By, Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services, and Rachel Harlich, Library and Research Intern
International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2009, 35(1):6–14
Opponents of family planning programs make several erroneous claims as to why our governments should not fund them. The author addresses these and provides statistics and realities that support fully funding family planning programs.
- Contraception is needed. In low and middle income countries, 1.37 million women who do not want to get pregnant are not practicing contraception.
- Family planning is cost-effective. The 76 million unintended pregnancies in these countries result in the deaths of 142,000 women and 1.4 million infants. Family planning programs cost an estimate of only $100 per life saved.
- Modern family planning programs are voluntary, not coercive, and allow women and their families to make their own decisions about how many children they wish to have.
Unintended pregnancy and childbearing costs tens of thousands of young women their lives every year and is the number one cause of death for young women ages 15-19 in low- and middle-income countries. Take Action: Urge Congress to fully fund international family planning!
Read the abstract: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3503909.html Read other Recent Research blogs >
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