As a bunch of men on Capitol Hill discussed whether federally 
supported health-care programs should have to cover contraceptive services in the United States, a new study in the medical journal the Lancet was reporting that, globally, about one in five pregnancies worldwide ends in abortion. That’s a disturbingly high statistic — whichever side of the abortion rights debate you fall. But the awkward fact for those opposed to both abortion rights and supplying contraceptives is that global evidence suggests the most foolproof way to reduce the abortion rate is, in fact, to provide more widespread access to contraceptives.
The good news is that, according to U.N. data, the percentage of couples worldwide ages 15 to 49 using a modern method of contraception expanded from 41 percent in 1980 to 56 percent in 2009. The gray lining on that silver cloud, however, is that the rate of progress slowed considerably in the new millennium, to an annual growth rate of just 0.1 percent.
Of course, some of the 44 percent of couples who aren’t using modern contraceptives are trying to have a baby. But hundreds of millions of women aren’t using modern contraception because they don’t have access to it or can’t afford it. There are traditional, “free” methods of contraception — the rhythm method or withdrawal, for example. But, beyond being considerably less reliable, they require the cooperation of male partners. A recent 10-country study by the World Health Organization suggests that between one in 10 and one-half of women in a relationship had suffered sexual abuse by their partners. And cross-country evidence in developing countries suggests men usually want more children than do their partners. Thus, it’s naive in the extreme to assume women can always rely on their partner to cooperate in using traditional methods when it comes to avoiding pregnancy.
Related articles
- What If Contraception Could Decimate The Abortion Rate? (mykeystrokes.com)
- Buchanan To Republicans: You’re Overeaching On Birth Control (thinkprogress.org)
- When a Country Cracks Down on Contraception: Grim Lessons from the Philippines (globalspin.blogs.time.com)
maboulette
