Policy Recommendations for Science and Technology
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)
December 2008

• Undertake a targeted effort to raise public awareness about the benefits of reproductive and sexual health science and research on individual’s lives , throughout the lifespan, by openly affirming the importance of scientific and technological advancements in reproductive health care services, information and delivery from childhood through adulthood. Eliminating the stigma around reproductive and sexual health should be a central goal of these efforts. These efforts may also be part of a broader effort to restore favorable attitude toward science and technology by educating the public, policy-makers, and the media about the valuable role science plays in people’s lives.

• Link reproductive and sexual health, specifically the impact of contraceptive provision and use, to the reducing and eliminating some of the world’s most pressing challenges; high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality, global poverty, economic health and security, national security, child welfare, public health and well-being, climate change and the environment. An individual’s ability to plan and space his or her children is inextricably linked to the health and well-being of individuals, communities, economies, and the earth.

• Prioritize resources, funding, and political will for reproductive and sexual health science and research as an avenue to address and minimize health disparities. These efforts should consider the ways in which disparities including race, ethnicity, immigration status, education, socioeconomic status, disabilities, sexual identity and religious background affect people’s sexual and reproductive health. This research should focus on both eliminating barriers to access to care and the delivery of culturally competent care to justly respond to health disparities.

• Prioritize resources, funding, and political will for research on the linkages between reproductive health and the environment. These efforts should focus on both the affect that exposure to environmental toxins and certain chemicals have on reproductive health and fertility as well as the impact that access to comprehensive reproductive and sexual health services and information, in particular, contraception, can have on our environment. Reproductive and sexual health science and research can assist health care providers in educating the public on these issues as a way to advance social justice, healthy lives and a healthy planet.

• Examine, through research and evaluation, the complex cost benefits of access to reproductive health care and services and its impact on people’s ability to live productive lives and enjoy a stabilized economy. Nationally, for every $1.00 spent to provide services in the nationwide network of publicly funded family planning clinics, $4.02 is saved in Medicaid birth costs that are averted.¹ Recent published research shows that the direct medical costs of unintended pregnancies in the United States were estimated to be $5 billion a year, while direct medical cost savings due to contraceptive use were estimated to be $19 billion. New research should examine the health care and productivity savings associated with readily available and affordable contraception access, the economic and environmental impact of contraception, and the role of scientific advancements in reproductive and sexual health on our nation’s efforts to restore the economy and reform the health care system.

• Establish a balanced approach to scientific and medical education that involves all stakeholders in an accountable, fair, and transparent way that recognizes the roles both the public and private sector can play in the education of the current and next generation of health care providers. These efforts should openly recognize the inherent biases in each sector and how to mitigate the impact of bias on policy-making. These efforts should include identifying and replicating best practices and models that work.

• Prioritize a pro-active government commitment to examine and anticipate the medical, social, and ethical issues related to reproductive genetics science and research. These efforts should anticipate and address ethical questions, safety issues, and the possibility of exploitation of individuals while also ensuring that individuals and couples can benefit from scientific and technological advancements. These efforts should also examine the impact scientific research and evidence is having on the growing discourse around these new technologies with an emphasis on respecting a diversity of opinion and acknowledging that everyone can share in the common purpose of technological advancement as a way to improve people’s health and lives.

• Expand resources for research on the impacts of complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) on people’s reproductive and sexual health and lives and integrate it into comprehensive patient care. These efforts can focus on research to identify the potential benefits and risks of therapies that do not fall within the traditional realm of medicine but may offer health care consumers alternative and supplementary care. More research is needed for non-patented therapies such as diet and nutritional therapies, herbalism, acupuncture, exercise-based therapies may offer a range of reproductive and sexual health benefits. The public also needs to know how to evaluate false claims of efficacy and science can guide the search for truth both by research and education of institutions and individuals.

Separately, we want to reinforce the reproductive health and rights community’s policy agenda, which ARHP played a role in crafting, titled “Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration: Steps for Improvement and Change.”

We are confident OSTP will closely consider these policy goals as many of them relate to scientific integrity and the allocation of national resources based on the best available science. Below are seven of those specific policy goals that are most relevant to the role OSTP plays in advising the President and the Executive Office on the affects of science and technology.

• Use reproductive and sexual health science and research to demonstrate the need for expanded funding and coverage of Title X and Medicaid-Funded Family Planning Services.

• Use reproductive and sexual health science and research to demonstrate the need for eliminating the disparities in and barriers to access to safe abortion care.

• End federal funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs which have been shown to be ineffective in reducing teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

• Fund comprehensive sexuality education shown to be effective in helping young people avoid unplanned pregnancies and STIs throughout their lives.

• Review policies that restrict access to emergency contraception (EC) and eliminate restrictions that lack scientific support.

• Request systematic, evidence-based review of best practices for improving pregnancy outcomes.

• Review federal websites to ensure the accuracy of all information on sexual and reproductive health.

References

1. Frost JJ, Finer LB, Tapales A. The impact of publicly funded family planning clinic services on unintended pregnancies and government cost savings, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 2008, 19(3):777–795.
2. Trussell J. The cost of unintended pregnancy in the United States, Contraception, Volume 75, Issue 3, Pages 168 – 170.