Is Birth Control Legal in All Countries

When it comes to contraceptive methods, the preferred methods for married and union couples vary from country to country. Overall, a trend is emerging: short-term methods are more common in Africa and Europe, while long-acting reversible contraceptive methods are more popular in North America and Asia. Sterilization of women is the first choice in the United States and northern South America, male sterilization is preferred in Canada, and IUDs dominate much of Asia. Female sterilization and male sterilization are quite similar: in women, the fallopian tubes are severed and attached, while in men, the vas deferens or vas deferens are cut and attached. Although sterilizing women is much more common globally, studies show that male sterilization may actually be the best choice in some cases. According to one study, vasectomy is 30 times less likely and 20 times less likely to trigger postoperative complications than sterilization surgery in women. However, in some countries, there are few trained providers able to perform vasectomies, compared to doctors trained to perform female sterilization. The one-child policy of the People`s Republic of China requires that couples have no more than one child. From 1979, the policy was implemented to control the rapid population growth. [11] Chinese women receive free contraceptive and family planning services. [12] More than 70% of people of childbearing age use contraceptives.

[1] Since the introduction of this policy in 1979, more than 400 million births have been prevented. [12] With various exceptions, the fertility rate is about 1.7 children per woman, up from 5.9 in the 1960s. A strong preference for boys and free access to fetal sex determination and abortion have led to an artificially high proportion of men in both rural and urban areas. [12] NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Unlike women in the United States, Canada and much of Europe, most women around the world can access the birth control pill without a prescription, according to a new study. Overall, Salas concluded that «countries with strong family planning programs may be able to cope with unexpected cuts in public funding, and that high contraceptive use could be sustained after a tipping point has already been reached.» That is to say, «the availability of subsidized contraceptives remains an important factor in enabling women from disadvantaged backgrounds to manage their fertility». «The models we saw were interesting,» Grossman said. «High-income countries – Western Europe, Australia, Japan and North America – typically require a prescription.» As regards the prevalence of less effective contraceptives among married women living in the EU, 9 of the top 10 localities are economic developing countries. Only Greece No. 10 is not. In the first Albania, the government banned contraception until 1992.

Although the country`s birth control rate is not as low as some, its reliance on less effective methods is striking: a 2008-2009 study found that 58% of married women relied on withdrawal to prevent pregnancy, while only 11% used a more effective method. The Philippines now joins countries such as Pakistan, Ukraine, China and Guatemala that offer over-the-counter contraceptives. The distribution of locations with the highest prevalence of use for each method of birth control leads to some surprises. In Uzbekistan, 60% of married couples in the EU use an IUD for birth control. In the country`s Soviet era, knowledge about contraceptives was minimal and abortion rates high. Warnings about the risks of hormonal contraceptives coupled with medical media advocating the IUD have caused use to skyrocket. In 2002, 73 per cent of married women in Uzbekistan reported using an IUD, compared to only 14 per cent who had used the male condom and 13 per cent who had relied on the pill. Clearly, this trend has prevailed. In South America, the prevalence of birth control increased by 14.6 per cent and in Asia by 10.6 per cent. Contraceptive rates changed marginally on three continents: use increased by 0.3% in Europe, 0.3% in North America and 1% in Oceania. North America still has the highest contraceptive prevalence of any country at 74.8%. Closely followed by South America with 74.6%.

«There are about 900 million women of reproductive age in the 69 countries, but those 900 million women are not evenly distributed across the 69 countries,» he said. He cited populous countries like India, where an estimated 340 million women of reproductive age have struggled to meet – and then reduce – the ambitious targets set in 2012. South America ranks second for less effective methods (6.4%), Asia ranks third (6%) and North America fourth (5.5%). Oceania has the lowest rate of least effective birth control (4.6%), followed by Africa (4.9%). However, the 66.6% of African women who forego all birth control (technically the least effective method) overshadow other statistics. However, despite this marked increase, Africa has by far the lowest percentage of women using birth control. Although limited access and cost are barriers, the main reasons for limited contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa are resistance to the use of birth control and concerns about the health effects of contraceptives. A 2015 study found that parts of Africa have a high prevalence of myths about family planning (such as «contraceptives can damage your uterus»). The study`s authors concluded that educational programs and discussions aimed at dispelling misconceptions could help increase the prevalence of birth control.

Here`s a look at the eight most surprising countries that need a prescription, along with their birth and abortion rates: Contraceptive awareness is almost universal among married women in India. [14] However, the vast majority of married Indians (76% in a 2009 study) reported significant problems accessing a choice of contraceptive methods. [15] In 2009, an estimated 48.3% of married women used contraception, that is, more than half of married women did not use contraception. [15] About three-quarters of them used female sterilization, which is by far the most common contraceptive method in India. [15] Condoms were the second most common method at only 3%. [15] Meghalaya, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had the lowest contraceptive use among all Indian states with rates below 30%. [15] In some countries, «health care tends to be more fragmented and health supervision tends to be more fragmented. Therefore, product availability tends to reach outlets that tend to be more accessible to the public,» said Cates, who was not part of the study. Between 1994 and today, contraceptive use worldwide has increased by 8.3 per cent. All continents have seen an increase in birth control, with the exception of two – North America and Oceania.

Africa has seen the most dramatic increase: from a participation rate of 21.4% in 1994 to 33.4% today, an increase of 56.1%. In Iran, the withdrawal method (78% effective) has replaced the pill for the most popular type of contraception. In Africa, the pill has generally lost popularity, as has the rhythmic method, while injectable birth control (94% effective) has become more common, especially in southern Africa. In South America, injections have surpassed the rhythmic method in Peru and Bolivia. Now that we`ve looked at the best contraceptive methods in specific countries, let`s take a look at the most popular birth control method for married or EU women in each continent as a whole. Between 1994 and today, 5 of the 6 continents we have examined have seen no change in the most popular method. Only Africa now has another leading method – injectable birth control instead of the pill. The United States remains one of 45 countries that still ban over-the-counter birth control. The pill is popular in Western Europe, Australia, several countries in Africa and southern South America. Condoms for men are the best method in Russia, much of Eastern Europe and some African countries, among others. Injections are the first choice in some parts of Africa. When it comes to the least effective (and free) methods, Africa is the only continent with countries where the rhythmic method is always the first choice.

But the withdrawal method dominates in a number of countries in southern Europe, South Asia and West Asia. Reproductive autonomy is a fundamental human right: everyone in the world should deserve to decide how many and how far they have children. For women in some parts of the world, however, birth control decisions have historically not been in their hands and have instead been dictated by government policies in their country or region – including forced sterilization policies, the illegality of certain contraceptive methods, and population control programs. «Will this information about the availability of over-the-counter pills in other countries influence policy here? Probably not,» Grossman told Reuters Health. Short-term contraceptive methods are less common: 8.8% take the pill, 7.7% use male condoms and 4.6% use injection drugs. The two least reliable methods – the withdrawal method and the rhythmic method – are used by 3.1% and 2.6% respectively. Only 2.4% of couples opt for male sterilization. In the United States, 98% of sexually active women have used birth control at some point, and 62% of women of childbearing age currently use birth control.

[6] The two most common methods are the pill (11 million) and sterilization (10 million). [6] Despite the availability of highly effective contraceptives, about half of pregnancies in the United States are unintentional. [19] In the United States, contraceptive use saves about $19 billion each year in direct medical costs. [19] IUD use more than tripled in the United States between 2002 and 2011. In 2011, IUDs accounted for 10% of all contraceptive methods, with women increasingly considering IUDs to be the most convenient, safe and effective, but reversible form of contraception. [20] Why is there such a gap in global use of short- and long-term contraceptive methods? Higher acquisition costs, reliance on information providers and provider bias are all cited as reasons for the underuse of long-term reversible contraceptive methods such as IUDs in some countries.