Published by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), this article focuses on the female condom, considering its usage and effectiveness to date and its prospects for the future. Evidence is provided which indicates that the female condom is highly effective at preventing pregnancy, and at least as effective as the male condom in preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and AIDS. However, the paper cites studies of actual use in the United States where users rated the female condom as being much less acceptable than the male condom for a range of reasons.