國家政策
在許多國家，這些相互矛盾的擔憂已經衍生出了含混不清的國家政策。一些國家的政府贊成已婚夫婦使用避孕手段，卻不支持單身成人和未成年人採取避孕措施。在有的國家，未婚少女媽媽數量不斷的增加促使國家政策做出調整。一些政府為了避免仍舊被禁的流產需求，支持願意採取避孕的國人的避孕觀念。其他的政府則簡單地把流產視為限制人口的受歡迎的附加手段。另一方面：在流產容易的地方，避孕就可能被忽視；在避孕困難的地方，流產的數量一定會上升。 |
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美國：17歲以下的每1000個未婚女性的生育率
In the USA: Birth rates per 1,000 for unmarried females under age 17
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資料來源：美國疾病控制中心、NCHS,人口統計局
Source: CDC, NCHS, Division of Vital Statistics. |
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中國為了控制其人口增長和確保現今超過12億（已經超過13億——譯者注）國民將來的生活水準，已經制定出獨生子女政策（one-child-policy），也就是說，該項政策允許每一對夫婦只生育一個孩子（中國的獨生子女政策是允許每一對夫婦生育一胎，因為有雙胞胎或多胞胎的可能，這樣就不止只生育一個孩子——譯者注）。在這裏，避孕已經成為一項官方頒佈的全國範圍的國家政策。許多國家在過去既不鼓勵避孕也阻止流產，至少在某些國家流產仍舊是違法的。還有其他的一些國家在大眾勉強推行自願避孕，但是會毫不猶豫地強制某些人絕育。為了防止生育有嚴重遺傳性缺陷的後代，通常會施行絕育手術。可是，有時候強制性絕育措施也被用於社會的目的，而不是用於醫學目的。（因為貧窮或者“不受歡迎”，健康的男女在不自願的情況下被實施了絕育。） |
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Contraception |
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A
Complex Issue
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Public policies
In many countries, these conflicting concerns have produced ambiguous public policies. Certain governments favor the use of contraceptives by married couples, but not by single adults or minors. In some countries, a growing number of unmarried teenage mothers prompts public policy changes. Some governments support the idea of contraception for everyone who wants it in order to eliminate the need for abortions which remain prohibited. Others see abortion simply as a welcome additional means of limiting the population. On the other hand:
Where abortion is made easy, contraception may be neglected; where contraception is made difficult, the number of abortions is bound to rise.
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China, in order to control its population growth and to ensure a livable future of its now over 1,2 billion citizens, has instituted a one-child-policy, i.e. as a rule, it allows each couple to have only one child. Here, contraception has become an officially proclaimed nation-wide public program. In many countries, both contraception and abortion were discouraged in the past, and at least abortion remains illegal in some of them. Still other countries have been reluctant to promote voluntary contraception among the general public, but had no scruples about forcing certain people to be sterilized. These sterilizations were usually carried out in order to prevent the transmission of severe genetic defects. However, sometimes forced sterilization was also used for the purpose of social rather than medical control. (Healthy men and women were made infertile against their will because they were poor or otherwise considered "undesirable.") |
