Category Archives: Contraception and family planning

NHS makes morning-after pill available for free across pharmacies in England

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Those in need of free emergency contraception no longer have to see their GP or attend a sexual health clinic

The NHS has made the morning-after pill available for free across pharmacies in England in an effort to reduce a “postcode lottery” of access to emergency contraception.

Almost 10,000 pharmacies are now able to offer the pill without charge, saving those in need of free emergency contraception from having to visit their GP or to get an appointment at a sexual health clinic.

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US destruction of contraceptives denies 1.4m African women and girls lifesaving care, NGO says

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Incineration of $9.7m of contraceptives to lead to 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions, IPPF says

A decision by the US government to incinerate more than $9.7m (£7.3m) of contraceptives is projected to result in 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions in five African countries.

More than three-quarters of the contraceptives (77%) were destined for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Mali, according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), an NGO global healthcare provider and advocate of sexual and reproductive rights.

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Trump administration to destroy nearly $10m of contraceptives for women overseas

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As part of president’s end to foreign aid, destruction of the long-acting contraceptives will cost US taxpayers $167,000

The Trump administration has decided to destroy $9.7m worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need.

A state department spokesperson confirmed that the decision had been made – a move that will cost US taxpayers $167,000. The contraceptives are primarily long-acting, such as IUDs and birth control implants, and were almost certainly intended for women in Africa, according to two senior congressional aides, one of whom visited a warehouse in Belgium that housed the contraceptives. It is not clear to the aides whether the destruction has already been carried out, but said they had been told that it was set to occur by the end of July.

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Dutch museum to display 200-year-old condom probably made from sheep’s appendix

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Rijksmuseum exhibition includes contraceptive featuring erotic etching of a nun and three clergymen

A 200-year-old illustrated condom will go on display with Dutch golden age masters in Amsterdam this week, after the 19th-century “luxury souvenir” became the first-ever contraceptive sheath to be added to the Rijksmuseum’s art collection.

The condom, which was probably made of a sheep’s appendix circa 1830, is thought to have come from an upmarket brothel in France, most likely in Paris. It features an erotic etching depicting a partially undressed nun pointing at the erect genitals of three clergymen, as well as the phrase Voila, mon choix (“There, that’s my choice”).

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Australian women lagging on use of IUDs due to education ‘failure’, experts say

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Exclusive: A majority of females currently want to avoid pregnancy but survey reveals very few use most effective birth control method

Most Australian women don’t know that intrauterine devices (IUDs) are the most effective form of contraception.

Experts say this nationwide “failure in public education” has contributed to low uptake and caused Australia to lag behind other western countries.

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Reliance on fertility apps on rise in England and Wales, study shows

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Trend away from hormonal contraception corresponds to rise in abortion rates, say researchers

Women in England and Wales are increasingly ditching the pill in favour of fertility-tracking apps, raising the risk of a rise in unplanned pregnancies, a study suggests.

Researchers concluded there had been a shift in attitudes towards contraception in the last five years, from “more reliable” hormonal options, such as the pill and the implant, to “fertility awareness-based methods”.

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Permanent contraception surged after Roe v Wade overturned, study finds

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Young adults living in states likely to ban abortion obtained tubal sterilizations and vasectomies in months after ruling

In the months after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, permanent contraception in the form of tubal sterilizations and vasectomies surged among young adults living in states likely to ban abortion, new research released on Monday found.

Compared to May 2022, when the opinion overturning Roe leaked, August 2022 saw 95% more vasectomies and 70% more tubal sterilizations performed on people between the ages of 19 and 26, according to the study, which was conducted by researchers at the George Washington University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan.

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No surgical abortion providers in seven out of 10 Victorian local government areas, report finds

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‘Service deserts’ affect those in high-disadvantage regional districts most, Women’s Health Victoria study says

Seven out of 10 Victorian local government areas have no surgical abortion provider and one in five have no medical abortion provider, a new report shows.

The Realising Access report released on Thursday by the not-for-profit Women’s Health Victoria also found “service deserts” most profoundly affect women in high-disadvantage regional areas. Women in such areas are 300% more likely to seek abortion services later than nine weeks, meaning they require a surgical abortion for which there are even fewer providers.

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Contraceptive pill available over the counter for more women in NSW after ‘huge success’ of trial

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No requirement to go to GP for new prescription for pill, as long as it has been taken for at least two years

More women in New South Wales will have easier access to the oral contraceptive pill as a trial designed to reduce pressure on the state’s healthcare system becomes permanent.

Under the changes, from Saturday women will be able to get a resupply of their pill from a certified pharmacist without needing to go back to the doctor for a new prescription – as long as they have been taking the medication for two years.

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Global health charities warn of ‘huge and terrible’ threat to abortion rights if Trump returns

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‘Global gag rule’ and funding cuts will be ‘on different scale’ if Republicans win again, family-planning providers say

Providers of women’s healthcare around the world are preparing for potentially disastrous consequences should Donald Trump win the US presidential election in November.

Policies pursued during Trump’s last presidency caused “devastating” harm in a number of countries, said Beth Schlachter, a senior director at MSI Reproductive Choices in the US. It meant “clinics shuttered, health teams closed, women dying … but a second Trump term will be on a different scale”.

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Some condom and lubricant brands contain alarming levels of PFAS – study

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Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ linked to low birth weight, reduced sperm counts and infertility

Several brands of condoms and lubricants contain alarming levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, including styles of Trojan and K-Y Jelly, new research finds.

The testing conducted by the Mamavation consumer advocacy blog comes just as researchers found human skin absorbs the chemicals at much higher levels than previously thought.

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Mirena IUD does not need to be replaced for eight years, up from five, says TGA

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Peak medical groups say the decision aligns with current evidence. The device is the longest-acting hormonal contraceptive available in Australia

Women can rely on their Mirena intrauterine device to prevent pregnancy for up to eight years, the medicines regulator has decided, making it the longest-acting hormonal contraceptive available in Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s decision includes existing devices.

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‘Get on a plane’: Danish minister urged to meet Greenland coil scandal women

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Exclusive: Territory’s government calls for visit to listen to those thought to be living with consequences of forced fitting of IUDs

The Danish health minister should “get on a plane and visit” some of the thousands of women thought to be living with the consequences of being forcibly fitted with the contraceptive coil as children, Greenland’s gender equality minister has said.

In an attempt to reduce the population of the former Danish colony, at least 4,500 women and girls are believed to have undergone the medical procedure, usually without their consent or knowledge, at the hands of Danish doctors between 1966 and 1970 alone.

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Olivia Rodrigo stops distribution of morning-after pill at her concerts

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Singer was praised for earlier allowing distribution of Plan B at her shows, but is now stepping back citing the presence of children

Olivia Rodrigo has reportedly stepped in to halt the distribution of free contraceptives and the morning-after pill at her concerts, days after the American singer was praised for encouraging young people to take responsibility for their sexual health.

According to abortion organizations cited by Variety, Rodrigo’s “team” became concerned about the messaging and insisted groups no longer pass out lubrication, condoms and the emergency contraceptive pill known as Plan B because “children are present at the concerts”.

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First over-the-counter birth control pill in US to go on sale later this month

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Opill is being shipped to retailers and pharmacies, and its arrival on shelves comes at a deeply fraught time for reproductive rights

Opill, the first birth control pill approved for over-the-counter distribution, is now being shipped to retailers and pharmacies, the company behind the pill, Perrigo, announced on Monday. It will be available in stores and online later this month.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Opill last year, paving the way for the United States to join the dozens of countries that have already made over-the-counter birth control pills available. Opill, which works by using the hormone progestin to prevent pregnancy, is meant to be taken every day around the same time and, when used as directed, is 98% effective.

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Greenlandic women plan to sue Danish state over historical contraceptive ‘violation’

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Group of 67 claim they were fitted with an IUD between 1966 and 1970 without consent or knowledge

Dozens of Greenlandic women who say they were fitted with the contraceptive coil without their consent or knowledge are planning to sue the Danish state.

The group of 67 women, some of whom were as young as 12 when they say they were fitted with an IUD by Danish doctors in an attempt to reduce Greenland’s population, are among the 4,500 women and girls affected between 1966 and 1970.

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Put ‘pest’ animal species on the pill, don’t cull them, says scientist

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Humane alternatives to killing rampant creatures such as wild boar, deer and grey squirrels are being developed

Conflicts between humans and wildlife are triggering growing numbers of disease outbreaks, road accidents and crop damage. And the problem is likely to get worse unless new, humane measures to curtail animal numbers are developed in the near future, say scientists.

It is a critical environmental issue that will be debated this week at a major conference in Italy where experts will discuss how best to limit numbers of grey squirrels, wild boar, deer, feral goats, pigeons, parakeets and other creatures that are causing widespread ecological damage in many countries.

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US regulators approve first over-the-counter contraceptive pill

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No age restriction on sales for Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill, which will be available in stores and online early next year

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first over-the-counter contraceptive pill, allowing millions of women and girls in the country to buy contraception without a prescription at a time when some states have sought to restrict access to birth control and abortion.

FDA officials said on Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s Opill – an every day, prescription-only hormonal contraception first approved in 1973 – to be sold over-the-counter. The pill will be available in stores and online in the first quarter of next year, and there will be no age restrictions on sales. The regulatory approval paves the way for people to purchase the pill” without a prescription for the first time since oral contraceptives became widely available in the 1960s.

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Access to contraception has got harder in England, top doctor says

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Lesley Regan, women’s health ambassador for England, says ‘destructive’ changes to NHS system in 2012 are failing women

Women are finding it harder to access contraception than they did a decade ago, resulting in more unplanned pregnancies, the women’s health ambassador has said.

They have been discouraged by bad experiences, a confusingly disjointed system and long delays for procedures such as the coil or implant insertion, according to Prof Lesley Regan, a leading gynaecologist who was appointed women’s health ambassador for England last year.

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Taliban bans contraception calling use a ‘western conspiracy’

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Reports that fighters have threatened those issuing birth control medicines come as Afghan midwives and activists warn of impact on women’s health and rights

Taliban fighters have stopped the sale of contraceptives in two of Afghanistan’s main cities, claiming their use by women is a western conspiracy to control the Muslim population.

The Guardian has learned that the Taliban has been going door to door, threatening midwives and ordering pharmacies to clear their shelves of all birth control medicines and devices.

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