By Suzanne York. This question came up a few times at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP), a biennial gathering of reproductive health and rights advocates.  This year’s conference included a small number of attendees who address both reproductive health and conservation/environmental rights through a development approach known as PHE, or population, health and environment. The
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By Suzanne York. Unless you’ve been off the grid, chances are that you are at least somewhat aware of the battle taking place in the U.S. over reproductive rights.  With a potential new conservative Supreme Court justice poised to join the court, it is a dire time indeed for those who support women’s health and
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By Joshua Mirondo, guest blogger for Transition Earth. Uganda is a very young country. Young people below the age of 30 constitute over 75% of the nation’s population and eight million are youth aged 15-30. About 25% of these are in institutions of higher learning like universities and vocational technical institutes. Research shows that almost
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By Suzanne York. Given the chance, would you support something that many women say they want? Something that is not costly in the scheme of things? That “something” would be contraceptives and family planning services, and yet it is under threat in the U.S. and around the world (mainly because of the U.S. government). The
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By Suzanne York. Recent legislation in California is empowering women to make the best choices for themselves and their families, in terms of reproductive health. Though it seems as if our nation should have passed legislation easing access to reproductive health years ago, it’s nevertheless a positive path forward. As the saying goes, “better late
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By Suzanne York, www.transition-earth.org. Lately it seems that most of the news on women’s reproductive rights is focused on the shutting down of access to reproductive health/family planning services. But there are actually some good policies on women’s reproductive health that have been passed this year at the state level. In May, the state of Maryland
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By Suzanne York, www.transition-earth.org. In some ways the following are two very different stories, but ultimately in the end both end up advancing women’s rights when it comes to family planning and reproductive health. Let’s first take a look at India – soon to be the world’s most populous country.  For decades it has been relying
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Try to imagine giving birth in a spartan refugee tent, or worse, while missiles are exploding around you.  Or simply visualize having to have your reproductive and women’s health needs met in a war zone. For women (and men) in the Gaza Strip, survival is paramount, but so is confronting the
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By Suzanne York. In a time of government budget cuts and austerity programs, family planning is a low-cost investment that yields big dividends.  And more importantly, it saves lives. Globally, there are 222 million women in developing counties who lack access to contraception.  Off these, 162 million women live in the world’s poorest countries. Barriers
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Full coverage for birth control, as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), kicked in as Americans rang in the new year.  Contraception is now available for free from health insurance plans under the ACA. A key provision of the ACA requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide medical
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