Giving women access to free contraceptives results in significantly lower pregnancy rates and abortion rates, according to a recent study of 9,000 women and teens conducted in St. Louis.

The study suggests that offering women access to no-copay contraceptives through Obama's Affordable Care Act will be incredibly effective:

The effect on teen pregnancy was striking: There were 6.3 births per 1,000 teenagers in the study. Compare that to a national rate of 34 births per 1,000 teens in 2010.

There also were substantially lower rates of abortion, when compared with women in the metro area and nationally: 4.4 to 7.5 abortions per 1,000 women in the study, compared with 13.4 to 17 abortions per 1,000 women overall in the St. Louis region, Peipert calculated. That's also lower than the national rate of almost 20 abortions per 1,000 women.

..."As a society, we want to reduce unintended pregnancies and abortion rates. This study has demonstrated that having access to no-cost contraception helps us get to that goal," said Alina Salganicoff, director of women's health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"It's just an amazing improvement," Dr. James Breeden, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said of the results. "I would think if you were against abortions, you would be 100 percent for contraception access."

Yeah, you'd think.