Reproductive health

Special collection

This collection examines issues related to reproductive health, including the legality of reproductive services (reproductive rights), access to those services (reproductive health), and how societal factors such as race or social status impact access to and decisions about reproductive health (reproductive justice). This includes everything from contraception and comprehensive sex education, to abortion and pre-natal and pregnancy care, as well as other issues that inform a person’s full reproductive autonomy. This special collection brings together knowledge and insights from organizations addressing reproductive health related issues and explores the impact foundations and nonprofits are having on this work.

More ways to engage:
- Add your organization's content to this collection.
- Send us content recommendations.
- Easily share this collection on your website or app.

Search this collection

Clear all

215 results found

reorder grid_view

Featured

2023 State of Sex Education Legislative Look-Ahead

January 26, 2023

2022 was a year of countless attacks on the social fabric of our country, particularly at the state and local level. Sex education, LGBTQAI+ rights, transgender rights, and racial justice advocates saw a sudden flurry of hate-based bills filed that attacked vulnerable students, public school curriculum, and libraries. In fact, SIECUS observed a 438% increase in so-called "divisive concept" curriculum censorship legislation in 2022 as compared to 2021. Additionally, over 140 so-called "parental rights'' bills were introduced in 2022 seeking to weaponize conservative litigation against public schools using fear-based tactics to misguide parents.Navigating this complex sociopolitical landscape will be an arduous but necessary task for advocates working to advance sex education in the upcoming session. SIECUS believes that access to accurate and comprehensive sexual health information is not only key to improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes, but is essential for the health and well-being of young people.This legislative report will review the past year's legislation since the release of SIECUS's State Legislative Mid-Year Report and will give an overview of expected legislative trends for 2023.

Featured

A Call to Funders: Tactics in Law, Policy and Advocacy for Reproductive and Birth Justice

January 25, 2023

On November 16, 222, Funders for Birth Justice and Equity convened over 80 funders and donors for a special webinar on how philanthropy can support the ecosystem of activism toward reproductive and birth justice. The webinar, supported by Irving Harris Foundation, Perigee Fund, and co-sponsored by ECFC and other philanthropic partners, presented a conversation between four community-based legal experts examining: how systems threaten people's ability to make decisions about their bodies, families, and communities; law and policy work being done on the ground to transform the architecture of our health and human service systems; and how funders can partner with advocacy groups to support the ecosystem of activism toward reproductive and birth justice, and advance bodily autonomy and full spectrum care for pregnant, birthing people, and their families.This report summarizes the specific strategies and invitations to action shared on the webinar; highlights examples of inspiring grassroots efforts taking place across the country; and invites funders to be part of supporting the kind of transformative work that will bring us closer to achieving reproductive and birth justice.

Featured

The State of Reproductive Health in the United States: The End of Roe and the Perilous Road Ahead for Women in the Dobbs Era

January 19, 2023

In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that nothing in the United States Constitution guarantees a women's right to abortion. Within six months of the decision, 15 states had banned abortion. More are anticipated to do so in the 2023 state legislative sessions that will commence this month.This study reports on the state of reproductive and sexual health in the United States during the final years of the Roe era. Gender Equity Policy Institute's "The State of Reproductive Health in the United States," analyzes data on key indicators such as teen births, maternal mortality, and newborn deaths, and compares trends between groups of states. Our objective in this inaugural report is to establish a baseline for future assessments of the effects of abortion bans on women's health and well-being in the coming years.

Featured

Roadmap for Change to Support Pregnant and Parenting Students: Putting Student-Parent Families at the Center of Recommendations for Practice, Policy, Research, and Investment

December 30, 2022

More than 5.4 million college students in the United States have children, representing nearly a quarter of undergraduate students and nearly a third of graduate students. For these students, pursuing their education goals often requires interacting with many different policy systems and supports. We have mapped 11 large policy systems that student parents concurrently navigate, including social safety net programs, early childhood education and care, and the public school system. In contrast, students who are not parenting and otherwise fit a "traditional" college profile primarily interact with one policy system, which we have termed "college access and success policies" and includes policies and practices that help students enter and persist in college.Each of these large system areas contains numerous programs, many of which we have described in detail in a framework and fact sheet series on the Student-Parent Families at the Center webpage. And few, if any, of these systems or programs are designed with parenting students in mind. The complexity of the framework emphasizes the importance of coordinating policy and practice, which allows student parents sufficient bandwidth and support to achieve their education and life goals.In collaboration with a cross-sectoral Leadership Council, we developed a roadmap of opportunities to improve practice, policy, research, and investment. We believe this expansive roadmap can provide a vision for stakeholders interested in supporting parents pursuing postsecondary pathways and their families.

2020 Mom Community Action Toolkit

May 8, 2023

2020 Mom developed this toolkit to serve as a roadmap for coalitions working to improve the continuum of care for maternal mental health (MMH) disorders in their communities. 2020 Mom is committed to facilitating A.C.T.I.O.N. (Advancing Collaboration through Toolkits, Initiatives, and Online Networking) among community coalitions.This project is intended for existing maternal child health community coalitions or group leaders looking to improve screening and treatment rates for MMH disorders in their communities. We believe local leaders understand the unique needs in their regions and are best suited to address gaps in care, drive policy change, and build partnerships to improve maternal mental health.The Community Action Toolkit is a manual for creating an MMH community action plan by working through the 2020 Mom Action Cycle. This process includes: assessing the community's MMH services, analyzing findings, setting priorities, determining local interventions, and ultimately drafting an evidence-based MMH Action Plan.The toolkit includes templates for developing a membership invitation, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, project workplans, a strategy grid, SMART objectives, a logic model, and the action plan with built-in evaluation. The toolkit also provides a menu of interventions with guidance for selecting those that will address local issues within a realistic budget.

تأثير الصراع على خدمات الصحة الجنسية واإلنجابية في شمال غرب سوريا (The Toll of Conflict on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Northwest Syria - Arabic)

March 14, 2023

أثر العنف الموجه ضد الرعاية الصحية على توفر خدمات الصحة الجنسية واإلنجابية وكذلك إمكانية الوصول إليها، بما في ذلك الخدمات األساسية واالختصاصية. وهذا أدى إلى:نقص خدمات الصحة الجنسية واإلنجابية جراء قلة عدد العاملين والمرافق والتجهيزات واإلمدادات واألدوية في شمال غرب سوريا. * محدودية توفر رعاية الصحة الجنسية واإلنجابية، وخدمات الرعاية األخرى، ألن قسماً كبيراً من مرافق الرعاية الصحية ُيشيد أو ُينقل بعيداً عن خطوط القتال، مما يحد من وصول التجمعات السكانية القريبة من مناطق النزاع إلى هذه الخدمات. كما تعاني هذه المرافق من االكتظاظ بسبب عدد السكان الكبير وزيادة الطلب في المناطق اآلمنة نسبياً.تبني ممارسات تأقلم ضارة بالصحة في المناطق التي تعاني نقصاً كبيراً في خدمات الصحة الجنسية واإلنجابية، ومنها تأجيل زيارات الرعاية األساسية والتخلي عن تناول األدوية، بحسب ما أفاد به المشاركون.آثار سلبية بعيدة المدى على صحة النساء، بما فيها صحتهن النفسية االجتماعية وصحة أطفالهن، بسبب غياب خدمات الصحة الجنسية واإلنجابية األساسية أو تعذر الحصول عليها عملياً.الفئات األكثر تهميشاً، بمن فيها النساء في المخيمات وذوات االحتياجات الخاصة وذوات الدخل المحدود والمتزوجات في سن مبكرة، هن األكثر تضرراً من ندرة رعاية الصحة الجنسية واإلنجابية.----Targeted violence against health care has impacted the availability of and access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, including basic and specialized services. This has resulted in:SRH services are insufficient due to limited staff, facilities, equipment, supplies, and medication across northwest Syria.SRH care provision is limited, among other things, by the fact that many health care facilities have been built in, or relocated to, geographic areas far from the front lines, limiting access to SRH services for communities close to conflict zones. Because of the large population and demand in safer areas, these facilities experience significant overcrowding.In areas where SRH services are largely unavailable, respondents reported harmful coping practices, including postponing essential SRH visits and forgoing medication.When required SRH services are not available or practically inaccessible, there are far-reaching, negative consequences for women's health, including for both their psychosocial well-being and that of their children.The most marginalized people, including women residing in camps, those with a disability, those with limited income, and those married at a young age, are most adversely impacted by the paucity of SRH care.

She Pays the Highest Price: The Toll of Conflict on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Northwest Syria

March 14, 2023

Targeted violence against health care has impacted the availability of and access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, including basic and specialized services. This has resulted in:SRH services are insufficient due to limited staff, facilities, equipment, supplies, and medication across northwest Syria.SRH care provision is limited, among other things, by the fact that many health care facilities have been built in, or relocated to, geographic areas far from the front lines, limiting access to SRH services for communities close to conflict zones. Because of the large population and demand in safer areas, these facilities experience significant overcrowding.In areas where SRH services are largely unavailable, respondents reported harmful coping practices, including postponing essential SRH visits and forgoing medication.When required SRH services are not available or practically inaccessible, there are far-reaching, negative consequences for women's health, including for both their psychosocial well-being and that of their children.The most marginalized people, including women residing in camps, those with a disability, those with limited income, and those married at a young age, are most adversely impacted by the paucity of SRH care.

Women's Issues Are Community Issues: 2023 Status Report on Women and Children in Central Texas

March 8, 2023

Austin Community Foundation believes that ensuring the economic security of women and children is essential to closing the opportunity gap in Central Texas, and we know we cannot do this without addressing the racial wealth and health divide faced by women of color. In this report, we explore indicators that point to the well-being of women in Central Texas through the building blocks of economic security: child care, education, housing and women's health.

American Indian and Alaskan Native Maternal Mental Health

March 8, 2023

While mothers of any race can face mental health conditions during pregnancy and after childbirth, American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) women experience higher rates than the average population. Though the body of research is still growing in the U.S., initial data on the prevalence of maternal depression for AI/AN women in the United States ranges from 14-30%. Studies based on international Indigenous populations suggest that Indigenous women experience an even greater risk for maternal depression and anxiety: Indigenous women experience depression 87% more often than White women and experienced maternal anxiety 37% more often than non-Indigenous women.

“Adoption is just not for me”: How abortion patients in Michigan and New Mexico factor adoption into their pregnancy outcome decisions

March 4, 2023

In public discourses in the United States adoption is often suggested as a less objectionable, equal substitute for abortion, despite this pregnancy outcome occurring much less frequently than the outcomes of abortion and parenting. This qualitative study explores whether and how abortion patients weighed adoption as part of their pregnancy decisions and, for those who did, identifies factors that contributed to their ultimate decision against adoption.

Access Denied: How Florida Judges Obstruct Young People’s Ability to Obtain Abortion Care

February 9, 2023

The United States Supreme Court's stunning June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization eliminated the constitutional right to access abortion in the US, giving states the authority to determine access to care. Within weeks, over a dozen US states, including much of the US South, had banned nearly all abortion. Pregnant people were left to navigate a rapidly changing web of barriers obstructing their ability to access time-sensitive health care. Abortion access in the US state of Florida became more significant than ever as a dizzying wave of new bans swept through the region.As this report documents, Florida judges—most of whom are elected—deny far too many young people's petitions, blocking or further delaying their ability to access time-sensitive care. Some young people appeal their denials, and in some cases, their appeals are also denied.

Acceso denegado: Cómo los jueces de Florida obstaculizan la posibilidad de las jóvenes para obtener servicios de aborto – Resumen y Recomendaciones

February 9, 2023

La sorprendente decisión del Tribunal Supremo de Estados Unidos de junio de 2022 en el caso Dobbs contra Jackson Women's Health Organization eliminó el derecho constitucional del acceso al aborto en el país, otorgando a los estados la autoridad para determinar el acceso a la atención sanitaria. En cuestión de semanas, más de una docena de estados, incluido gran parte del sur, habían prohibido prácticamente el aborto. Las personas embarazadas se vieron obligadas a navegar por una red de obstáculos que cambiaba con rapidez e impedía el acceso a una atención sanitaria urgente. El acceso al aborto en el estado estadounidense de Florida cobró más importancia que nunca a medida que una vertiginosa oleada de nuevas prohibiciones se extendía por la región.