Virginia's birth control access program cut birth rates by 3%, but only where options were already high

Virginia made it easier to get certain types of birth control. This led to a small drop in birth rates in those areas.

Governments often assume that simply making a service more available will lead to big changes. This paper shows that if people already have good options, adding more might not move the needle much. It means future programs need to understand existing access levels before expecting large impacts.