Marie Stopes International
Encyclopedia
Reproductive health
Within the framework of the World Health Organization's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system...
with headquarters in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK. It is named after Marie Stopes
Marie Stopes
Marie Carmichael Stopes was a British author, palaeobotanist, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of birth control...
, a Scottish author, campaigner for eugenics, women's rights, and a pioneer in the field of family planning. Marie Stopes is a pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
organisation, and provides a variety of sexual and reproductive healthcare services including advice, vasectomies
Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization and/or permanent birth control. During the procedure, the vasa deferentia of a man are severed, and then tied/sealed in a manner such to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream...
, and abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s in the UK.
In 2010, Marie Stopes International's 629 centres, across 40 countries provided seven million couples with health services, including family planning
Family planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
; safe abortion & post-abortion care; maternal & child health care including safe delivery and obstetrics; diagnosis & treatment of sexually transmitted infections; and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Contraception
Marie Stopes International estimated that the services they provided in 2010 prevented approximately:4.8 million unintended pregnancies; 13,600 maternal deaths; 1.3 million unsafe abortions; and 3.1 million disability adjusted life-years (DALYs)
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Social marketing
Marie Stopes International runs contraceptive social marketing programmes in 17 countries - such as the Kushi contraceptive pill and injectable in India, Raha condom and Smart Lady emergency contraceptive pill in Kenya, Lifeguard condom in Uganda and Snake condom in Australia aimed at the Aboriginal market.Expansion
In 2008, Marie Stopes International opened in Mexico City State where legislative change has enabled improved access to abortion services.Politics
Marie Stopes International was displeased at the election of Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
in 2005, saying "It looks like this particular cardinal will continue with the line on contraception, condoms, and HIV prevention that Pope John Paul II had. It's regrettable because that will impact so terribly on the lives of millions of people, particularly in the developing world."
Edward C. (Ted) Green, past Senior Research Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, is cited in the article on him in Wikipedia as supporting the pope's emphasis, including monogamy and circumcision, while arguing that the secular and biomedical approaches are not proved to have been successful, since, for example, emphasis on condoms promotes the promiscuity that promotes HIV AIDS. The pope has in effect gone along with Green's point that use of condoms can be of secondary assistance in preventing the spread of AIDS.