Statement by Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Guttmacher Institute’s 15th Census of U.S. Abortion Providers

For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2014

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The Guttmacher study on the frequency of abortion in the United States highlights the need for our leaders to ensure that all women and their partners have the information and affordable birth control options they need to prevent unintended pregnancy.

The first step we can take as a nation is to increase access to affordable contraception. While many factors contribute to the abortion rate in the United States, this country’s very high rate of unintended pregnancy is the most important one of all.

The most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion, is to improve access to affordable birth control. The Guttmacher report underscores the importance of making birth control available without co-pays and other types of out-of-pocket charges, expanding access to affordable birth control and enabling women to choose the method that works best for them. That’s why Planned Parenthood has launched Birth Control Matters to advocate making prescription birth control available without co-pays through the new health care law.

Planned Parenthood, whose doctors and nurses see three million patients each year, provides education and information to millions of women and teens, both in person and online. Planned Parenthood does more than any organization in the United States to help women and their partners prevent unintended pregnancy through family planning and sex education. We invite people of good will with divergent views on legal abortion to work with Planned Parenthood to ensure that every woman has the information and access to birth control she needs to sharply reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion.

 

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 700 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.