Family Planning and
Reproductive Health in the U.S.

Family Planning and Reproductive Health in the U.S.
Choice USA, a 2006 grantee, promotes freedom of choice and mobilizes communities in support of reproductive health.

Rates of abortion, sexually transmitted infections, and teen pregnancy in the United States are among the highest of all industrialized countries. In fact, almost half of the 6.3 million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended. The burden of poor reproductive health falls particularly hard on those with low incomes, teens, and women of color. In response, we made grants in 2006 to organizations furthering these goals:

  • Ensuring good family planning and reproductive health programs and policies in the United States. Foundation grantees worked to assure all citizens full access to reproductive health services and education—and full exercise of their rights.
  • Expanding family planning and reproductive health education and services to vulnerable populations in California. With our funding, advocates supported and providers implemented effective interventions to meet the needs of California’s underserved populations, especially low-income youth.
Family Planning and Reproductive Health in the U.S. Grants Authorized
in 2006
 
2006 Highlights

Opinion polls continue to show strong support for the need to provide a wide array of reproductive services and health information. In August 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter status for emergency contraception for women eighteen years and older. Foundation grantees are continuing to focus on increasing access to emergency contraception and information about availability.

The Foundation is also making grants to build more diverse and representative constituencies for family planning and reproductive health. Given the strong relationship between poverty and unwanted pregnancies, abortion, and related medical problems in the United States, these grants are particularly important to help those most in need of improved services. The Program made a variety of grants in 2006 to organizations representing young people, communities of color, and low-income communities, which are significantly affected by reproductive health policies, yet have had relatively little voice in shaping policy.

Finally, in late 2006, the Foundation’s board of directors approved a multiyear initiative aimed at reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in the United States. This initiative is being led by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, which is expanding its mission to also focus on reducing the high level of unwanted pregnancy among adults, especially those under thirty.

2007 Goals
 
  • Support institutions that are providing legal and policy analyses and defending Americans’ access to abortion and reproductive services
  • Maintain the supply of reproductive health providers and promote their voices in advocacy and policy discussions
  • Make grants to organizations that advocate for policy reforms at state and local levels, especially for access to emergency contraception and to comprehensive sex education in public schools
  • Broaden citizen support for family planning and reproductive health issues
  • Fund research on Latino reproductive health issues and apply it to advocacy and program design
  • Expand teen pregnancy prevention efforts in California’s Central Valley, home to the state’s highest teen birth rates

For more information, please visit the Foundation Web site.