European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Limited choices for americans associated press a committee of the National research Council said recently that the limited Choice of contraceptives in the United states leads to increased abortions and voluntary sterilization. Americans have a narrow Range of contraceptive options because of government policies and the methods now available Quot leave major gaps in the ability of people to control Fertility safely effectively and in culturally acceptable ways Quot according to an arc report called Quot developing new  greater availability and variety of Safe and effective contraceptives could Quot significantly reduce the frequency of abortion Quot in the United states the 193-Page report said. One recent study Quot indicates that As Many As half of All unintended pregnancies resulting in abortion were the result of contraceptive failure Quot the report said. Regulations by the food and drug administration and the risk of product liability lawsuits have caused All but one of the major . Pharmaceutical firms to Stop contraceptive research Over the last 20 years the report said. As a result Many contraceptive implants birth control by injection not available in . Devices and inject Ables that Are available in Europe cannot be sold in the United states. Rigid Fra safety regulations that evaluate contraceptives by a different Standard than is used in Europe keep products out of the . Market. The report for instance noted that the Fra blocked marketing of an inject Able contraceptive in the United states because the manufacturer could not prove that it was Safe. In the United kingdom however the logic was turned around and the product was approved after it could not be demonstrated that it was unsafe. Some companies have halted attempts to Market contraceptives in the United states because of stringent product liability Laws that can hold manufacturers liable for damages even if a product meets Federal food and drug standards. Quot product liability rules can be changed to remove most of their undue negative consequences for contraceptive development without increasing the health risks of contraceptive users Quot the report said. Many of the techniques now in use in other countries the report said Are safer longer lasting and More effective than the methods available to americans. The report said that 95 percent of the 54 million sexually by Janet d Agostino medical writer contraception by injection is one of several types of birth control practice in Europe that has not been approved in the United states. Inject Able contraceptives commonly called the Quot Jab Quot or Quot jag Quot in England Are synthetic hormones injected into a muscle. Effective for lengthy periods they prevent ovulation. They Are highly effective less than one woman a year among 100 users becomes pregnant. Two types Are available depo Provera which must be injected once every 12 weeks and Nori Steart which is injected every eight weeks. Both must be prescribed by a doctor. The major convenience of inject Ables is that they do not have to be taken daily said or. Carlos Huezo director of medical programs for International planned parenthood federation in London. In England inject Able contraceptives usually Are prescribed Only for women who can to use other methods of contraception women who can t remember to take the Pill and those who must avoid pregnancy. Side effects can include disturbance of menstruation with most women experiencing scanty rather than longer periods weight gain fatigue depression headaches and breast tenderness. 0 a major disadvantage is that it May take up to a year for a woman to resume Normal periods and Fertility. After stopping the use of inject Ables. Ruth Grigg press officer for the family planning association in the United kingdom said inject Ables Are not Quot particularly popular Quot in that country. Other forms of contraception such As birth control pills and Luis Are still preferred. Research into inject Ables began in the 1950s. They were approved for use in England in 1984 after considerable controversy. Some press reports suggested that the inject Ables were being Given to Active women Between the Ages 15 and 44 use i contraceptives at some Point in their lives and that about20l percent of this number have been voluntarily sterilized i among sexually Active men with partners at risk of i pregnancy about 15 percent have had vasectomies i Quot limited contraceptive methods Force Many women i and men to make difficult choices a to have an abortion Oil to be sterilized at a Young age a that could be avoided if i additional Safe effective acceptable and affordable i contraceptives were available Quot the report says. I according to the report about a third of american i women at risk for unwanted pregnancies use Oral i contraceptives with about 3 percent of the Pill takers 1 becoming pregnant in the first year of use. Three percent of women use intrauterine devices with 6 i percent of these having an unintended pregnancy in i the first year. 1 the report said condoms continue to be the contraceptive of Choice for 17 percent of the partners of women Ages 18 to 49. But it said about 12 percent of these women accidentally become pregnant in the first year of use. For 4 percent to 6 percent of women the diaphragm is the contraceptive of Choice even though this method has been shown in some studies to have i failure rates of up to 23 percent the report said. Contraceptive sponges which have a failure rate of 18 percent Are used by 3 percent of the women and vaginal contraceptives such As foams jellies and creams Are used by 2 percent of women with a 21 percent failure rate it said. The report said 44 percent of All american women who use contraceptives and who Are married for 15 years or longer have been sterilized. Another 24 percent of women Are married to men who Are sterilized. Quot these figures confirm that at some Point american women Are ready to Stop child bearing Quot the arc report said. Quot these data also suggest that there Are problems i with available temporary contraceptive  j the report was produced jointly by the National research Council and the Institute of Medicine. Both Are affiliated with the National Academy of sciences a congressionally chartered private organization that i does research for government agencies. Women without full information and consent. A in addition to inject Ables England and other Al european countries also have approved usage of a Al wide variety of intrauterine devices Huezo said. Al All Luis were pulled off the Market in the United states Ifil 1986 after a wave of lawsuits and Adverse publicity Over Thyl Copper id. Lawsuits claimed the devices led to infection a and infertility in some women. Newer types of Luis have a since been reintroduced. Floral contraceptives with different combinations of a hormones sold in Europe Are not available in the unite states Huezo said. The benefits of these combination Are still being researched. I an implantable contraceptive called norplant is a used in Scandinavia but not in England or other Al european countries. Tiny tubules or capsules Al containing a synthetic hormone Are sewn under the a skin of the forearm above the fold of the Elbow. B norplant can provide contraceptive Protection for a five years Huezo said. The release of the hormone is a stable and constant reaching a level in the body just Al High enough to prevent Conception. Al there Are some Side effects such As excessive bleeding in the first few months but this usually diminishes. The h implant May Stop menstrual periods altogether. Al of the above contraceptive alternatives Only norplant is being considered for approval by the . Food and drug administration. Other new birth control methods Are being tested including drugs called Hrh analogs which act on a woman a pituitary gland to suppress ovulation the male contraceptives inhibit and Goss pol which inhibit spa re production or reduce their ability to fertilize an egg an control vaccines a Washington Post article stated. Drug companies Are reluctant to touch such products because of the Large research investment required for approval by the Fra and concern Ria liability suits which Are More common in the urn e states than in Many other countries could eat up profits. Fear of the political clout of anti abortion g p is another motive for their hesitation.. Contraceptive methods a new report says the United states lags behind other countries in developing new contraceptives. Here Are the methods available and the estimated use and failure rate number in parenthesis percent of birth control users who use failure Oral contraceptives_32% 3% female sterilization condoms 19% .4% 17% <12% male sterilization 14% .15% diaphragm 5% 13% natural rhythm 4% 20% id 3% 6% contraceptive sponge 3% 18% vaginal foams Etc. 2% 21% failure rate in first year of uses amps Sharon Killday a figures for diaphragm Are ranges users 4-6% failure rate 2-23%. A tier of a no a or Atmur of