Lawrence B. Finer, Ph.D., TCPalm.com
March 4, 2008
Anne C. Lotierzo (“Official at Guttmacher Institute should ‘check his own Web site’,” Feb. 26) attempts to use a Guttmacher Institute statistic (half of women having abortions used contraception in the month they became pregnant) as evidence that birth control “paves the way” to abortion. That argument may come as a surprise to the millions of American couples who have successfully used contraception for years, or even decades.

It also shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the math involved.

About 10 percent of all women at risk of unwanted pregnancy do not use birth control, and they account for almost half of all abortions because they have very high rates of unintended pregnancy. The other 90 percent of women who do use contraception are significantly less likely to experience an unintended pregnancy. They account for the remaining abortions simply because there are so many more of them, but they are much less likely to have an abortion than their counterparts who do not use contraception.

Ms. Lotierzo also makes the unsubstantiated claim that modern contraceptive methods cause an “aversion to pregnancy.” If so, then why is it that more than two-thirds of contraceptive users have already had children, and why is the current U.S. fertility rate not much different than it was in the 1930s?

Enough with the retrogressive idea of a contraception-free society. In the real world, Americans understand the value and benefits of birth control and overwhelmingly support it and use it: 98 percent of sexually active Americans have used contraception at some point in their lives.

Access to birth control allows Americans to make responsible decisions about when to become parents, a much better approach than allowing Ms. Lotierzo to make the decision for them.

Lawrence B. Finer, Ph.D.

Director of Domestic Research

The Guttmacher Institute