Cross-posted from RH Reality Check.
Few examples of U.S. foreign assistance provide benefits as tangible, cost-effective, life-saving, and critical for both the United States and aid recipients as do international family planning and reproductive health services. Women and families across the developing world are healthier and stronger — and societies are more stable — as a result of access to basic health services.
According to the Guttmacher Institute [PDF], for every $10 million invested in international family planning and reproductive health:
610,000 women and couples receive contraceptive services and supplies; 190,000 fewer unintended pregnancies occur; 83,000 abortions are avoided; 500 maternal deaths are averted; and 2,300 fewer children lose their mothers.According to the Council on Foreign Relations [PDF], studies indicate that meeting the unmet need for family planning could reduce maternal deaths by approximately 35 percent, reduce abortion in developing countries by 70 percent, and reduce infant mortality by 10 to 20 percent.
I am proud to have increased funding for international family plan... Read more
