And since 60 percent of women who terminate pregnancies say their contraceptives failed, better birth control could dramatically reduce U.S. abortions. Not only are some quite effective, but they'll probably remain American women's only choices for quite some time. Fear of costly litigation from dissatisfied users has deterred pharmaceutical companies from pursuing new methods. Nearly half the couples with an unintended pregnancy were using birth control that failed, often because of misuse. Pills are forgotten.
Condoms slip off.
The remaining couples were not using contraception because they thought it inconvenient or they worried about side effects or cost. People yearn for a contraceptive that is not just highly effective but perfectly safe, cheap, easy to use and protective against sexually transmitted diseases. Unfortunately, nothing like that exists. But three other equally effective methods are hardly used at all. Intrauterine devices, Norplant implants, and Depo-Provera injections each are used by only about 1 percent of American women who practice birth control.