Planned Parenthood of SW Oregon
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News Release
Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon Marks Transgender Awareness Week, Highlights Need for Inclusive, Compassionate Care - 11/16/17

Eugene -- November 14-20 is Transgender Awareness Week, dedicated to educating people about the transgender community and raising awareness of the issues facing transgender and gender nonconforming people. Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon is taking this opportunity to remind everyone of the need for people of all gender identities to have access to inclusive, nonjudgmental, high-quality health care.
 
"Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon is proud to provide quality, compassionate, and non-judgmental health care to transgender men and women in our communities, said Lisa Gardner, President and CEO. "Our services and programs are open to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Our goal, every day, is to make each person who comes through our doors feel welcome, comfortable, and cared for while providing the best possible care."
 
Transgender people face many barriers and challenges when accessing health care. A 2015 national survey of transgender and gender nonconforming people found that:
* 33 percent of respondents reported having at least one negative experience with a health care provider in the past year related to being transgender, including verbal harassment, being refused treatment, or having to teach the health care provider about transgender people to receive appropriate care.
* 23 percent of respondents did not see a doctor when they needed to in the past year because of fear of being mistreated as a transgender person. American Indian (37 percent) and Middle Eastern (34 percent) respondents were more likely to not have gone to a provider due to fear of being mistreated.
* 14 percent of respondents reporting having no health insurance.
* 78 percent of respondents wanted to receive hormone therapy at some point in their life, but only 49 percent have ever received it.
  
"Transgender people, like everyone else, have a fundamental need for quality health care, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The unfortunate reality is that, in addition to the economic and geographic barriers many people face when seeking health care, transgender people face additional, unique challenges when it comes to getting the care they need. This, in part, in why we supported the passage of HB 3391 in Oregon," stated Gardner. "Effective this past August, commercial health plans regulated by the State of Oregon are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of gender identity, as a means to overcoming some of the barriers to accessing health care for transgender and gender-non conforming people in Oregon."


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Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon (PPSO) has been dedicated to providing expert reproductive health care and sexuality education in Southwestern Oregon for over 50 years.  PPSO provides more than 30,000 patient visits each year at six health centers.  PPSO is also the region's most respected provider of medically accurate sexuality education for young people and adults, as well as training programs for professionals who work with youth and families.  Education and training programs make over 8,000 contacts each year, transforming the lives of young people in southwestern Oregon.  PPSO's essential health services include breast and cervical cancer screenings, well-woman annual exams, birth control, STD prevention, testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, HPV vaccinations, and vasectomies. For more information, visit www.ppsworegon.org.
 

View more news releases from Planned Parenthood of SW Oregon.