BREAKING: Birth Control Leads to Fewer Abortions. Also, Sky is Blue

According to data from the National Survey of Family Growth, half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, from either non-use or misuse of birth control. Of those pregnancies, 43 percent end in abortion. That still leaves one million newborns. Caring for them costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $11 billion annually.

Not surprisingly, the rate of unplanned pregnancies is much higher among teenagers, many of whom don't have ready access to birth control and fewer resources for good prenatal care and for taking care of their babies once they're born. Among girls 15-19, the live birth rate is 34.3 per 1,000. Among participants in the study in the same age range, the average annual birth rate was 6.3 per 1,000.

Hey guess what? This shit works!

Unfortunately, there's a wrinkle in the Contraceptive CHOICE Project: All the participants received their birth control for free. (Costs were covered, Peipert told Daily RFT, by a large corporation that wishes to remain anonymous.) In the real world, the Pill, Patch and Nuva Ring, depending on your insurance plan, can cost $80 a month, while implants and IUD's, cost $1,000 upfront to, uh, implant, though they can last as long as ten years. Try paying for that if you're young, or poor, or uneducated.

This isn't a problem Peipert's research can solve. Is there a possibility, though, that it could prove persuasive to legislators and insurance companies?

The study will appear in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.