Abortion and Contraception in 12 Countries

Charles Westoff, Princeton University

Based on data from CDC and DHS surveys, this is a documentation of the replacement of abortion by modern methods of contraception in 12 countries of Central Asia and eastern Europe. In most of these countries, the recent trend is an increase in modern contraceptive prevalence accompanied by a decline in abortion rates. In several countries where little change in contraception has occurred, abortion rates have risen. The paper will also describe a model in which the contributions to abortion by contraceptive failure and be unmet need are quantified. Various simulations will by shown to indicate the extent of future reductions in abortion from various combinations of shifts in method mix and reductions in unmet need. The research indicates a very strong negative correlation across 18 countries between the use of modern methods and abortion and a strong positive correlation with traditional method use. Covariates of abortion and of contraceptive practice will also be analyzed in multivariate analyses comparable across countries.