During the election campaign of 1912, a mentally-unbalanced man fired a shot at Theodore Roosevelt, the candidate of the Bull Moose Party, at a rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bullet was slowed by TR’s lengthy speech, which he had double folded in his pocket, and by his eyeglasses case, nevertheless the bullet entered his body and he was bleeding profusely. Roosevelt declined to seek immediate medical attention and mounted the podium, announcing that he had been shot but that “it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”

BUENOS AIRES, Jun 10 (IPS) - In an effort to promote the free enjoyment of human sexuality, separate from reproduction, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) launched the world's first declaration of sexual rights in the Argentine capital on Wednesday.

"We want states to commit themselves to protecting these rights, and for the United Nations to adopt them in future meetings," Carmen Barroso, IPPF regional director for the Western hemisphere, told IPS.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has begun a petition drive to advocate “access to sexual and reproductive health services” for all people, “regardless of age.”

The petition campaign, reported by the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), commemorates the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, a 1994 conference in Cairo that outlined the new medical goals of the U.N. Population Fund. The petition campaign is called “15 and Counting.”

Thirty organizations commended House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and the House Foreign Affairs Committee for incorporating provisions to confront child marriage in the State Department Reauthorization Bill.  Passed yesterday in Committee, the bill now must be voted on by the House of Representatives.     

A partnership geared toward improving the supply and encouraging higher demand for reproductive health supplies, including male and female condoms, in the Caribbean was launched on Monday.

You know what they say: there is strength in numbers and many hands make hard work light.

Great things are, therefore, expected from the signing of a letter of intent between the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Population Services International (PSI). The signing took place at UNFPA's office on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston last Monday.

To read the full article, click on the attachment below.

To the Editor:

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF - “Pregnant (Again) and Poor” April 4, 2009- reminds us that family planning has a critical role to play in reducing poverty and elevating the status of women. Nahomie’s case, as a mother of ten in Haiti, is however, a troubling example of why it is crucial to go beyond contraceptives and focus on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health programs.

MORE persons who have been unable to access reproductive and sexual health products will soon be able to, with the signing of a partnership geared towards improving the supply and demand for items such as male and female condoms.

The letter of intent, involving the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Population Services International (PSI), was signed Monday at the UNFPA Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean in Kingston.

On behalf of our 152 community-based Member Associations around the world, IPPF is pleased to have this opportunity to address the Commission on the 15th anniversary of the landmark Cairo conference.

IPPF/WHR responds to Nicholas Kristof's call for names of organizations that promote family planning around the world:

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/organizations-working-on-family-planning/#comment-120543