregnant, and there is no medical evidence that the product will harm a developing fetus.

“Research has shown that access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The data reviewed by the agency demonstrated that women 15 years of age and older were able to understand how Plan B One-Step works, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease.”

The approval of Plan B One-Step for use without a prescription by women 15 years of age and older is based on an actual use study and label comprehension data submitted by Teva showing that women age 15 and older understood that the product was not for routine use and would not protect them against sexually-transmitted diseases. These data also established that Plan B One-Step could be used properly within this age group without the intervention of a health care provider.

Because the product will not protect a woman from HIV or AIDS or other sexually-transmitted diseases, it is important that young women who are sexually active remember to see a health care provider for routine checkups. The health care provider should counsel the patient about, and if necessary test her for, sexually-transmitted diseases, discuss effective methods of routine birth control, and answer any other questions the patient may have.

Teva has indicated that it plans to educate consumers, pharmacy staff, and health care professionals about the product’s new status. It has also indicated its willingness to conduct an audit of the age verification practices after the product is approved to ensure that the age limitation is being followed.  

On April 5, 2013, a federal judge in New York ordered the FDA to grant a 2001 citizen’s petition to the agency that sought to allow over-the-counter access to Plan B (a two dose levonorgestrel product) for women of all ages and/or make Plan B One-Step available without age or point of sale restrictions. However, Teva’s application to market Plan B One-Step for women 15 and older was pending with the agency prior to the ruling.

Over 33% of girls in the U.S. will become pregnant before they are 20 years old. Many drop out of school to care for their children. Girls who drop out before high school graduation face a life of peril. They face fewer job opportunities and lower wages. A higher percentage will become addicted to drugs or alcohol and many will end up pregnant, diseased or imprisoned.

It’s not a very pretty picture, but we can do something to change the drop out rate... educate and inform girls and young women of the consequences and alternatives. We don’t need to preach, we just need to give them a place to easily and safely find the kind of information they need to make good decisions. If we only change the life of one single girl today, we’ve changed lives for generations to come.

Please join us in our fight to change the lives of girls in peril by contributing to GirlSpring.

Comprehensive Sex Education and Adolescent Pregnancy Rates

There is something lacking in Alabama as well as many other states, that is very important to girls, and that is comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education.  

Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing has multiple adverse health, educational and economic consequences for the parent and child.  Through the reduction of  teen pregnancies by education and awareness, we are not only looking out for the physical health, but also the mental and reproductive health of children. More than half of the Americans living beneath the poverty line are single mothers with kids under 6 years old. 

Girls deserve to have access to factual information about sex education so that they can make good decisions and form healthy relationships.

Through sexuality education, women can bring positive change by supporting legislation, promoting education, preventing poverty and domestic violence.  We need to teach our girls to protect themselves, to choose what they want for themselves, and to understand safe sex.

Unwanted pregnancies cause hardships no girl deserves.  It is our responsibility as a society of women to inform and guide girls in a good direction, so that no girl, at the age of 12 or 13 is pregnant, endangering her health, degrading her educational opportunities and heading in the direction of a poverty stricken life. 

Sexuality Education was conducted in California and Texas and the results showed that abstinence only does not work.

The Results

California uses comprehensive approach. Texas uses abstinence approach

California - 46% decrease in unwanted pregnancies

Texas - 19% decrease in unwanted pregnancies

Let’s center girls on health and wellness, leadership, community and world- wide activism, school, sports and self-reliance. 

GirlSpring was formed with one goal in mind; to empower girls, so theycan change the world.

In order to empower girls a number of key factors come to mind. We want to: Galvanize women to realize that:       • Women need to support women • Women are powerful as individuals, but more powerful as a group • Women have a common cause • Women of purpose need to gather together • Women need to share knowledge

Raise consciousness:

Reach out to girls to empower  and inspire  them to identify their passions and act on their passions. Encourage girls and young women to get involved, and bring about sustainable, social change.
 
Bring the words “equality” and “social justice” for women to the ears of young girls .

Promote and encourage philanthropy  -  women giving to women.

Educate girls and young women on understanding what their ancestors did to enhance their liberation, thus their lives.

Network girls and women so that we know and understand what they think is important to bring to the table.

Investing in a girl builds better societies, better communities, better relationships, better family lives, better political systems, better businesses and a better world.

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE BEAUTY OF THEIR DREAMS. 
Eleanor Roosevelt