Family planning clinic services in U.S. counties, 1983

Organized family planning clinics are a major source of contraceptive services for low-income women, who are less likely than higher income women to be using a contraceptive method. A 1983 study estimated that 9.5 million U.S. women with family incomes below 150 percent of poverty were at risk of unintended pregnancy, and identified a network of 5,106 clinics providing them with services. Seventy-six percent of all counties in the United States have organized clinics that offer family planning services; almost all of those without services are nonmetropolitan counties. An estimated 52 percent of low-income women at risk of unintended pregnancy were served by organized family planning clinics in 1983, while the rest either went unserved or sought care elsewhere. Ten percent of low-income women not served by clinics live in counties that have no family planning clinics, but 67 percent live in counties where existing clinics reach fewer than half of potential low-income patients. More sites may be needed, particularly in counties without clinics, to effectively serve low-income women at risk of unintended pregnancy. However, since the majority of unserved women live in counties where at least one clinic exists, coverage might be improved through increased accessibility and outreach.