Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
 
our work

Rights and Responsibilities: Healthy Pregnancies, Contraception and Abortion

There are vast disparities around the world in women’s access to effective contraceptive methods; medically accurate information and counseling about how to use them; and safe, affordable abortion services. Our work seeks to document these disparities and persuade decision makers of the benefits of policies and programs that ensure that all women are able to exercise their reproductive rights and responsibilities.

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Rights and Responsibilities: Healthy Pregnancies, Contraception and Abortion resources

Media kits

An Overview of Abortion in the United States January 2008

Fact sheets

Facts on Induced Abortion in Pakistan [PDF] November 2009

In Urdu
download [PDF]

Facts on Abortion in Kenya [PDF] November 2009

Facts on Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy in Africa [PDF] October 2009

Facts on Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy in Asia [PDF] October 2009

Facts on Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean [PDF] October 2009

Facts on Induced Abortion Worldwide  [PDF version] October 2009

Facts on Publicly Funded Contraceptive Services in the United States  [PDF version] February 2009

Facts on Induced Abortion in Mexico [PDF] October 2008

Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States  [PDF version] July 2008

State Facts About Abortion January 2008

Facts on Contraceptive Use  [PDF version] January 2008

Facts About the Unmet Need For Contraception in Developing Countries [PDF] July 2007

Facts About the Unmet Need For Contraception in Developing Countries [PDF] July 2007

Facts About the Unmet Need For Contraception in Developing Countries [PDF] July 2007

Facts About the Unmet Need For Contraception in Developing Countries [PDF] July 2007

Facts on Unwanted Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in Nigeria [PDF] June 2006

In the Know: Questions About Pregnancy, Contraception and Abortion May 2006

Contraception Counts: Ranking State Efforts February 2006

Highlighted policy articles

Delineating the Obligations That Come with Conscientious Refusal: A Question of Balance  [PDF version] August 2009
Adam Sonfield
Guttmacher Policy Review

All That's Old Is New Again: The Long Campaign To Persuade Women to Forego Abortion  [PDF version] June 2009
Rachel Benson Gold
Guttmacher Policy Review

Promoting Sexual and Reproductive Health Advances Maternal Health  [PDF version] June 2009
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

Reclaiming the Lead: Restoring U.S. Leadership in Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy March 2009
Sneha Barot
Guttmacher Policy Review

The New Day at Its Dawn: Evidence Is Back, but Politics Endures March 2009
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

Making the Case for a 'Contraceptive Convenience' Agenda  [PDF version] October 2008
Sneha Barot
Guttmacher Policy Review

Making HIV Tests 'Routine': Concerns and Implications  [PDF version] May 2008
Heather D. Boonstra
Guttmacher Policy Review

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Role of Contraception in Preventing HIV  [PDF version] February 2008
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

New Data on Abortion Incidence, Safety Illuminate Key Aspects of Worldwide Abortion Debate  [PDF version] November 2007
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

Popularity Disparity: Attitudes About the IUD in Europe and the United States  [PDF version] November 2007
Adam Sonfield
Guttmacher Policy Review

State Abortion Counseling Policies and the Fundamental Principles of Informed Consent  [PDF version] November 2007
Rachel Benson Gold and Elizabeth Nash
Guttmacher Policy Review

Young People Need Help in Preventing Pregnancy and HIV; How Will the World Respond  [PDF version] August 2007
Heather D. Boonstra
Guttmacher Policy Review

Repeat Abortion, Repeat Unintended Pregnancy, Repeated and Misguided Government Policies   [PDF version] May 2007
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

Misinformed Consent: The Medical Accuracy of State-Developed Abortion Counseling Materials  [PDF version] October 2006
Chinué Turner Richardson and Elizabeth Nash
Guttmacher Policy Review

Abortion and Mental Health: Myths and Realities  [PDF version] August 2006
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

Rekindling Efforts to Prevent Unplanned Pregnancy: A Matter of 'Equity and Common Sense'  [PDF version] August 2006
Rachel Benson Gold
Guttmacher Policy Review

Roe or No Roe, Right to Abortion Seen Eroding Under Newly Constituted Supreme Court March 2006
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

Toward Making Abortion 'Rare': The Shifting Battleground over the Means to an End  [PDF version] March 2006
Susan A. Cohen
Guttmacher Policy Review

Working to Eliminate the World's Unmet Need for Contraception  [PDF version] March 2006
Adam Sonfield
Guttmacher Policy Review

Contraception Counts: Ranking States Efforts [PDF] February 2006
Cynthia Dailard
In Brief

Promoting Prevention to Reduce the Need for Abortion: Good Policy, Good Politics  [PDF version] May 2005
Cynthia Dailard
The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy

Lessons from Before Roe: Will Past be Prologue?  [PDF version] March 2003
Rachel Benson Gold
The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy

Emergency Contraception: Steps Being Taken to Improve Access  [PDF version] December 2002
Heather Boonstra
The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy

Emergency Contraception: The Need to Increase Public Awareness  [PDF version] October 2002
Heather Boonstra
The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy

Mifepristone in the United States: Status and Future  [PDF version] August 2002
Heather Boonstra
The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy

Global Gag Rule: Exporting Antiabortion Ideology at the Expense of American Values  [PDF version] June 2001
Susan A. Cohen
The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy

A Message to the President: Abortion Can Be Safe, Legal and Still Rare  [PDF version] February 2001
Susan A. Cohen
The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy

An Overview of Clandestine Abortion in Latin America  [PDF version] December 1996
Deirdre Wulf
Issues in Brief

"In Brief"

Abortion in Pakistan [PDF] November 2009

Reducing Unsafe Abortion in Nigeria [PDF] November 2008

Unsafe Abortion in Kenya [PDF] November 2008

Abortion in Indonesia [PDF] October 2008

Improving Contraceptive Use in the United States [PDF] May 2008

Contraception Counts: Ranking States Efforts [PDF] February 2006
Cynthia Dailard

Reducing Unintended Pregnancy in Nigeria [PDF] September 2005

Reducing Unintended Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion in Uganda [PDF] March 2005

Improving Reproductive Health in the Philippines [PDF] May 2003

An Overview of Clandestine Abortion in Latin America  [PDF version] December 1996
Deirdre Wulf

Highlighted research articles

Abortion in the United States: Incidence and Access to Services, 2005 [PDF]
Rachel K. Jones, Mia R. S. Zolna, Stanley K. Henshaw and Lawrence B. Finer
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 40 , Issue 1, March 2008

Legal Abortion Worldwide: Incidence and Recent Trends  [PDF version]
Gilda Sedgh, Stanley K.Henshaw, Susheela Singh, Akinrinola Bankole and Joanna Drescher
International Family Planning Perspectives Volume 33 , Issue 3, September 2007

Contraceptive Use and Pregnancy Risk Among U.S. High School Students, 1991-2003  [PDF version]
John S. Santelli, Brian Morrow, John E. Anderson and Laura Duberstein Lindberg
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 38 , Issue 2, June 2006

Disparities in Rates of Unintended Pregnancy in the United States, 1994 and 2001  [PDF version]
Lawrence B. Finer and Stanley K. Henshaw
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 38 , Issue 2, June 2006

The Incidence of Induced Abortion in Uganda  [PDF version]
Susheela Singh, Elena Prada, Florence Mirembe and Charles Kiggundu
International Family Planning Perspectives Volume 31 , Issue 4, December 2005

Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives  [PDF version]
Lawrence B. Finer, Lori F. Frohwirth, Lindsay A. Dauphinee, Susheela Singh and Ann M. Moore
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 37 , Issue 3, September 2005

The Incidence of Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Current Level and Recent Trends  [PDF version]
Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Susheela Singh and Rubina Hussain
International Family Planning Perspectives Volume 31 , Issue 3, September 2005

Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States  [PDF version]
Lawrence B. Finer and Stanley K. Henshaw
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 35 , Issue 1, January/February 2003

The Accessibility of Abortion Services in the United States, 2001  [PDF version]
Lawrence B. Finer and Stanley K. Henshaw
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 35 , Issue 1, January/February 2003

Contraceptive Use Among U.S. Women Having Abortions in 2000-2001  [PDF version]
Rachel K. Jones, Jacqueline E. Darroch and Stanley K. Henshaw
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 34 , Issue 6, November/December 2002

Patterns in the Socioeconomic Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions in 2000-2001  [PDF version]
Rachel K. Jones, Jacqueline E. Darroch and Stanley K. Henshaw
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 34 , Issue 5, September/October 2002

Mifepristone for Early Medical Abortion: Experiences in France, Great Britain and Sweden  [PDF version]
Rachel K. Jones and Stanley K. Henshaw
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 34 , Issue 3, May/June 2002

Reports

Abortion Worldwide: A Decade of Uneven Progress [PDF] October 2009
Susheela Singh, Deirdre Wulf, Rubina Hussain, Akinrinola Bankole and Gilda Sedgh

A Real-Time Look at the Impact of the Recession on Women's Family Planning and Pregnancy Decisions [PDF] September 2009

Barriers to Safe Motherhood in India [PDF] July 2009
Susheela Singh, Lisa Remez, Usha Ram, Ann M. Moore and Suzette Audam

Restrictions on Medicaid Funding For Abortion: A Literature Review [PDF] July 2009
Stanley K. Henshaw, Theodore J. Joyce, Amanda Dennis, Lawrence B. Finer and Kelly Blanchard

Barriers to Safe Motherhood in Nigeria [PDF] May 2009
Akinrinola Bankole, Gilda Sedgh, Friday Okonofua, Collins Imarhiagbe, Rubina Hussain and Deirdre Wulf

The Impact of State Mandatory Counseling and Waiting Period Laws on Abortion: A Literature Review [PDF] May 2009
Theodore J. Joyce, Stanley K. Henshaw, Amanda Dennis, Lawrence B. Finer and Kelly Blanchard

The Impact of Laws Requiring Parental Involvement for Abortion: A Literature Review [PDF] March 2009
Amanda Dennis, Stanley K. Henshaw, Theodore J. Joyce, Lawrence B. Finer and Kelly Blanchard

Next Steps for America's Family Planning Program: Leveraging the Potential of Medicaid and Title X in an Evolving Health Care System [PDF] February 2009
Rachel Benson Gold, Adam Sonfield, Cory L. Richards and Jennifer J. Frost

Trends in the Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions, 1974-2004 [PDF] September 2008
Stanley K. Henshaw and Kathryn Kost

Trends in the Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions, 1974-2004 (with supplemental tables) [PDF] September 2008
Stanley K. Henshaw and Kathryn Kost

Public Funding for Family Planning, Sterilization and Abortion Services, FY 1980-2006 [PDF] January 2008
Adam Sonfield, Casey Alrich and Rachel Benson Gold

Women with an Unmet Need for Contraception in Developing Countries and Their Reasons for Not Using a Method [PDF] July 2007
Gilda Sedgh, Rubina Hussain, Akinrinola Bankole and Susheela Singh

Women with an Unmet Need for Contraception in Developing Countries and Their Reasons for Not Using a Method [PDF] July 2007
Gilda Sedgh, Rubina Hussain, Akinrinola Bankole and Susheela Singh

Women with an Unmet Need for Contraception in Developing Countries and Their Reasons for Not Using a Method [PDF] July 2007
Gilda Sedgh, Rubina Hussain, Akinrinola Bankole and Susheela Singh

Women with an Unmet Need for Contraception in Developing Countries and Their Reasons for Not Using a Method [PDF] July 2007
Gilda Sedgh, Rubina Hussain, Akinrinola Bankole and Susheela Singh

Embarazo no planeado y aborto inseguro en Guatemala: Causas y Consecuencias [PDF] December 2006

Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in Uganda: Causes and Consequences [PDF] November 2006
Susheela Singh, Ann M. Moore, Akinrinola Bankole, Florence Mirembe, Deirdre Wulf and Elena Prada

Repeat Abortion in the United States [PDF] November 2006
Rachel K. Jones, Susheela Singh, Lawrence B. Finer and Lori F. Frohwirth

Morbilidad por aborto en Guatemala: Una visión de la comunidad [PDF] November 2006
Sandra Sáenz de Tejada, Elena Prada y Gonzalo Ball

Estimating the Impact of Expanding Medicaid Eligibility for Family Planning Services [PDF] August 2006
Jennifer J. Frost, Adam Sonfield and Rachel Benson Gold

Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Causes and Consequences [PDF] August 2006
Susheela Singh, Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Haley Ball, Rubina Hussain and Jennifer Nadeau

Unwanted Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in Nigeria: Causes and Consequences [PDF] August 2006
Akinrinola Bankole, Boniface A. Oye-Adeniran, Susheela Singh, Isaac F. Adewole, Deirdre Wulf, Gilda Sedgh and Rubina Hussain

Abortion in Women's Lives [PDF] May 2006

Preventing Unsafe Abortion and its Consequences: Priorities for Research and Action [PDF] March 2006

Abortion and Postabortion Care in Guatemala: A Report from Health Care Professionals and Health Facilities [PDF] December 2005
Elena Prada, Edgar Kestler, Caroline Sten, Lindsay Dauphinee, and Lilian Ramírez

Abortion and Postabortion Care in Uganda: A Report from Health Care Professionals and Health Facilities [PDF] May 2005
Elena Prada, Florence Mirembe, Fatima H. Ahmed, Rose Nalwadda and Charles Kiggundu

The Unfinished Revolution in Contraception: Convenience, Consumer Access and Choice [PDF] January 2004

Unwanted Pregnancy and Abortion: Public Challenges in Latin America and The Caribbean [PDF] November 2001

Sharing Responsibility: Women Society and Abortion Worldwide [PDF] June 1999

Statistics

Contraceptive Needs and Services, 2006 February 2009

Public Funding for Contraceptive, Sterilization and Abortion Services, FY 1980-2006 January 2008

Estimates of U.S. Abortion Incidence, 2001-2003 [PDF] August 2006
Lawrence B. Finer and Stanley K. Henshaw

Family Planning Annual Report: 2004 Summary [PDF] July 2005
Jennifer J. Frost

Slide shows

Abortion: Worldwide Levels and Trends October 2009

An Overview of Abortion in the United States October 2009

State-by-State Trends in Abortion in the United States January 2008

Trends in Abortion in the United States, 1973-2005 January 2008

New Evidence to Address the Unmet Need for Contraception July 2007

Contraception in the United States: Current Use and Continuing Challenges May 2004

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Consortium for Research On Unsafe Abortion in Africa tools for researchers focused on abortion in Africa

 

Highlights

In February, Guttmacher and its partners at Likhaan and the University of the Philippines Population Institute convened a meeting of key stakeholders in Manila to launch the Faces of Abortion project. The project aims to increase awareness of the causes and consequences of unsafe abortion by communicating existing evidence to policymakers, health care providers, advocates and the media.

 
Manilla conference
Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in the Philippines Cover