No crystal ball needed:
Teens are heading in the wrong direction
Between 2003 and 2007, the progress made in the 1990s and early 2000s in improving teen contraceptive use and reducing teen pregnancy and childbearing stalled, and may even have reversed among certain groups of teens. According to lead author John Santelli, “Teens are still having sex, but it appears many are not taking the necessary steps to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections.” ...more
Unintended births on the rise among young women in Nigeria
©iStockphoto/RuffraidoBetween 1990 and 2003, Nigeria made large improvements in young women's educational attainment, but the country experienced only modest declines in early marriage and adolescent childbearing, while the unintended birthrate rose (from 10% to 16%), according to new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute and the Women's Health and Action Research Centre in Benin City, Nigeria...more
This report is the second in a two-part series on Nigeria. The first, released last month, addressed Nigeria's high levels of maternal mortality...more
More context for higher unintended pregnancy and abortion rates among women of color
A new Kaiser Family Foundation report highlights persistent women's health disparities. The report also provides more evidence debunking claims by anti–abortion rights activists who ignore all other contextual factors and argue that high abortion rates among minorities are the result of supposed aggressive marketing by abortion providers to minority communities…more
For most STIs, testing and treatment is a key strategy
to prevent long-term harm
Screening and treatment to keep sexually transmitted infections from causing serious harm is a critical, if under-appreciated public health intervention. Rather than focusing so much on the total numbers of infections in the country, policymakers and the public should concentrate more on ways to block the consequences of these infections…more
Also read our new fact sheet on STIs…more
Power dynamics within relationships may play a role
in sexual risk-taking
© Solus-Veer/CorbisWhich partner has the higher income, greater control over sexual and contraceptive decisions, and the stronger commitment to the relationship may play a role in couples' decisions to engage in risky behavior. Click here for more on this study and others in the June issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health…more
Despite legal restrictions, early marriage remains common in India; childbearing begins soon thereafter
© Philippe TarbouriechAlthough the legal age of marriage in India is 18, nearly half of young women marry before their 18th birthday. Over the last decade and a half, little progress has been made in reducing the proportion of adolescents who become brides, according to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute and the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai...more
Statement from Sharon Camp on the murder of Dr. George Tiller
The Guttmacher Institute joins the reproductive health community in expressing our shock and sadness at the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a Kansas physician who dedicated his life to providing abortion care to women in need—including later term abortions to women in the most difficult of circumstances. Dr. Tiller did so despite decades of harassment, vandalism, threats and violent attacks by antiabortion activists...more
Does withdrawal deserve another look?
Withdrawal is only slightly less effective than the male condom at preventing pregnancy. Yet there is a general reluctance among health care providers and individuals alike to consider withdrawal as a viable method of contraception—even as a backup to more effective methods or as an alternative to not using contraceptives at all…more
Rachel Jones discusses the blogosphere's reaction to her paper on withdrawal in this post on RH Reality Check...more
Dominican Republic adopts draconian abortion restriction
A new Guttmacher blog entry on the Huffington Post highlights the recent passage in the Dominican Republic of a constitutional amendment establishing a right to life from the moment of conception. With this move, the country continued a troubling trend in Latin America toward virtually eliminating women's already restricted access to safe abortion...more
The Miami-based newspaper El Nuevo Herald published the same Guttmacher opinion piece in Spanish …more
Most laws mandating counseling and waiting periods
before abortion have little impact
CorbisLaws that require counseling and waiting periods before abortion, but that allow counseling to be delivered over the Internet, by phone or by mail, appear to have little impact on birthrates and abortion rates. However, laws requiring in-person counseling cause delays in accessing abortion services and create additional burdens for women…more
President Obama’s 2010 budget: A decidedly mixed bag
On May 7, President Obama sent Congress his proposed 2010 budget recommendations. For programs and policies relating to sexual and reproductive health at home and abroad, it contains some good news, some bad news and some news that is only okay. Abstinence-only programs are out, while federal bans on subsidized abortion services for poor women continue…more
Contraception, a life-saving investment for the Philippines
© Sylvester SaldanaOur new opinion article makes the case for investing in voluntary family planning services in the Philippines. The article, authored by Guttmacher President and CEO Sharon Camp and Josefina V. Cabigon of the University of the Philippines Population Institute, was published on ABS-CBN News.
More than half of the Philippines' 3.4 million annual pregnancies are unintended, and 92% of these occur to women who either use no contraceptive method or use a traditional one. A new report documents the considerable social and financial benefits of investing in contraceptive services…more
Young Jamaican women face high levels of sexual coercion and unintended pregnancy
© Craig BurtonHalf of the sexually experienced 15–17-year-old women in Kingston, Jamaica, who were interviewed to identify risk factors for teen pregnancy reported having experienced sexual coercion or violence, and 94% of the pregnant teens interviewed reported that their pregnancies were unintended. These alarming numbers demonstrate a strong need for increased education and services for young people to help reduce Jamaica’s high rates of unplanned teen pregnancy and gender-based violence...more
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