Free birth control leads to lower abortion rates and fewer teenage pregnancies. This statement is based on a new study published on Thursday by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. The project gave free birth control to more than 9,000 local women and girls and tracked them for two years. "The impact of providing no-cost birth control was far greater than we expected," Jeff Peipert, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis who co-authored the study, said in a statement.