Marie Stopes International
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Formation | 1976 |
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Founder | Tim Black and Jean Black |
Purpose | To allow women around the world to choose when they have children. |
Headquarters | London |
Services | Contraception and safe abortion |
CEO
|
Simon Cooke |
Staff
|
9000 |
Mission | Children by choice, not chance |
Website | mariestopes |
Marie Stopes International is an international non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 38 countries around the world. Marie Stopes International as an organisation lobbies in favour of access to abortion, and provides a variety of sexual and reproductive healthcare services including advice, vasectomies, and abortions in the UK and other countries where it is legal to do so.
In 2013, Marie Stopes International provided contraception services to 6.1 million women and safe abortion and post-abortion care services to 3.1 million women, a further 9.5 million women were still using a method of contraception provided before 2013. As a result of these services 6.2 million unintended pregnancies and 2.8 million unsafe abortions were averted.[1]
The organisation's core services include family planning; safe abortion and post-abortion care; maternal and child health care, including safe delivery and obstetrics; diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections; and HIV/AIDS prevention.[2]
History
In 1975, the Marie Stopes Foundation was bankrupt and entered voluntary administration. It was taken over by Tim Black who re-founded the organisation as a social business named Marie Stopes International in 1976.[3][4]
In 2008, Marie Stopes International opened in Mexico City state, where legislative change enabled improved access to abortion services.[5]
Contraception
MSI estimated that the services they provided in 2019 prevented approximately 13 million unintended pregnancies, 34,6000 maternal deaths and 6.5 million unsafe abortions. In 2019, there were 32 million women using a method of contraception provided by MSI.
Social marketing
Marie Stopes International runs contraceptive social marketing programmes in 17 countries, such as the Kushi contraceptive pill and injectable in India,[6] Raha condom and Smart Lady emergency contraceptive pill in Kenya,[7] Lifeguard condom in Uganda[8] and Snake condom in Australia aimed at the Aboriginal population market.[9]
Name change
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In November 2020, in response to the George Floyd riots, which were organized by the Black Lives Matter movement associated with the United States Democratic Party, Marie Stopes International changed its name to "MSI Reproductive Choices" in reaction to its founder's controversial views on race and eugenics, in "stark contrast" to its present values. Though such views were common when Stopes was alive, the name of the organisation she founded had been under discussion for many years.