Recognizing a gap
The idea for the Society of Family Planning was conceived in 2001 when Dr. Leon Speroff, one of the world’s leading writers on reproductive endocrinology and contraception, observed that there was no proper forum for American researchers in family planning to share project ideas, form collaborations, review works in progress, and critique assumptions and conclusions. Many other organizations—most notably, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP), the Society for Gynecologic Investigation (SGI), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)—welcomed the science of family planning in their meetings and publications, but their interests and missions were much broader than contraception or abortion. And the European Society of Contraception (ESC) met only in Europe and focused primarily on European researchers.
As a result, family planning researchers in the United States—and especially the growing group of young researchers emerging from the Fellowships in Family Planning and the Ellertson Postdoctoral Social Science Fellowships—lacked an optimal setting for presentation and review of new work. Concluding that the solution was an American forum like ESC, where young investigators would feel encouraged to present their work—including work in progress—to an audience of experienced family planning researchers and leaders, Dr. Speroff wrote to Drs. Mitch Creinin, Carolyn Westhoff, and Anita Nelson to urge them to form an academic society related to family planning.
Early development
By 2002, the original blueprints for the society had been created and the Directors of the Fellowship in Family Planning had agreed to be the founding members. In May of 2004, revised blueprints had been adopted as the society’s bylaws, and in October of 2004 the first Executive Board and Board of Directors were elected.
In May of 2005, the first official Board of Directors meeting was held in San Francisco, California. A few months later, in September of 2005, the founding and charter members of this new society met at their first annual meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida, which ran concurrently with the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and the Planned Parenthood National Medical Committee meetings. That meeting included presentation of a lifetime achievement award to Dr. David Grimes and presentation of certificates to all founding and charter members in attendance.
Since 2005, the organization has grown from a small group of highly motivated individuals to more than 140 fellows, candidate fellows, and junior fellows. We opened an office, hired staff, and received foundation support to fund research in the area of family planning and abortion.
In 2007, we released our first Request for Proposals and awarded $650,000 to nine grantees working to improve the field of family planning by conducting high-quality scientific research. In addition, we released our first evidence-based clinical guidelines, which are updated on a quarterly basis. And we continued our annual meeting partnership with the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and joined with ARHP as the two organizations sharing Contraception as their official journal.
We're grateful to everyone who helped SFP get started, and look forward to working together as the organization continues to grow.
