Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Potential Role Of Contraception In Reducing Abortion, John Bongaarts, Charles F. Westoff

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Since the 1960s the proportion of couples practicing contraception has risen rapidly, particularly in the developing world, and the mix of methods is now dominated by modern methods. Despite these trends, the incidence of unintended pregnancy remains high mainly because the number of children desired has declined. Worldwide there are almost as many unintended as intended pregnancies each year (not counting miscarriages, which are excluded in this analysis) and more than half of these unintended pregnancies end in abortion. This study examines the potential role of further increases in contraceptive prevalence and effectiveness in reducing abortion rates. The model used …