NY Times blog rounds up reporting on a decline in the teen pregnancy rate and observations that the rate, by state, tends to track sex education and family planning practices.

For example, states that report the highest use of birth control pills and other contraception devices tended to have lower rates of births to teens. Conversely:

Of the five states with the highest rates of pregnancy among teenagers, three (Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi) restrict the ability of a minor to access contraceptive health care, and four (those three, plus Arkansas) stress abstinence in their sexual education programs. Conclusive? Far from it. But these numbers should give policy-makers in states with high teenage pregnancy rates something more to think about.

The rising Republican caucus at the state legislature is agitating for still more bars to distribution of birth control pills and other contraception, as with an attorney general opinion request targeting federal rules to provide contraception.

The teen birth rate in the U.S. continued to drop in 2010 to a historic low, the Centers for Disease Control has reported.

In Arkansas, the birth rate among teens declined from 60.1 in 2007 to 52.5 per thousand in 2010, but that still ranked the state third highest, behind Mississippi and New Mexico.

KTHV is reporting that the Jane Botsford Johnson Foundation, based in New York City, has donated $1.2 million to Arkansas Children's Hospital for autism research.

The research, to be directed by S. Jill James, director of the autism metabolic genomics laboratory at the hospital's Research Institute (ACHRI), will investigate biochemical abnormalities in autistic children.

Full story here.

St. Vincent Health System does not include birth control options for women employees in its insurance plans because Catholic doctrine stands opposed to contraception, its CEO Peter Banko told the Times recently. Nevertheless, doctors at the St. Vincent Family Clinic at 4202 University Ave., which offers pap smears and "women's health" care, do prescribe contraceptives to their female patients, a call to the clinic confirmed Tuesday. The associated Family Health Pharmacy also stocks contraceptives. The clinic and pharmacies are a business; they could hardly do otherwise.

Spokesman Margaret Preston Dedman, asked about the inconsistency, said today that St. Vincent "will no longer comment on this issue."

Dedman was responding to the Times' question about whether clinics operated by St. Vincent prescribe contraceptives and also whether the hospital's insurance policies had ever covered erectile dysfunction medication for employees. She previously told the Times that policies do not now cover ED meds.

We asked because a caller tells us that the hospital did at one time cover drugs like Viagra and Cialis.

It was coverage of ED that prompted women lawmakers, Republican and Democratic alike, in 2005 to successfully introduce state legislation that became the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act. State Sen. Joyce Elliott said it was a matter of "parity."

The act exempts religious institutions whose primary purposes is "the inculcation of religious values," and "employs primarily persons who share its religious beliefs." Banko said employees at St. Vincent "regularly have to attest that they are in compliance" with the ethical standard for Catholic institutions. Our caller, however, claimed not to have been asked by the hospital to pledge compliance on a regular basis.

State Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford told the Times it's clear to him the hospital meets the first test.

Let's have a roll call on this one. Sen. Marco Rubio has responded to the Obama administration's effort to prevent birth control discrimination by introducing legislation, with 26 Republican co-sponsors, that would allow any employer to deny contraception coverage under a group health insurance policy. Any employer, church affiliation or not.

Working women of America — and those covered by spouses' insurance — would find their reproductive freedom and, for those who use pills for medical reasons, their health subject to the whims of an employer.

Polls already show 58 percent favor President Obama's policy to prohibit birth control discrimination by some church-related organizations in health plans (though not churches). I'd think the numbers would rise on this more sweeping usurpation of women's medical autonomy.

Of course Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas wants to play Dr. No to womens' reproductive rights. He's a co-sponsor.

Meanwhile, add Sen. John Kerry to the wobbly Democrats.

Sherrye McBryde, executive director of the Arkansas affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure, has issued the following statement from the board of the organization on the growing controversy over the national organization's decision to stop making grants to Planned Parenthood organizations for breast screening.

The Arkansas Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is about breast health. After Susan G. Komen National decided, without input from affiliates, to stop grant funding for any organization that is under governmental investigation, including Planned Parenthood, we feel caught in a political storm about something else entirely.

As we understand this, there is an investigation of Planned Parenthood by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the United States Congress. We hope Komen national will reverse its position on granting to organizations under investigation because we feel decisions of this nature should be made only after the investigation is complete.

In the past, our organization has been in the hot seat because a few other affiliates around the country do provide grant funds to Planned Parenthood specifically for breast health. We could understand their need to fund these grants to serve women and we knew no Komen funds were going to anything but breast health. We knew because we require strict accounting and reporting for our grants. The Arkansas Affiliate has never granted money to Planned
Parenthood, neither have we been asked. Money from Arkansas sent to Komen National goes directly into a research grant to find a cure for breast cancer.

This community has supported the Arkansas Affiliate for eighteen years. In that time, we have given a total of $12 million dollars to serve those in need of breast health funds in Arkansas. Our board will vote on February 16th to approve a slate of grants totaling another $1.3 million that will provide funds for screening, education and treatment to 23 organizations around the state.

Please do not judge, from either side of this issue, without looking at the total of our good works. We have no desire to be part of something unrelated to our cause. We will continue to focus on our mission, which is to provide breast health to the women of Arkansas.

UPDATE: Talking Points Memo writes about the Republican fingerprints on Planned Parenthood's troubles at Komen.

Remember when Republicans said President Obama's health care reform legislation would harm Medicare insurance choice?

Didn't happen.

Participation is up in Medicare Advantage, its costs have dropped and so have its premiums.

The hook is a new study — small and not yet viewed as definitive, but nonetheless drawing wide attention for challenging conventional thinking on weight loss, willpower and obesity.

For years, the advice to the overweight and obese has been that we simply need to eat less and exercise more. While there is truth to this guidance, it fails to take into account that the human body continues to fight against weight loss long after dieting has stopped. This translates into a sobering reality: once we become fat, most of us, despite our best efforts, will probably stay fat.

The article is about growing evidence of "biological determinism." But don't let it upset your good intentions. There's plenty of research, too, that says eating healthily and getting lots of exercise prolongs life even for people unable to avoid being fat.

• Brian Chilson

The usual cast of tens of thousands massed on Broadway this morning (above) for the start of the Race for Cure to raise money and support for breast cancer causes. Many came as part of teams (below).

• Brian Chilson

• NO SMOKING: If you want to work here.

Channel 7 reports that the White County Medical Center in Searcy has announced a new policy not to hire smokers. Existing employees who smoke — about 200 — will be grandfathered.

Random nicotine screens will be used to sniff out smokers (and those using gum and patches to quit.)

Well.

With smoking banned on all state college property in Arkansas, University of Arkansas smokers apparently are crossing the street to off-campus smoke holes — like the Leverett Elementary School.

UPDATE: DHS has removed the question from the site. Above is a screen grab from yesterday.

A reader points out some racially charged wording on the Arkansas Heart Gallery website, where the Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Children and Family Services houses info about adoption. In the FAQ section, under the question "WHAT ABOUT ADOPTING AN INFANT?" is this passage:

Over the past few decades, the number of healthy, Caucasian infants, who are relinquished to DHS/DCFS for adoption has decreased sharply. DHS/DCFS is not taking applications for normal, healthy newborns. DHS/DCFS continues to accept applications to adopt a healthy, African American child from birth to two years.