International Women’s Day
© Julie Fisher/CorbisThis year International Women's Day coincides with the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic pledge to make the recognition and fulfillment of women's rights a global priority. The declaration makes clear that reproductive health is critical to the well-being of women and men, asserts all people's right to have access to family planning information and services, and underscores the importance of maternal and newborn health care...more
Spain expands legal access to abortion
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Fernando Alonso HerreroOn February 24, the Spanish senate approved a new law on sexual and reproductive health, which relaxes restrictions on women's access to abortion. The law allows abortion under any circumstances up to 14 weeks' gestation and declares the procedure a woman's right. It also permits abortion at up to 22 weeks if two doctors certify that the pregnancy poses a serious threat to the woman's life or health, as well as in cases of fetal impairment, and beyond 22 weeks in cases of severe fetal impairment. This legislative change echoes a global trend toward liberalizing abortion laws...more
Guttmacher becomes WHO Collaborating Center for Reproductive Health
The Guttmacher Institute has been designated an official Collaborating Center for Reproductive Health by The World Health Organization (WHO) and its regional office, the Pan American Health Organization. Guttmacher now joins an elite network of over 800 health-focused institutions in more than 80 countries that inform WHO’s work and help set its global health priorities. “We are honored to be designated an official collaborator by the world’s leading organization on global health matters,” said Sharon L. Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute. more
Review of new study on a theory-based abstinence program
An abstinence-only intervention aimed at young, urban African-American adolescents successfully delayed sexual initiation among participants, according to a well-designed new study by John B. Jemmott and colleagues. The evaluation adds important new information to the question of “what works” in sex education, but the evaluated program was not a rigid “abstinence-only-until-marriage” program of the type that, until this year, received significant federal funding…more
Teen pregnancy increases after decade-long decline
©iStockphoto/aldomurilloFollowing a steep decline in the 1990s and a flattening out in the early 2000s, teen pregnancy rates increased in 2006—reflected in both increased birth and abortion rates. The significant drop in teen pregnancy rates in the 1990s was overwhelmingly due to more and better contraceptive use by sexually active teens. However, this downward trend flattened out and then reversed itself at the same time that programs aimed exclusively at promoting abstinence—which are prohibited from discussing the benefits of contraception—became increasingly widespread, and teens’ use of contraceptives declined…more
Recession puts strain on family planning centers
ERproductions Ltd/Blend Images/CorbisPublicly funded family planning providers are struggling to meet a growing need for subsidized contraceptive care, which is being driven by more women wanting to postpone childbearing during tough economic times. Family planning centers have seen an increase in the overall number of clients seeking services, especially poor and low-income clients. This surge in demand is straining already limited resources, forcing many centers to cut back on services due to budgetary constraints...more
New study finds 70% reduction in maternal deaths and nearly 50% decline in newborn deaths are within reach
© Victor MelloMaternal deaths in developing countries could be slashed by 70% and newborn deaths cut nearly in half if the world doubled investment in family planning and pregnancy-related care, shows a new report by the Guttmacher Institute and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. The new report, Adding It Up: The Costs and Benefits of Investing in Family Planning and Maternal and Newborn Health, found that investments in family planning boost the overall effectiveness of every dollar spent on the provision of pregnancy-related and newborn health care. more
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