Guttmacher Institute

• 1. Introduction

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  The Guttmacher Institute carries the name of a man who once led Planned Parenthood, the obstetrician-gynecologist Alan F. Guttmacher. Yet the organization that bears his name now operates apart from the group where it began. Founded in 1968, it started life inside Planned Parenthood and stayed there for decades before going its own way. Today it describes itself as a research and policy NGO working to improve sexual health and expand reproductive rights worldwide. It works mainly in the United States, and reaches into developing countries too. How did a branch of one organization become an independent voice cited by groups on both sides of the abortion debate? What does it actually do, who pays for it, and how can a group that advocates for reproductive rights still call itself nonpartisan? Those are the questions ahead.

• 2. From Branch To Independence

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  The Center for Family Planning Program Development was the institute's first name when it began in 1968 as a branch of Planned Parenthood. The label was clinical, describing the work rather than the man. That changed after Alan Guttmacher died. Following his death, the Center for Family Planning Program Development was renamed and reorganized as an independent non-profit organization. The split took years to finish. In 2007, the organization officially separated from Planned Parenthood, completing a transition from internal program to standalone institution.

• 3. Counting The Uncounted

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  Statistical models let the Guttmacher Institute estimate the number of abortions in places where the procedure is illegal, or where it happens outside formal health care settings. Where records do not exist, the institute approximates. Closer to home, the organization continually monitors state and national laws and policies on contraception and abortion. One of its projects is keeping a running list of reproductive health laws and policies throughout the United States, recording the restrictions different states have put in place. Teenagers are a focus as well. The institute keeps data on how teens are affected by pregnancy and on the number of teens who use contraception. In 2013, the US National Institutes of Health awarded it a Population Center grant to support its Center for Population Research Innovation and Dissemination.

• 4. Who Pays The Bills

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  Planned Parenthood was the institute's sole source of funding when it was founded in 1968. That dependence faded over time. Three years after becoming independent in 2007, the organization drew less than 1% of its funding from Planned Parenthood in 2010. Most of its money now comes from private foundations based in the United States. International bodies contribute as well, among them the World Health Organization and the World Bank. The MacArthur Foundation awarded the Guttmacher Institute $3.9 million between 1986 and 2015, including 13 grants in population and reproductive health.

• 5. Trusted On Both Sides

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  FactCheck has said the institute "provides the most highly respected statistics on the sexual health of women and men", adding that its figures on abortion are widely cited by the media and by groups on both sides of the political aisle. That reach across the divide is striking given the institute's own stated aim. The group works to "ensure that all women are able to exercise their reproductive rights and responsibilities", which places it among advocates of abortion rights. It is not affiliated with a political party, so it is nonpartisan in the strict sense of the word. Its standing has been recognized in other ways too. The Guttmacher Institute has received Charity Navigator's highest 4-Star rating every year since 2010, with Jonathan Wittenberg and Destiny Lopez now serving as co-presidents and co-CEOs.