A Critical Take on Ethical Issues in Family Planning Programming

Feminist sociology provides exhaustive evidence on the importance of addressing inequitable power relations to challenge and change sexual and reproductive health (SRH) practices. Gender theorists have argued that the system of invisible and inequitable gender norms can shape women’s preferences, to the point that women can act against their “real” interests. This assumption often populates demand-generation interventions in Family Planning (FP) programmes. Because the system of gender norms shapes women’s desires, non-governmental organisation (NGO) practitioners working on SRH operate with assumptions about what is a ‘reasonable’ demand to generate (e.g. having fewer children). As a result, outcome measures of the success of these interventions are often expressed in the falsely value-neutral language of health. They become, for example, “the number of women who have taken up contraception” as opposed to, “the number of women who have considered taking up modern contraceptive methods, discussed with their partners, and made a fully informed decision as a couple”.
This Research Topic takes a critical look at ethical issues across different layers of FP practices (e.g. insights into effective and ethical funding strategies, effective way of working with funders, and action-oriented research). It will provide evidence on how the current system of family planning might not be addressing some ethical challenges nested in it, and will offer a conceptual framework that could guide self-reflective ethical work of actors active in the family planning community.

Recent theories of agency have begun to question Western understandings of self as separate from others. A new approach to FP and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) needs to centre respecting, protecting, and expanding people’s freedom, agency, and choices. Fast-paced international development rewards achievements of outcomes which are decided by funders and experts creating challenging conditions to implement slower paced projects. This funder driven development might unwittingly complicate the FP and SRH system as it may fail to understand the desires and wishes of the population (e.g. increase rate of modern contraception). This Research Topic bridges the practical world of donors, NGO practitioners and policymakers, the theoretical world of academia, and the lived world of the people who participate in family planning interventions.

Our intention is to contribute to the ongoing global conversation on the importance of taking ethical considerations seriously to achieve critical improvements in reproductive health. This article collection will provide evidence that will inform existing and future literature and contribute to a shift in how the family planning community operates, influencing policy and practice. This collection aims to articulate the extent to which existing ethical challenges are being taken into consideration by funders and implementers. The intention is to synthesize existing evidence on what projects are funded and inspire new conversations that will encourage change and move people to self-reflective action.

Topic areas of particular interest include:

• Ethical challenges and consideration in grantmaking in the family planning practice
• Ethical issues faced by implementors in the Sub-Saharan Africa and their solutions.
• Discourse and indicator analysis of the funders of family planning work in francophone West Africa
• Recommended strategies to improve family planning interventions in the future.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: family planning, contraception, family planning programming, SRH practices, ethical challenges, SRH ethics, SRH funding, family planning interventions

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.