FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 7, 2016
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, (202) 293-3114 ext. 207, asandusky@nfprha.org 

NFPRHA Celebrates Major Milestone in Legal Access to Contraception

Statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), representing publicly funded family planning providers across the country, celebrates the 51st anniversary of the 1965 landmark Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut, which affirmed the right of married couples to use contraception and first recognized an individual’s right to privacy in family planning matters. The Griswold case set the stage for Title X (ten), the nation’s only dedicated source of funding for family planning, which currently provides high-quality family planning and sexual health care to an estimated 4.1 million women and men every year.

“As we pay tribute to the 51-year Griswold legacy, the fight over contraceptive access is hardly a thing of the past but an issue of our time,” said Clare Coleman, President & CEO of NFPRHA. “Despite recent victories in strengthening freedom of choice protections under the law, the publicly funded network continues to be under an unprecedented period of attack by anti-family planning policymakers who are determined to block access to the care and information women and men need to stay healthy.”

Over the last six years, the Title X family planning program has been cut by a net $31 million. As a result, publicly funded family planning providers across the country are receiving fewer resources to provide their patients with the high-quality care they rely on despite a growing demand for these services.

“Family planning care helps women and men improve their economic security, care for their families, and achieve optimal health. It also saves billions in taxpayer dollars every year,” said Coleman. “On behalf of the provider network and patients it serves, I call on Congress and legislators across the country to fulfil the promise of Griswold by standing up for the public resources that sustain cost-effective, community-based programs.”

Services provided by Title X-funded health centers helped women avert 1 million unintended pregnancies in 2013, which would have led to 501,000 unplanned births and 345,000 abortions. Without these services, the unintended pregnancy rate would have been 30% higher. 

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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing providers and administrators committed to helping people get the family planning education and care they need to make the best choices for themselves and their loved ones. NFPRHA works to enhance the ability of thousands of nurse practitioners, doctors, and other health professionals to provide high-quality family planning care through training and advocacy. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.