An enduring role: The continuing need for a robust family planning clinic system.

Since the 1970s publicly subsidized specialized clinics have played a critical role in providing family planning counseling contraceptive services and closely related preventive health care to young and low-income women at risk of uninfected pregnancy. Currently nearly 7700 family planning clinics serve about seven million women annually. Taken together the clinic system is a major U.S. preventive health care provider and a significant contributor to the nations health: One in every four women who obtains a contraceptive service in the country does so at a family planning clinic as does one in three women who obtains an STI service and one in six who obtains either a Pap test or pelvic exam. (excerpt)