Laws and policies in Europe and Latin America spur family planning and population studies.

6 Latin American and European governments took various actions between mid-1974 and early 1975 to make voluntary fertility control readily accessible and to advance humankind's knowledge of the dynamics of population growth. In France the National Assembly voted to make contraception readily available to all women, including minors, and to make abortion legal. The 2 votes represent a sharp break with French tradition, and this vote on abortion makes France 1 of the few predominantly Catholic countries in the world to legalize pregnancy termination. Rumania signed an agreement with the U.N. Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) to establish a Demographic Training and Research Institute which will offer multidisciplinary training on population-related subjects for French-speaking students of the developing world. In El Salvador, the President announced the adoption of a state-supported population policy. The government of Puerto Rico is now offering free sterilization to all who want it, and an estimated 35% of women of childbearing age have chosen sterilization as their preferred method of contraception. Cuba has signed a $3.8 million agreement with the UNFPA. As of 1975, UNFPA will provide a variety of support for Cuba's family planning and maternal and infant health programs and will additionally supply material helpful to conducting demographic research. The government of Brazil announced a suprising policy shift. It now supports the right of individuals to freely plan the size of their families and will accept responsibility for providing information and services to individuals needing assistance.