Cross-national variations in birth control of Europeans: divergence or convergence?

In the late 1980s the East-West division by birth control was identified in Europe as the characteristics of women who had abortions differed sharply between the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. In the EE countries the abortion rates were high and abortion was used to limit family size once certain parity had been reached .Thus it was requested by married women with two or more children. In WE countries most women who had abortions were young, childless and unmarried. Since the early 1990s the incidence of abortions in EE countries rapidly decreased although with different intensity. As a result, cross-national variations in abortion level have been reduced by 2009. Has the East-West division remained or has a new one emerged? Can we distinguish new patterns of abortion behaviour? What was the role of birth control method in transition of reproduction patterns? The relationship between the changes in abortion and contraceptive behaviour in EU countries was studied. 21 EU members were selected for comparative analysis. Cluster analysis of birth control indicators and multivariate statistical analysis of GGS data was used to give more detailed insight into current typology of birth control. Finally, factors behind the recent diversification were identified.