Guttmacher Institute Inc

THE INSTITUTE IS A LEADING RESEARCH AND POLICY ORGANIZATION COMMITTED TO ADVANCING SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND GLOBALLY.

RESEARCH: IN 2021, GUTTMACHER'S RESEARCH TEAM GENERATED A WIDE RANGE OF EVIDENCE, INCLUDING A NUMBER OF JUST-IN-TIME STUDIES TO DOCUMENT THE POTENTIAL AND ACTUAL IMPACT OF CHANGES TO KEY LAWS AND POLICIES. AS THE U.S. SUPREME COURT PREPARED TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS IN A CASE THAT COULD PUT ROE V WADE IN JEOPARDY, OUR RESEARCHERS HELPED TO BUILD THE EVIDENCE-BASED GROUNDWORK URGING THE COURT TO REJECT MISSISSIPPI'S 15-WEEK ABORTION BAN. WE JOINED TWO AMISCUS BRIEFS AND OUR RESEARCH WAS CITED IN 32 OTHER BRIEFS FILED IN THE CASE, AND OUR TEAM PRODUCED NEW EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT THAT VARIOUS BANS IN OTHER STATES WOULD HAVE ON THE DISTANCE THAT PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TO TRAVEL TO ACCESS ABORTION CARE. OUR RESEACH ON TEXAS' SIX-WEEK ABORTION BAN (KNOWN WIDELY AS S.B. 8) SHAPED THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE NEW LAW IN REAL TIME. JUST WEEKS AFTER THE ENACTMENT OF THE LAW, OUR STUDIES HIGHLIGHTED THE DRASTICALLY INCREASED DRIVING DISTANCES PEOPLE HAD TO TRAVEL TO ACCESS CARE AND THE WIDE RANGE OF BOTH CONTIGUOUS AND NONCONTIGUOUS STATES PEOPLE FROM TEXAS WERE TRAVELLING TO IN ORDER TO ACCESS ABORTION FOLLOWING THE LAW TAKING EFFECT. FOLLOWING PUBLICATION OF INFLUENTIAL EVIDENCE ON THE EARLY IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON WOMEN'S CHILDBEARING PREFERENCES AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, WE PUBLISHED A FOLLOW-UP REPORT IN 2021 REPORTING ON THE CONTINUING IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC ON WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE EXPERIENCES. THIS RESEARCH FOUND THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS CONTINUED TO SHIFT FERTILITY PREFERENCES LARGELY TO DELAY CHILDBEARING AND HAD A DISPROPORTIONATE EFFECT ON THE SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OF THOSE ALREADY EXPERIENCING SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL AND HEALTH INEQUITIES - LOW INCOME PEOPLE, PEOPLE OF COLOR, LGB+ INDIVIDUALS, AND TRANSGENDER AND OTHER GENDER-DIVERSE INDIVIDUALS. THE INSTITUTE ALSO CONTINUED TO GENERATE EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC GLOBALLY. IN ETHIOPIA AND UGANDA, FOR EXAMPLE, WE WORKED WITH IN-COUNTRY PARTNERS TO PRODUCE EVIDENCE DESCRIBING SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG ADOLESCENTS DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PANDEMIC. IN ETHIOPIA, OUR ANALYSES SUGGESTED A LIKELY DECREASE IN CONTRACEPTIVE USE AND AN INCREASE IN UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES AMONG YOUTH. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE PUBLISHED A SERIES OF 132 COUNTRY PROFILES HIGHLIGHTING COUNTRY-SPECIFIC DATA FROM OUR POPULAR ADDING IT UP REPORT WHICH ESTIMATES THE NEED FOR, IMPACT OF AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING ESSENTIAL SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES. THE PROFILES FEATURE 40 INDICATORS, INCLUDING THE COSTS AND IMPACTS OF FULLY INVESTING IN COMPREHENSIVE SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE. THESE FINDINGS WERE USED WIDELY BY COUNTRY-LEVEL PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS. GUTTMACHER RESEARCHERS AND IN-COUNTRY PARTNERS ALSO PUBLISHED NEW RESEARCH FINDINGS ON TOPICS LIKE CONTRACEPTION, UNINTENDED PREGNANCY, AND ABORTION IN A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, GHANA, INDONESIA, TANZANIA, AND ZIMBABWE. THE INSTITUTE'S RESEARCH TEAM CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITY OF IN-COUNTRY PARTNERS BY PROVIDING TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND TRAININGS, HELPING FORM A NEW ABORTION RESEARCH CONSORTIUM, AND HELPING LAUNCH A NEW CAPACITY-STRENGTHENING PROGRAM FOR JUNIOR AND EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS INTERESTED IN ABORTION.

COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: THE INSTITUTE SHAPED AND INFORMED MEDIA COVERAGE AND PUBLIC DEBATE ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS ISSUES THROUGHOUT 2021. WE STRATEGICALLY DISSEMINATED THE INSTITUTE'S EVIDENCE AND ANALYSES IN A RANGE OF FORMATS AND ACROSS A MULTITUDE OF PLATFORMS, TARGETING KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND INFLUENCERS INCLUDING ADVOCATES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, POLICYMAKERS AND THEIR STAFF, MEDIA, AND THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. AMONG THE RESULTS WE GENERATED WITH THESE OUTREACH EFFORTS WERE THOUSANDS OF MEDIA CITATIONS AND EXTENSIVE COVERAGE IN HIGH-PROFILE MEDIA OUTLETS AROUND ISSUES LIKE THE PRIORITIES FOR THE INCOMING BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AND THE NEW CONGRESS, THE RECORD ONSLAUGHT OF STATE-LEVEL ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN 2021, AND A SIGNIFICANT BODY OF WORK AROUND THE DECEMBER ORAL ARGUMENTS AT THE SUPREME COURT INVOLVING A CASE THAT COULD UNDERMINE US ABORTION RIGHTS AND ACCESS. TAKING JUST ONE EXAMPLE, OUR OUTREACH AROUND GUTTMACHER'S RESEARCH ON TEXAS' SUE THY NEIGHBOR ABORTION BAN GENERATED COVERAGE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST, CNN, FORBES, NBC, ABC, AND NPR, AMONG MANY OTHER OUTLETS. IN ADDITION, THE INSTITUTE PLACED MULTIPLE COMMENTARIES BY OUR EXPERTS IN OUTLETS LIKE MS. MAGAZINE, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN AND THE HILL. GLOBALLY, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM WORKED WITH PARTNERS AT THE REGIONAL AND COUNTRY LEVEL TO DISSEMINATE JOINT RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSES. FOR EXAMPLE, IN MALAWI, WE TEAMED UP WITH IN-COUNTRY PARTNERS TO LAUNCH A ROBUST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT THE ENACTMENT OF THE SAFE ABORTION BILL, WHICH WAS INTRODUCED BY MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT IN FEBRUARY 2021 TO LIBERALIZE THE COUNTRY'S ABORTION LAW. OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM ALSO WORKED TO STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITY OF IN-COUNTRY PARTNERS, INCLUDING YOUTH-LED ORGANIZATIONS, BY PROVIDING COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOPS, TRAININGS, AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT. OUR GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS TEAM ALSO PROMOTED GUTTMACHER DATA -- AND THE WORK OF OUR REGIONAL AND COUNTRY PARTNERS -- THROUGH GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS THAT SHONE A SPOTLIGHT ON KEY SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES FOR A MASS AUDIENCE.

PUBLIC POLICY: GUTTMACHER CONTRIBUTED TO A NUMBER OF KEY POLICY WINS FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS IN 2021, INCLUDING THE RESCINDING OF THE GLOBAL GAG RULE, THE RESTORATION OF U.S. FUNDING FOR THE UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND, AND THE REVERSAL OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S RULES THAT CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE NATION'S FAMILY PLANNING SAFETY NET. THE INSTITUTE PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN SECURING $50 MILLION IN SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FOR THE TITLE X FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM AS PART OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN BY AMPLIFYING GUTTMACHER'S RESEARCH SHOWING THAT LOW-INCOME WOMEN'S CHILDBEARING AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH WERE DISPROPORTIONALLY DISRUPTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. WORKING WITH PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS. WE ALSO SUCCESSFULLY PRESSURED THE FDA TO SUSPEND ITS IN-PERSON DISPENSING REQUIREMENT FOR MEDICATION ABORTION AND ALLOW PATIENTS TO RECEIVE THE MEDICATION BY MAIL PERMANENTLY - A CRITICAL STEP IN LIGHT OF THE WAVE OF RESTRICTIONS ON ABORTION ACCESS. AT THE STATE LEVEL, THE INSTITUTE CONTINUED TO MONITOR POLICIES IN EVERY STATE AND DISSEMINATED A RANGE TARGETED RESOURCES THAT WERE USED EXTENSIVELY BY KEY ACTORS ACCROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING OUR POPULAR SERIES OF 31 FACT SHEETS - STATE LAWS AND POLICIES - THAT WERE UPDATED MONTHLY TO REFLECT THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY REGARDING A NUMBER OF KEY REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH POLICY ISSUES. IN DECEMBER, OUR ANNUAL REVIEW OF STATE POLICYMAKING REPORTED A RECORD NUMBER OF ABORTION RESTICTIONS ENACTED IN 2021 - A REPORT THAT HAS RECEIVED EXTENSIVE MEDIA COVERAGE AND USE BY ADVOCATES AND POLICYMAKERS. WE ALSO CONTINUED TO BUILD STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH STATE-LEVEL ADVOCATES, RESULTING IN SOME IMPORTANT POLICY GAINS. ON THE GLOBAL POLICY SIDE, OUR JUST THE NUMBERS ANALYSIS, WHICH QUANTIFIES THE BENEFITS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S INVESTMENT IN INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING, ONCE AGAIN PROVED TO BE A KEY ADVOCACY RESOURCE. IN APRIL, MORE THAN 150 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS UTILIZED THIS EVIDENCE TO REQUEST SUPPORT TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR FAMILY PLANNING AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. ADDITIONALLY, 90 ORGANIZATIONS SIGNED A LETTER THAT CITES GUTTMACHER EVIDENCE WHILE URGING THE HOUSE AND SENATE TO SUPPORT INCREASED FUNDING AND ADDRESS POLICIES THAT LIMIT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE PROGRAMS IN THE STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS FY 2022 APPROPRIATIONS BILL.