Family planning is a basic right and something people want worldwide. Some 150 million married women already indicate a desire to plan their families, but lack access to family planning, which includes information, health screening, counseling, and contraceptive services. Demand for family planning is growing. International family planning is an area of expertise for the United States. Even with recent cuts, this country leads 20 other donor nations in both the number and expertise of its workers, many of them with non-profit groups such as AVSC International, CARE, Pathfinder International, and Save the Children.
Family planning saves lives.
By spacing births, family planning lowers mortality among bother women and children. Use of family planning can also help reduce the toll of repeated pregnancy and childbirth on women's health. Currently an estimated 600,000 women die annually from pregnancy-related causes. Family planning can help reduce both abortions and deaths from unsafe abortion. The recent experience of Russia and several Eastern European countries provides evidence that increased use of family planning helps reduce reliance on abortion.