Power to Decide, the campaign to prevent unplanned pregnancy

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We Are Power to Decide

All young people should have the opportunity to pursue the future they want. That’s why we are committed to ensuring that every young person has the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child.
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Information you can use

Information

We deliver trusted, high-quality, accurate information on sexual health and contraception that young people and the champions who support them can rely on.
Info you can use
Access to Birth Control

Access

Even with great progress in the past 20 years, far too many young people still don’t have the information and contraception they need. We fight to ensure access for all.
See the gaps
Opportunity

Opportunity

Having the power to decide if and when to get pregnant and have a child increases young people’s opportunities to be healthy, to complete their education, and to pursue the future they want. Every young person—no matter who they are, where they live, or how much they earn—deserves this.
Opportunity for all

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Access to Birth Control

Access to Birth Control

More than 19 million U.S. women in need do not have access to a public clinic that offers the full range of contraceptive methods. For young people who intend not to get pregnant, living in one of these places creates a significant roadblock on the path to opportunity.

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October 19, 2018

Talk to Your Child, Change a Life

For parents uncomfortable talking about sex, love, and relationships with their children, we provide a variety of supporting materials to help.

Why It Matters

Why The Power to Decide Matters

Having the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child increases young people’s opportunities to be healthy, to complete their education, and to pursue the future they want. But too many young people—especially those who are economically disadvantaged or marginalized—lack that power.

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Unplanned Pregnancy

Women who decide to become pregnant and have a child, rather than having it just happen, are better prepared emotionally and financially for the demands of having a baby. But they can’t make that decision if they lack information and access to contraception. Today about 80 percent of pregnancies among young women are described by the women themselves as unplanned. We need to change that!

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Teen Pregnancy

Nearly all teen pregnancies are unplanned. That is, teens say they did not want to get pregnant or cause a pregnancy. But teens lack access to the information and contraceptive methods they need to follow their intentions.

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The Cost

When young people are denied the power to decide their future, they have to adapt to their circumstances rather than leaping fully into wide-open opportunity. Unplanned pregnancy can dash the education, career, and economic dreams of young women and their children.

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Support Services and Solutions

Our Select360 practice offers providers, organizations, public agencies and others ready-made solutions and technical assistance in program development and evaluation, communication, advocacy, and more.

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