PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Support the Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act
  1. Signatures
    315 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. The U.S. House of Representatives
  2. Created By
    A S
    Winthrop, ME
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

In its December 2009 report Adding it Up: The Costs and Benefits of Investing in Family Planning and Maternal and Newborn Health, the Guttmacher Institute found:

There are approximately 215 million women who want to avoid a pregnancy but are not using effective methods of contraception

Of the 123 million women who give birth each year, only about half receive prenatal, delivery and newborn health care services

About 20 million women have unsafe abortions each year

Fully investing in family planning, maternal and newborn health would prevent 70 percent of maternal deaths, 44 percent of newborn deaths and 73 percent of unsafe abortions

The total cost of fully investing in family planning, maternal and newborn health would be $24.6 billion a year. While this is twice what is currently spent, it is less than $5 per person

The Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act of 2010 (H.R. 5121) seeks to meet family planning, maternal and newborn health needs by providing integrated sexual and reproductive health programs in developing countries. It would also require the executive branch to develop a comprehensive global health strategy to improve and create links among the various aspects of sexual and reproductive health.

 

Recent Signatures

Please Sponsor the Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act (H.R. 5121)

Greetings,

I am writing to urge you to cosponsor H.R. 5121, the Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act. Introduced by Representative Yvette Clarke, D-NY, the act will provide assistance to improve the sexual and reproductive health of individuals and couples in developing countries, and implement comprehensive sexual and reproductive health programs that offer a continuum of care, from sex education to the treatment of reproductive cancers.

According to the World Health Organization, aspects of sexual and reproductive health, such as maternal mortality and morbidity, reproductive cancers, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, are responsible for nearly 20 percent of women’s global ill-health and 14 percent of men’s ill-health. In fact, poor sexual and reproductive health is the leading cause of death for women of child-bearing age.

This lack of reproductive health services and information contributes to the deaths and suffering of millions of women and their families. It also undermines women’s struggles for self-determination and prevents individuals and families from pulling themselves out of poverty.

Furthermore, there is a great demand for reproductive health services and information. In its 2009 report on family planning and maternal and newborn health, the Guttmacher Institute estimated that 215 million women who want to avoid a pregnancy are not using effective methods of contraception, and that only half of the 123 million women who give birth each year receive prenatal, delivery and newborn healthcare. Simply meeting these needs would prevent 70 percent of maternal deaths, 44 percent of newborn deaths and 73 percent of unsafe abortions.

Investing in sexual and reproductive health, as this act does, saves lives and improves the quality of life for countless individuals. It also saves money. In the same report, the Guttmacher Institute found that every $1 invested in family planning saves $1.40 in maternal and newborn health care services.

Please add your name to the other sponsors and cosponsors of H.R. 5121, the Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act of 2010. With your support, we can improve and save the lives of millions of men, women and children across the world.

[Your name]

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