Reproductive Well-Being: A Framework for Expanding Contraceptive Access

Currently, more than 19 million women eligible for publicly funded contraception live in counties where they lack reasonable access to the full range of birth control methods. Around 1.2 million of these 19 million women live in counties without a single health center offering the full range of methods, compounding burden and inhibiting reproductive autonomy. These "contraceptive deserts" are defined as counties where the number of health centers offering the full range of methods is not enough to meet the needs of the county's estimated number of people eligible for publicly funded contraception, defined as at least one health center for every 1000 people in need of publicly funded contraception. This calculation is based upon ratios developed by Richard Cooper, MD, ofthe University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, one of the leading physician utilization and supply experts in the United States.1