New contraceptive methods

As the number of abortion procedures performed each year reaches nearly 1 million, the incentive to decrease the incidence of unwanted pregnancy in the United States is high. Better education regarding women's health issues and enhanced contraceptive development are necessary to impact this long-standing problem. Several new contraceptive products are likely to become available in years to come to increase the number of choices that women and their health care providers have for pregnancy prevention. These products include long-acting implants, the levonorgestrel intrauterine device, patches, and the vaginal ring. This article surveys the near future of male and female contraception.