Access To Birth Control Worldwide Inadequate

Contraceptive choice is fundamental to women's health, according to anew study published by Population Action International, which noted that the lack of access to birth control is an obstacle to the improvement of women's health. Although progress has been made over the past 15 years, large gaps remain, the study noted. More than 100 million married women worldwide have an unmet need for contraception, and even those with some access have few choices about what methods are available.

In some countries sterilization is relatively easy to obtain, but access to reversible contraceptives is limited, the study notes. It also points out that the rate of abortion dropped in countries where access to contraception has improved, such as Chile, Colombia, Hungary and South Korea, as well as Russia, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine.