Latest Birth control News

Takeaways from AP's report on declining condom use among younger generations

Oct. 02, 2024 17:47 PM EDT

Condom usage is down for everyone in the U.S., but researchers say the trend is especially stark among teens and young adults. A few factors are at play: Medical advancements like long-term birth control options and drugs that prevent sexually transmitted infections; a fading fear...

Condoms aren’t a fact of life for young Americans. They’re an afterthought

Oct. 02, 2024 17:44 PM EDT

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — It’s hard to miss the overflowing bowl of condoms at the entrance of the gym. Some University of Mississippi students walking past after their workout snicker and point, and the few who step forward to consider grabbing a condom rethink it when their friends...

Florida officials pressure schools to roll back sex ed lessons on contraception and consent

Sep. 23, 2024 18:17 PM EDT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Some Florida school districts are rolling back a more comprehensive approach to sex education in favor of abstinence-focused lessons under pressure from state officials who have labeled certain instruction on contraception, anatomy and consent as inappropriate for...

More women had their tubes tied after Roe v. Wade was overturned

Sep. 11, 2024 13:59 PM EDT

More women chose to have their tubes tied after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, a new study shows, and the biggest increases were in states that ban abortion. A research letter published Wednesday in JAMA examined insurance claims data from 2021 and 2022 for around 4.8 million...

Alaska governor vetoes expanded birth control access as a judge strikes down abortion limits

Sep. 05, 2024 02:22 AM EDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — In competing developments about reproductive rights in the nation's largest state, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill to expand birth control access while a judge struck down decades-old restrictions on who could perform abortions. The Republican...

Supreme Court won't allow Oklahoma to reclaim federal money in dispute over abortion referrals

Sep. 03, 2024 17:34 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Oklahoma's emergency appeal seeking to restore a $4.5 million grant for family planning services in an ongoing dispute over the state’s refusal to refer pregnant women to a nationwide hotline that provides information about abortion and...

Condoms can't be trusted and boys don't cry in Catholic Paraguay's first sex ed program

Sep. 03, 2024 17:18 PM EDT

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — Ahead of her 15th birthday, Diana Zalazar's body had gotten so big she could no longer squeeze into the dress she bought for her quinceañera to celebrate her passage into womanhood in Paraguay. Her mother sought help from a doctor, who suspected that...

WHO Europe laments declining rates of condom use among sexually active teens worldwide

Aug. 28, 2024 18:04 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization's office for Europe on Thursday decried a decline in condom use by adolescents in recent years, warning of risks of infection and unplanned pregnancies in countries from Canada to central Asia. The findings come in the latest report by...

Appeals court spikes Tennessee's bid to get family planning dollars despite abortion rule

Aug. 27, 2024 18:06 PM EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court has shot down Tennessee's attempt to collect millions of dollars in family planning funds without complying with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals due to its current ban on the procedure. Last year,...

It’s not just IUDs. Gynecologists and patients are focused on making procedures less painful

Aug. 21, 2024 12:59 PM EDT

Federal officials affirmed this month that the pain people might feel when getting an IUD can be more than doctors' promises of “just a pinch." The local anesthetic lidocaine “might be useful for reducing patient pain” when inserting intrauterine devices, according to new...