International Women's Day: The Enormous Benefits of Investing in Family Planning and Pregnancy Related Care

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:19:00 -0800

This year International Women's Day coincides with the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic pledge to make the recognition and fulfillment of women's rights a global priority. The declaration makes clear that reproductive health is critical to the well-being of women and men, asserts all people's right to have access to family planning information and services, and underscores the importance of maternal and newborn health care.

Spain Expands Legal Access to Abortion

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:39:00 -0800

On February 24, the Spanish senate approved a new law on sexual and reproductive health, which relaxes restrictions on women’s access to abortion. The law allows abortion under any circumstances up to 14 weeks’ gestation and declares the procedure a woman’s right. It also permits abortion at up to 22 weeks if two doctors certify that the pregnancy poses a serious threat to the woman’s life or health, as well as in cases of fetal impairment, and beyond 22 weeks in cases of severe fetal impairment. Previously, safe abortion was widely available in Spain, but was legal only to save the life of a woman, or to preserve her physical and mental health.

Many Parents Believe Talking to Preteens About Sex is Important, Yet Feel Unprepared to Do So

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:03:00 -0800

Parents' beliefs about the importance of talking to their children about sex may not be reflected in their behavior. Participants in a series of 2007 focus groups for parents of children aged 10–12 were nearly unanimous that parents should talk to their children about sex, and 89% believed that talking to their child would make a difference in whether he or she had sex at a young age. However, many had not done so.