The purpose of this essay is to examine the relation between reproductive rights and overpopulation. The main research question is whether the increase of the population size can affect the moral aspects of the reproductive rights. Relying on, and building upon arguments already developed by a number of philosophers, I show that although some restrictions might be justified, these restrictions cannot completely rule out the basic right to reproduction. Based on this, I then proceed with an overview of the possible solutions. In the subsequent discussion, a one-child-per-couple philosophy stands out as the best option. This would be morally justified according to the initial statements, as well as the most effective alternative when it comes to initiating a significant population decline. The one-child-per-couple philosophy is then contested by several problems that could theoretically arise, but none of these problems are, according to my discussion, strong enough to dispute the positive aspects of the theory. The conclusion of this essay is that we, as a species, have a moral obligation to limit our numbers and that we ought to start acting accordingly.

The study investigates the impediments caused by criminalisation of abortion in cases of forced pregnancy as a result of rape. It focuses on the premise that restrictive abortion laws and practices in such cases has devastating impact on women’s lives as they are likely to engage in unsafe abortion. Focuses on rape and abortion in Swaziland in relation to cultural norms and traditional beliefs on the issue of access to legal abortion by rape victims. Also discusses the law on abortion in Ethiopia. / A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Girmachew Alemu Aneme, Faculty of Law, University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

For many years, research has been done regarding the psychological link between gender, sex, and policy attitudes. Including, common investigations focusing on how female disposition may be a simple predictor of attitudes on "women's issues." However, the 2016 American presidential election—the first election with a female candidate as a leading party candidate, who was defeated by a male candidate accused of making discriminatory remarks about women—showed just how complex and evolving this relationship is. This was demonstrated yet again when the U.S. Supreme Court added a new female justice, then overturned the reproductive health protections of Roe vs. Wade in 2022. Clearly, the relationship between gender and policy attitudes continues to evolve, and so our research understanding of this phenomenon must evolve too. Therefore, this study seeks to answer the following questions: does being a woman, man, or non-identifier impact political behavior? If so, does this occur more or less when self-identified as a feminist, versus not? What other factors matter in this actively evolving phenomenon? How does this track in reference to what is already known about women, feminism, and policy? Ultimately, this research will seek to unpack if it is true that gender identity and self-identification as a feminist impacts opinions on the Roe v. Wade decision.

Thesis advisor: Philip E. Strahan / The essays on the gender gap in entrepreneurship examine the trade-offs between women's family formation choices and career aspirations in the setting of small businesses and entrepreneurship. The first essay titled ``Family Comes First: Reproductive Health and the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship,'' uses Census data to show how better access to reproductive care increases women's propensity to become entrepreneurs, correlates positively with female entrepreneurial activity, and negatively with female entrepreneurial age. Examining firm size and personal income suggests it also improves the success of female-led businesses. Finally, it shows how policies securing better reproductive care enable more women to become entrepreneurs and, potentially, drive economic growth. The second essay titled ``Reproductive Rights and Women's Access to Capital,'' explores the impact of reproductive care restrictions on female entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital. It tests the hypothesis that better access to reproductive care enables women to plan their family formation better, avoid unexpected pregnancies, and gain access to cheaper capital as a result of this reduced risk. This hypothesis is analyzed using restricted data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) in a difference-in-differences setting around the enactment of state-level legislation limiting access to reproductive care. It finds restrictions on reproductive care to be detrimental to women seeking to raise capital and open their own firms. Women who have limited reproductive care access are less likely to borrow, end up taking smaller loan amounts, and have lower leverage ratios. The main contribution of the first essay is that it establishes a direction and causal relationship between reproductive care and entrepreneurship, and of the second essay is that it shows how the increased risk of unplanned pregnancy translates into reduced credit availability for female entrepreneurs at childbearing age. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

In this dissertation, I deconstruct the commonly held assumption that the intrauterine device (IUD) is an unsafe and/or obsolete contraceptive method that has been used mostly to impose population control on women in developing countries. Simultaneously, I explore the changing meaning of the device over the last 40 years in varying socio-historical contexts. Capitalizing on the analytical tradition of science and technology studies that regards technology as socially constructed, I analyze the IUD as a technology that transformed through a series of material and discursive negotiations. Negotiations over the IUD took place in multiple layers, most notably in the social and political domains that defined the meaning of the contraceptive technology, but also in the domain of science, in which claims about the device's technical features and its relationship with the biological body were made. This work is divided into the examination of four major domains – global population politics, American contraceptive market, American antiabortion politics, and scientific research – within which the IUD took shape both materially and discursively. The historical development of the scientific research and discourse of IUDs are juxtaposed with the prevailing socio-political background to illustrate the intricate relationship between scientific research of contraceptive technology and the politics of fertility control. The final chapter addresses the agency of IUD users, introducing the ways in which women in developing countries have manipulated the IUD to achieve reproductive self-determination. / Ph. D.

This dissertation explores the regulation of abortion in Canada following the landmark R v Morgentaler decision (1988), which struck down Canada’s existing abortion law, causing the procedure’s subsequent reclassification as a healthcare issue. The resulting fragility of abortion rights is still evident in the varying provincial regulations governing the nature of access to the procedure. While access has been accepted as the new terrain of abortion rights, research into this area to date has taken a largely national focus, surveying provincial barriers and compiling lists of potential motivations for differences in service. This dissertation builds on this work through the use of specific case studies of provinces representative of a spectrum of access in Canada – New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec. Through the use of original interview data, these cases are compared and contrasted on previously enumerated grounds believed to have an influence on the treatment of abortion. By isolating the impact of specific processes responsible for the regulation of abortion, through research into its treatment in politics, law, medicine, and public discourse, this study endeavours to offer a more nuanced explanation for varying levels of provincial access to abortion services. Ultimately it finds that a province’s social climate, characterized by attitudes towards the ongoing rights versus morality debate championed by pro- and anti-choice social movements, has had the greatest impact in shaping public perceptions of the procedure. These attitudes in turn have a profound effect on the nature of provincial access. Using a citizenship framework grounded in social reproduction, which understands anti-abortion politics as elements of backlash against progressive advances in women’s citizenship, this dissertation argues for the need to understand abortion as a right of women’s citizenship to address the precarious treatment of abortion services. Recognition of women’s unique reproductive abilities through a citizenship paradigm is necessary before women can hope to achieve equality. Only when abortion is entrenched as a right of citizenship and this understanding of the procedure is embedded in social perceptions, can women not only be treated as equal citizens, but also understand themselves to be equal citizens. / Thesis (Ph.D, Political Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-11-22 11:41:49.524

A abertura política do Brasil à democracia promoveu uma série de mudanças legislativas e de organização do Estado. Na área da infância e adolescência, após a promulgação do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA), foram criados conselhos de nível federal, estadual e municipal, com o objetivo de promover e defender os direitos dessa população específica. Também foram formados os Conselhos Tutelares compostos por membros da sociedade civil, diretamente eleitos pela população, com a função de informar e promover esses direitos localmente. Utilizando a metodologia qualitativa-quantitativa do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo, a pesquisa analisou a percepção e opinião dos conselheiros tutelares a respeito de situações que envolvem a prática sexual voluntária heterossexual e homossexual de adolescentes da faixa etária de 12 a 17 anos. Os dados foram colhidos com o uso de questionários semiestruturados para autopreenchimento, apresentados em visita técnica aos membros dos 44 Conselhos Tutelares do município de São Paulo. Além do perfil social e familiar, foram coletadas opiniões dos conselheiros quanto à autonomia dos adolescentes e suas noções de desrespeito legal, além de sugestões de orientação de condutas frente a três casos hipotéticos de prática sexual realizada por adolescentes. Responderam à pesquisa 80 (36,4 por cento ) conselheiros de um total de 220, de 29 (65,9 por cento ) dos 44 Conselhos Tutelares da cidade. Observou-se que apresentaram tendência a reproduzir os modelos tradicionais negativos da sociedade brasileira no julgamento da prática sexual de adolescentes, avaliando sua ocorrência pela ótica moral e de opinião de familiares e outros adultos. Mais da metade não associa tais práticas a impactos específicos sobre a saúde e os direitos sexuais e reprodutivos dos adolescentes, nem realiza encaminhamentos para sua promoção. Adotam noções desiguais de gênero do senso comum, que remetem à preocupação com a imagem e impactos da publicização da sexualidade de meninas, não fazendo o mesmo para adolescentes meninos e veem as práticas homoafetivas sob a ótica da violência e sedução, associando-as à necessidade de orientação psicológica e problemas de saúde mental. Considera-se que conselheiros tutelares estão pouco preparados para lidar com a sexualidade de adolescentes e normalmente treinados para avaliá-la tal qual a violência sexual que acomete crianças. Como possuem status local de legitimidade, são procurados e tem poder de averiguação e encaminhamento público de ocorrências, terminando por, muitas vezes, desrespeitar os direitos humanos de adolescentes quanto à expressão e vivência da sexualidade e da prática sexual saudável. Considera-se fundamental discutir o papel dos Conselhos Tutelares frente aos direitos de adolescentes, de forma que ao contrário do proposto na democratização do país, não se configurem como mais um instrumentos de exercício de poder para perpetuar desigualdades sociais. Na área da sexualidade, a defesa dos direitos de adolescentes passa pelo respeito a sua sexualidade, acesso à informação, à garantia de serviços públicos que efetivamente os atendam para proporcionar exames, contracepção, prevenção de doenças sexualmente transmissíveis, etc., com respeito a sua cidadania, especificidades, necessidades, autonomia e dignidade pessoal, promovendo-os e defendendo-os frente a famílias, comunidade, a toda a sociedade e ao próprio poder público. / The political opening to democracy in Brazil promoted a series of changes of legislation and state organization. Concerning to the childhood and adolescence, after the promulgation of the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (Statute for Children and Adolescents), councils were created at federal, state and municipal level, to promote and defend the rights of this specific group. The Conselhos Tutelares (Tutelary Councils) were also created, composed by civil society members, directly elected by the population, to inform and promote these rights locally. Using qualitative and qualitative-quantitative methodologies of the Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo (Discourse of the Collective Subject), the research analyzed the perception and the opinion of councilors regarding to situations involving heterosexual and homosexual voluntary sexual practices, among teenagers from 12 to 17 years old. Data were collected with semi-structured questionnaires for self-fulfillment, presented in technical visits to members of the 44 Tutelary Councils in São Paulo city. Beyond the social and family profile, opinions on the autonomy of adolescents and their notions of legal disrespect were collected and also the suggestions to orientation of conducts, facing three hypothetical cases of sexual practice performed by adolescents. The research was answered by 80 (36,4 per cent ) counselors from a total of 220, of 29 (65,9 per cent ) Tutelary Councils from the 44 placed in the city. It was observed that they showed a tendency to reproduce negative traditional models of brazilian society in the judgment of teenage sexual practices, evaluating its occurrences from the moral viewpoint and opinion of familiars and other adults. More than a half dont associate these practices to specific impacts on the health and the sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents, neither acts for its promotion. They adopt unequal notions from the common sense, referred to the concern with the image and the publicizing of girls sexuality, not showing the same concern when it comes to boys; and see the homoafective practices from the perspective of violence and seduction, linking to the need of psychologist counseling and mental health problems. It is considered that counselors are unprepared to deal with teenage sexuality and that they are commonly trained to face these situations as sexual violence that affects children. As they have local status of legitimacy, they are requested and have power of inquiry and public routing of occurrences, culminating, several times, in disrespect of human rights of adolescents, related to the expression and experience of their sexuality and healthy sexual practices. It is considered fundamental to discuss the role of the Tutelary Councils in face to the adolescent rights, so that, instead of what was proposed in the country democratization, they dont become a power tool to perpetuate social inequalities. At the sexuality area, the defense of adolescent rights includes respecting their sexuality; provides access to information; ensuring public services able to attend them to provide exams, contraception, preventions of sexually transmitted diseases, etc.; respecting their citizenship, specifics, needs, autonomy and personal dignity; promoting and defending them among their families, communities, the society and the public power itself.

Introdução: Em 2015, a infecção pelo zika começou a chamar a atenção de profissionais de saúde da região Nordeste. Apesar dos sintomas semelhantes aos da dengue, tratava-se de uma enfermidade que até então não estivera presente no território brasileiro. No segundo semestre de 2015, houve um aumento nos casos de microcefalia em recém-nascidos e com isso, pesquisadores descobriram que essa condição neurológica estava associada à infecção pelo referido vírus em gestantes. Desta forma, a gravidez em tempos de zika tornou-se uma preocupação para mulheres. Vivenciar uma gestação nestas condições poderia resultar em sofrimento mental para as mulheres, principalmente ao considerar que as áreas mais afetadas pela epidemia são marcadas por vulnerabilidades econômicas e sociais. Grupos e instituições que defendem o direito ao aborto nos casos de infecção pelo zika colocam seus argumentos em circulação na esfera pública, ao mesmo tempo em que atores com posicionamento contrário procuram defender seus discursos. Objetivos: Buscou-se mapear a controvérsia em torno do zika e a interrupção da gravidez para gestantes infectadas pelo vírus em dois jornais brasileiros, Folha de S. Paulo e O Estado de S. Paulo. Metodologia: Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, envolvendo análise documental de notícias. Foram selecionados textos jornalísticos do período de novembro de 2015 a dezembro de 2017. Por meio da Teoria Ator-Rede de Latour, buscou-se mapear a controvérsia sobre o direito ao aborto para gestantes infectadas pelo zika, identificando os atores e os argumentos que a compõem, por meio da elaboração de categorias de análise. Resultados e discussão: Observou-se que os atores que se posicionaram diante do problema foram médicos, pesquisadores, representantes da esfera jurídica, representantes governamentais, movimentos sociais, organismos internacionais e grupos religiosos. Os argumentos favoráveis recorrentes foram a gravidade da microcefalia, negligência do Estado, sofrimento das mulheres atingidas pela epidemia, defesa da descriminalização do aborto. Enquanto que os argumentos contrários se concentraram na incerteza sobre a relação causal entre zika e microcefalia e o valor da vida humana. Além disso, a presença de vozes das mulheres afetadas pela epidemia foi menor em relação aos outros atores. Considerações finais: O debate sobre a relação entre o vírus e o direito ao aborto foi perdendo força após o ano de 2016, porém reacendeu o debate do aborto. O zika pode ser um objeto adequado para refletir como a comunidade médica e de pesquisadores constroem controvérsias nos veículos midiáticos, bem como outros atores envolvidos no tema, como movimentos sociais, grupos religiosos, representantes governamentais, jurídicos, organismos internacionais. No entanto, nos veículos de comunicação, há uma hegemonia do discurso científico, enquanto que as vozes das mulheres não ecoam neste meio. / Introduction: In 2015, the zika infection began to catch the attention of health professionals in the Northeast region. Despite the symptoms similar to those of dengue, it was a disease that had not been present in Brazil until then. In the second half of 2015, there was an increase in the cases of microcephaly in newborns and with that, researchers found that this neurological condition was associated with the infection by said virus in pregnant women. In this way, pregnancy in times of zika has become a concern for women. Experiencing a pregnancy in these conditions could result in mental suffering for women, especially considering that the areas most affected by the epidemic are marked by economic and social vulnerabilities. Groups and institutions that defend the right to abortion in cases of zika infection place their arguments in the public sphere, while opposing actors try to defend their speeches. Objectives: We aimed to map the controversy around zika and the interruption of pregnancy to pregnant women infected by the virus in two Brazilian newspapers, Folha de S. Paulo and O Estado de S. Paulo. Methodology: This is a qualitative research, involving documentary analysis of news. Journalistic texts were selected from November 2015 to December 2017. Through the Latour Actor-Network Theory, we tried to map the controversy over the right to abortion for pregnant women infected with zika, identifying the actors and the arguments that the compose, through the elaboration of categories of analysis. Results and discussion: It was observed that the actors who posed the problem were doctors, researchers, legal representatives, government representatives, social movements, international organizations and religious groups. Favorable arguments were the seriousness of microcephaly, neglect of the State, the suffering of women affected by the epidemic, and the defense of the decriminalization of abortion. While the opposing arguments focused on uncertainty about the causal relationship between zika and microcephaly and the value of human life. In addition, the voices of the women affected by the epidemic were lower than the other actors. Final Considerations: The debate over the relationship between the virus and the right to abortion was losing strength after 2016, but it rekindled the abortion debate. The zika can be an appropriate object to reflect how the medical community and researchers construct controversies in the media vehicles, as well as other actors involved in the theme, such as social movements, religious groups, government representatives, jurists, international organizations. However, in the media, there is a hegemony of scientific discourse, while the voices of women do not echo in media vehicles.

A abertura política do Brasil à democracia promoveu uma série de mudanças legislativas e de organização do Estado. Na área da infância e adolescência, após a promulgação do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA), foram criados conselhos de nível federal, estadual e municipal, com o objetivo de promover e defender os direitos dessa população específica. Também foram formados os Conselhos Tutelares compostos por membros da sociedade civil, diretamente eleitos pela população, com a função de informar e promover esses direitos localmente. Utilizando a metodologia qualitativa-quantitativa do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo, a pesquisa analisou a percepção e opinião dos conselheiros tutelares a respeito de situações que envolvem a prática sexual voluntária heterossexual e homossexual de adolescentes da faixa etária de 12 a 17 anos. Os dados foram colhidos com o uso de questionários semiestruturados para autopreenchimento, apresentados em visita técnica aos membros dos 44 Conselhos Tutelares do município de São Paulo. Além do perfil social e familiar, foram coletadas opiniões dos conselheiros quanto à autonomia dos adolescentes e suas noções de desrespeito legal, além de sugestões de orientação de condutas frente a três casos hipotéticos de prática sexual realizada por adolescentes. Responderam à pesquisa 80 (36,4 por cento ) conselheiros de um total de 220, de 29 (65,9 por cento ) dos 44 Conselhos Tutelares da cidade. Observou-se que apresentaram tendência a reproduzir os modelos tradicionais negativos da sociedade brasileira no julgamento da prática sexual de adolescentes, avaliando sua ocorrência pela ótica moral e de opinião de familiares e outros adultos. Mais da metade não associa tais práticas a impactos específicos sobre a saúde e os direitos sexuais e reprodutivos dos adolescentes, nem realiza encaminhamentos para sua promoção. Adotam noções desiguais de gênero do senso comum, que remetem à preocupação com a imagem e impactos da publicização da sexualidade de meninas, não fazendo o mesmo para adolescentes meninos e veem as práticas homoafetivas sob a ótica da violência e sedução, associando-as à necessidade de orientação psicológica e problemas de saúde mental. Considera-se que conselheiros tutelares estão pouco preparados para lidar com a sexualidade de adolescentes e normalmente treinados para avaliá-la tal qual a violência sexual que acomete crianças. Como possuem status local de legitimidade, são procurados e tem poder de averiguação e encaminhamento público de ocorrências, terminando por, muitas vezes, desrespeitar os direitos humanos de adolescentes quanto à expressão e vivência da sexualidade e da prática sexual saudável. Considera-se fundamental discutir o papel dos Conselhos Tutelares frente aos direitos de adolescentes, de forma que ao contrário do proposto na democratização do país, não se configurem como mais um instrumentos de exercício de poder para perpetuar desigualdades sociais. Na área da sexualidade, a defesa dos direitos de adolescentes passa pelo respeito a sua sexualidade, acesso à informação, à garantia de serviços públicos que efetivamente os atendam para proporcionar exames, contracepção, prevenção de doenças sexualmente transmissíveis, etc., com respeito a sua cidadania, especificidades, necessidades, autonomia e dignidade pessoal, promovendo-os e defendendo-os frente a famílias, comunidade, a toda a sociedade e ao próprio poder público. / The political opening to democracy in Brazil promoted a series of changes of legislation and state organization. Concerning to the childhood and adolescence, after the promulgation of the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (Statute for Children and Adolescents), councils were created at federal, state and municipal level, to promote and defend the rights of this specific group. The Conselhos Tutelares (Tutelary Councils) were also created, composed by civil society members, directly elected by the population, to inform and promote these rights locally. Using qualitative and qualitative-quantitative methodologies of the Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo (Discourse of the Collective Subject), the research analyzed the perception and the opinion of councilors regarding to situations involving heterosexual and homosexual voluntary sexual practices, among teenagers from 12 to 17 years old. Data were collected with semi-structured questionnaires for self-fulfillment, presented in technical visits to members of the 44 Tutelary Councils in São Paulo city. Beyond the social and family profile, opinions on the autonomy of adolescents and their notions of legal disrespect were collected and also the suggestions to orientation of conducts, facing three hypothetical cases of sexual practice performed by adolescents. The research was answered by 80 (36,4 per cent ) counselors from a total of 220, of 29 (65,9 per cent ) Tutelary Councils from the 44 placed in the city. It was observed that they showed a tendency to reproduce negative traditional models of brazilian society in the judgment of teenage sexual practices, evaluating its occurrences from the moral viewpoint and opinion of familiars and other adults. More than a half dont associate these practices to specific impacts on the health and the sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents, neither acts for its promotion. They adopt unequal notions from the common sense, referred to the concern with the image and the publicizing of girls sexuality, not showing the same concern when it comes to boys; and see the homoafective practices from the perspective of violence and seduction, linking to the need of psychologist counseling and mental health problems. It is considered that counselors are unprepared to deal with teenage sexuality and that they are commonly trained to face these situations as sexual violence that affects children. As they have local status of legitimacy, they are requested and have power of inquiry and public routing of occurrences, culminating, several times, in disrespect of human rights of adolescents, related to the expression and experience of their sexuality and healthy sexual practices. It is considered fundamental to discuss the role of the Tutelary Councils in face to the adolescent rights, so that, instead of what was proposed in the country democratization, they dont become a power tool to perpetuate social inequalities. At the sexuality area, the defense of adolescent rights includes respecting their sexuality; provides access to information; ensuring public services able to attend them to provide exams, contraception, preventions of sexually transmitted diseases, etc.; respecting their citizenship, specifics, needs, autonomy and personal dignity; promoting and defending them among their families, communities, the society and the public power itself.

Introdução - As mulheres são as principais agentes de cuidados em saúde das famílias e comunidades. Apesar disso, as consequências da globalização e da modernidade nas mulheres de baixa renda resultaram em uma necessidade de adesão às diversas formas de regulação da fecundidade. A Estratégia Saúde da Família traz como característica de trabalho para seus profissionais a observância dos direitos e a atenção à saúde reprodutiva e especificamente ao planejamento familiar. Objetivo - Analisar em que dimensão de significados sociopolíticos encontram-se as relações, ações e atividades de planejamento familiar no âmbito da Estratégia Saúde da Família do município de Sobral, no Estado do Ceará, Brasil. Metodologia - Pesquisa qualitativa, de caráter descritivo e explicativo, mediante entrevistas semi-estruturadas e não estruturadas, com questões em aberto, observação livre e análise documental, iniciada após prévia aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e consentimento esclarecido dos entrevistados. Os sujeitos são profissionais de saúde da Estratégia Saúde da Família. A interpretação dos dados seguiu os ensinamentos da análise de conteúdo. Resultados - Os entrevistados apontaram problemas no atendimento em planejamento familiar, embora percebam de maneira positiva suas relações com os outros profissionais de saúde e com os usuários. Conclusão - Os dados coletados e analisados nesta pesquisa permitem sustentar que existe um distanciamento entre as políticas que são propostas para as ações em planejamento familiar e as práticas dos profissionais de saúde que lidam diretamente com estas necessidades contraceptivas dentro da Estratégia Saúde da Família / Introduction - Women are the main agents of health care to families and communities. Despite that, the consequences of globalization and modernity over poor women lead to the necessity of adherence to the several modes of fecundity regulation. Brazilian Family Health Strategy has as its principal work process the observation of reproductive rights in women health care, specifically the family planning concerns. Objective - To analyze in what dimensions of sociopolitical meanings are the family planning relations, actions and activities in the context of Family Health Strategy in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil. Methodology - Descriptive and explanatory qualitative research, made by semi-structured and non-structured interviews, with open-ended questions; participant observation and documental analysis. The research protocol was approved by USP Ethical Board Review and the ethical Brazilian recommendations on human research were observed. The researchs participants were health professionals of Sobral Family Health Strategy. The data were submitted to the thematic content analysis. Results - The participants highlight problems in family planning provision, despite they perceive their relationship with the clients and into the health team in the positive manner. Conclusion - Measures for improvement of family planning are related to structure, equipments, professional training and empowerment of educational groups