But Dr. Joffe agreed with the report that the wider use of contraceptives — IUDs that can prevent
pregnancy for up to 10 years and injectable hormonal drugs that do so for months — appears to be an important factor in the reported recent decline.
These long-term, more reliable methods can have high upfront costs, Dr. Joffe noted. The cost may be a factor in the significantly higher rates of abortion among black and Hispanic women and the poor compared with white women, she said, and also points up the importance of providing
health insurance that covers
contraception to low-income women.