Ten Reasons to Give to the Guttmacher Institute

1. To prove that family planning is a sound investment

2. To help teenagers delay sex, prevent pregnancy and avoid disease

3. To increase contraceptive choice and use

4. To guarantee access to safe legal abortion

5. To halt the STD epidemic

6.To recognize the needs and role of men in sexual and reproductive health

7. To empower women and promote gender equality

8. To eradicate maternal deaths

9. To ensure that public policy is driven by science—not ideology

10. To tackle tough new issues

To prove that family planning is a sound investment

Without government funding for family planning, an additional 1.94 million unplanned pregnancies would occur each year, resulting in 860,000 unintended births and 810,000 abortions. Without publicly funded family planning services, the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions occurring in the United States would be nearly two-thirds higher among women overall and among teens; the number of unintended pregnancies among poor women would nearly double. In the short-term, each tax dollar spent to provide contraceptive services saves taxpayers an average of $4.02 in Medicaid costs for pregnancy-related and newborn health care. We must ensure increased public support for family planning for all women who need it.

To help teenagers delay sex, prevent pregnancy and avoid disease

Nearly half of American teenagers have had intercourse and, according to Guttmacher research, almost 750,000 become pregnant each year. In addition, of the 18.9 million new cases of STI’s each year, 9.1 million occur among 15-24 year olds. We owe our children the best information and guidance that they will need to make responsible decisions.

To increase contraceptive choice and use

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 7% of women who might accidentally become pregnant use no method of contraception. In addition, 12% of new users become pregnant within the first year. We must learn more about why women have trouble doing more to prevent pregnancy and press the search for better methods.

To guarantee access to safe legal abortion

Each year, 42 million women around the world have an abortion. Yet, in many countries, women obtain abortions illegally and 20 million (48%) do so under hazardous conditions. In the United States, where abortion is legal, a woman's access is often limited by her inability to pay or travel to a clinic. We must ensure that whether rich, poor, young or more mature, and regardless of where they live, all women are able to obtain an abortion under safe and humane conditions.

To Halt the STD Epidemic

Each year, at least 19 million new cases of STD infections --some incurable--occur among Americans. Worldwide, there are over 340 million new cases, including some 5 million new HIV infections each year. The HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens to condemn some regions to generations of abject poverty and instability. We must continue to expand access to latex condoms; spread the word regarding prevention; and speed the development of new technologies, such as microbicides, that hold great promise in stemming the tide of HIV and other STDs.

To recognize the needs and role of men in sexual and reproductive health

Virtually no attention is paid to the part men play or to their responsibilities in preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Reproductive health policies and programs have focused almost exclusively on women, and few health professionals are specifically trained to provide men with sexual and reproductive health education and services. We must encourage mutual responsibility in the prevention of unwanted pregnancy and STDs, and explore men's sexual and reproductive health needs.

To empower women and promote gender equality

Access to family planning services is affirmed as a human right in many United Nations documents and contributes to the social, educational, economic and political advancement of women and the fuller development of society. We must continue to transform affirmations of women's rights from rhetoric to reality.

To eradicate maternal deaths

Every year, 500,000 women, 99% of them in poor countries, die from causes related to childbirth and pregnancy. Many of these fatalities are the direct consequences of high-risk and unintended pregnancies; 67,000 are the result of unsafe abortions. If the scourge of maternal mortality is to become a thing of the past, we must continue to marshal scientific evidence to increase access to reproductive health and services.

To ensure that public policy is driven by science—not ideology

In the past decade, we witnessed the perils of a public agenda driven by far-right ideology rather than evidence. Under the Bush Administration, policies on sex education, family planning and abortion took a dangerous turn away from science and toward a social conservative political agenda. Worse still, many of these policies were sold as sound, evidence-based interventions, relying on a growing body of “junk science” to make the case for ideologically driven initiatives. We must continue to expose questionable research while providing the sound scientific information needed to drive good policies and programs.

To tackle tough new issues

Emerging technologies—such as genetic testing, emergency contraception, medical abortion, and microbicides—provide new hope and new challenges for reproductive health. No matter how revolutionary the technology, we need to know how it will affect people and their relationships. We must learn more about the role of sexuality; about what is needed to achieve the best for women and men; and about what society can do to support new parents in their efforts to raise the next generation.