family planning

Wisconsin's 1849 abortion law bans abortion with very limited exceptions. With a history of miscarriages, Kristen Petranek decided to stop trying to have a third child because of the risks she could face during pregnancy and the way miscarriage care can be affected by abortion bans.

Because of Wisconsin's abortion ban, one mother gave up trying for another child

4:05pm December 09, 2022

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Kristen Petranek has a history of miscarriages – and she has diabetes, which makes pregnancy risky. She fears that if something goes wrong, her state's law may inhibit doctors from helping her.

A package of Aviane birth control pills. The federal program known as Title X provides birth control, tests for sexually transmitted infections, and offers other reproductive health care for low-income patients.

Title X advocates worry that birth control may go the same way as abortion

6:00am August 16, 2022

by Ben Paviour

A Supreme Court ruling overturned Roe v. Wade. Now there's a big push to increase funding for Title X, a federal program that offers birth control and other reproductive care to low-income patients.

Thousands of demonstrators march outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the Women's March in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021.

Biden lifts abortion referral ban on family planning clinics

4:32am October 05, 2021

by The Associated Press

The Department of Health and Human Services said Monday its new regulation, which will go into effect Nov. 8, will restore clinics' ability to refer women seeking abortions to a provider.

A Planned Parenthood of Utah facility in Salt Lake City. The Biden administration is moving to reverse a Trump-era family planning policy that critics describe as a domestic "gag rule" for reproductive healthcare providers.

Biden Administration Moves To Undo Trump Abortion Rules For Title X

4:26pm April 14, 2021

by Sarah McCammon

The Trump administration tried to "defund" Planned Parenthood and other groups through changes to the Title X family planning program. The Biden administration is proposing reversing those rules.

A 19-year-old woman talks with nurse Valeria Zafisoa at a traveling contraception clinic in eastern Madagascar run by the British nonprofit group Marie Stopes International.

A Biden Promise About Overseas Abortion Funding Could Prove Difficult To Implement

7:51am December 03, 2020

by Nurith Aizenman

It's part of an ongoing back-and-forth: Republican presidents ban U.S. funds for foreign aid groups that 'promote' abortion, Democratic presidents revoke the ban. This time things could be different.

Nana (left) gets her birth control implant checked by Dr. Jean Rangomana during the Marie Stopes International mobile clinic in Besakoa, Madagascar, on April 9, 2018. Abortion is illegal under all circumstances in Madagascar, and Trump administration poli

Under Trump, New Anti-Abortion Rules Shook Fragile Health Systems Around the World

2:23pm November 24, 2020

by Sarah Varney

President-elect Joe Biden inherits a global health landscape changed by the Trump administration more than under any Republican president since Ronald Reagan.

Birth control pills in 1976 in New York. The birth control pill was approved by the FDA 60 years ago this week.

How The Approval Of The Birth Control Pill 60 Years Ago Helped Change Lives

9:45am May 09, 2020

by Sarah McCammon

Before the pill was approved by the FDA on May 9, 1960, there were few contraceptive options available to young women. It revolutionized family planning and the sex lives of millions of Americans.

Queue Listen Now

Unwed pregnant women in China face a legal gray zone where they are unable to access public services for themselves and their children.

In China, Kids Of Unwed Mothers May Be Barred From Public Health Care, Education

2:36pm November 06, 2019

Being a mom without a husband leaves many women in a legal gray zone where they are unable to access medical and other public services for themselves and their children. Some women are even fined.

Unlike Planned Parenthood which pulled out of Title X family planning funding, many clinics still take the funding and must comply with new rules on discussing abortion. Doctors worry it will affect their relationships with patients.

Health & Safety

Doctors Say Federal Rules On Discussing Abortions Inhibit Relationships With Patients

6:32pm September 09, 2019

by Mara Gordon

Many clinics that provide family planning services still rely on Title X funding. Their doctors worry about what they can say to patients about abortion under new rules.

Unless a federal court intervenes, Planned Parenthood says it will formally withdraw from the nation's family planning program for low-income people.

Planned Parenthood To Withdraw From Title X, Unless Court Intervenes

6:27pm August 14, 2019

by Sarah McCammon

Planned Parenthood officials asked for a stay against new Trump administration rules that forbid organizations receiving Title X funds to provide or refer patients for abortion.