Improving opportunity through access to family planning
Past Event
Introduction & Keynote address
Nearly half of the 6.1 million yearly pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. These unplanned pregnancies, whether unwanted or mistimed, can create negative outcomes for children and families. In recent years, greater access to birth control, particularly the more effective types of birth control known as long-acting, reversible contraception (LARCs), have empowered women to only have children if, when, and with whom they want. Several states and organizations have been trailblazers in increasing the availability of family planning information and access to the full range of contraceptive methods, so that women can make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Such access will be more important than ever should restrictions on abortion become more prevalent in the future.
On June 24, the Future of the Middle Class Initiative hosted an event marking the release of a new report by Brookings Senior Fellow Isabel Sawhill and Senior Research Assistant Katherine Guyot. The event featured former Governor Jack Markell, who led the path-breaking efforts in Delaware to reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies. The panels that followed focus on state experiences and efforts, new approaches to reducing unplanned pregnancies, and what the research says about their success.
Agenda
Introduction
Stephanie Aaronson
Senior Associate Director, Division of Research and Statistics - Federal Reserve Board
Summary of report “Preventing unplanned pregnancies: Lessons from the states”
Keynote address
Jack Markell
73rd Governor - State of Delaware
Panel 1: State experiences
Camille Busette
Interim Vice President and Director - Governance Studies
Director - Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative
John Wiesman
Secretary of Health - Washington State Department of Health
Karyl Thomas Rattay
Director, Division of Public Health - Delaware Department of Health and Social Services
David K. Turok
Associate Professor - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah Health Care
Panel 2: New approaches
Sarah Brown
Senior Adviser and Former Chief Executive Officer - The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
Mark Edwards
Co-Founder/Co-CEO - Upstream USA
Ginny Ehrlich
Chief Executive Officer - Power to Decide
Janice Tildon-Burton
M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
Panel 3: Research
Martha Bailey
Professor of Economics - UCLA
Research Associate - National Bureau of Economic Research
Kristin Moore
Senior Scholar - Child Trends
Jason Lindo
Professor of Economics - Texas A&M University
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