Did you know that contraception saves lives? Did you know that a woman's right to choose when and if she has children saves lives?
Beyond abortion rights and even more important than the "mommy wars", there is the huge problem that there are young, adolescent girls who don't have the power to decide when or if they have children, which results in the deaths of children. In fact, in the world's poorest countries nearly 1 million babies born to teenage mothers die every year.
Girl Power Saves Lives
On July 11, David Cameron is hosting The Family Planning Summit where world leaders will meet to discuss and potentially agree to make commitments to women's access to contraception, as well as women's empowerment when it comes to family planning.
Save The Children's "Girl Power Saves Lives" campaign and petition aims to communicate the powerful message that by empowering women to have access to contraception, as well as the power to plan, means that less children around the world will die.
When adolescent girls have the power to delay pregnancy until their bodies are ready, fewer children die. When women have the power to choose to leave more time between pregnancies, fewer children die, and when women have the choice to have smaller families, children are better cared as their mothers have the means to look after them.
Save The Children have created a short film called "I Remember My First Time" that I am honored to have taken part in. The film is a clever and informative way of raising awareness and importance of a woman's power to plan.
If Save The Children can help persuade world leaders to agree that empowering women does indeed save lives, by 2020 there would be nearly 3 million fewer babies dying, more than 1000 million fewer unintended pregnancies, and 200,000 fewer women and girls dying during pregnancy and childbirth.
How You Can Help
To help Save The Children's Girl Power Saves Lives campaign, you can do a number of things.
- Sign their petition to David Cameron
- Add the I Remember My First Time video to Facebook or Twitter
- Write a letter to your MP
Alternatively, you can always donate or volunteer with Save The Children, too.