PIP: The USSR, where family planning choice is virtually nonexistent, has undergone a demographic transition exclusively as a result of widespread use of induced abortion. Instead of promoting free and responsible choice in reproduction and parenthood, family planning in the USSR has served as a tool for the reproductive manipulation of the individual. Although the USSR has formally endorsed the right to family planning, services have remained out of reach of the population, which lacks information and access to qualified medical care and contraception. The only widely available method of family planning has been induced abortion. In 1988, the country registered an abortion rate of 92.6 abortions/1000 women aged 15-49 (or 118 abortions/100 births). The yearly number of abortions in the USSR, some 6.5 million (according to official figures), accounts for 10-20% of all abortions performed worldwide. Independent sources put the yearly number of abortions at 10-11 million. Within the USSR, however, there exists great variations in the abortion rate. In Dagestan ASSR, the rate is 45.6./100 births, while in some rural regions of the Central Economic Region in Russia have a rate as high as 770/100--by far the highest rate anywhere in the world. These astronomical rates reflect the lack of available services. Up to 70% of women at maternity clinics lack knowledge about contraception, and contraceptive availability ranges between 10-30%. Soviets who do practice contraception rely predominantly on traditional methods. The tragic consequence of the lack of family planning is evident in the level of maternal mortality, an extraordinarily high level for economically developed countries.