Abortion Rates and Trends Worldwide
Abortion just as common where it is outlawed as where it is legal, experts say
MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer
(AP) - LONDON-Women are just as likely to get an abortion in countries where it is outlawed as they are in countries where it is legal, according to research published Friday.
In a study examining abortion trends from 1995 to 2003, experts also found that abortion rates are virtually equal in developed and developing countries and that half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe.
The study was conducted by Gilda Sedgh, a senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute in the United States, and colleagues from the World Health Organization. It was published in an edition of The Lancet medical journal devoted to maternal health.
"The legal status of abortion has never dissuaded women and couples, who, for whatever reason, seek to end pregnancy," said Beth Fredrick of the International Women's Health Coalition in the U.S., in an accompanying commentary.
Abortion accounts for 13 percent of maternal mortality worldwide. About 70,000 women die every year from unsafe abortions. Another 5 million women suffer permanent or temporary damage.
"The continuing high incidence of unsafe abortion in developing countries represents a public health crisis and a human rights atrocity," Fredrick wrote.
The number of worldwide abortions has dropped slightly from about 46 million in 1995 to just under 42 million in 2003, the study found. But there was no change in the rate of unsafe abortions; nearly half are still performed illegally in potentially dangerous conditions.
"The only way to decrease unsafe abortion is to increase contraception," said Sharon Camp, president and chief executive officer of the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights think tank based in New York.
Camp said that more countries are allowing women to have abortions legally, but that many women only receive medical attention after a procedure has gone wrong. "I don't think women should have to hurt themselves before they get medical treatment," she said.
The vast majority of abortions - 35 million - were in the developing world. And nearly 97 percent of all unsafe abortions were in poor countries. Worldwide, one in five pregnancies ends in abortion, and nine out of 10 women will have an abortion before age 45, the report said, citing data from 2003.
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MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer
(AP) - LONDON-Women are just as likely to get an abortion in countries where it is outlawed as they are in countries where it is legal, according to research published Friday.
In a study examining abortion trends from 1995 to 2003, experts also found that abortion rates are virtually equal in developed and developing countries and that half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe.
The study was conducted by Gilda Sedgh, a senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute in the United States, and colleagues from the World Health Organization. It was published in an edition of The Lancet medical journal devoted to maternal health.
"The legal status of abortion has never dissuaded women and couples, who, for whatever reason, seek to end pregnancy," said Beth Fredrick of the International Women's Health Coalition in the U.S., in an accompanying commentary.
Abortion accounts for 13 percent of maternal mortality worldwide. About 70,000 women die every year from unsafe abortions. Another 5 million women suffer permanent or temporary damage.
"The continuing high incidence of unsafe abortion in developing countries represents a public health crisis and a human rights atrocity," Fredrick wrote.
The number of worldwide abortions has dropped slightly from about 46 million in 1995 to just under 42 million in 2003, the study found. But there was no change in the rate of unsafe abortions; nearly half are still performed illegally in potentially dangerous conditions.
"The only way to decrease unsafe abortion is to increase contraception," said Sharon Camp, president and chief executive officer of the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights think tank based in New York.
Camp said that more countries are allowing women to have abortions legally, but that many women only receive medical attention after a procedure has gone wrong. "I don't think women should have to hurt themselves before they get medical treatment," she said.
The vast majority of abortions - 35 million - were in the developing world. And nearly 97 percent of all unsafe abortions were in poor countries. Worldwide, one in five pregnancies ends in abortion, and nine out of 10 women will have an abortion before age 45, the report said, citing data from 2003.
Link here.
Estudo original aqui.
Autoria de Irreligious as 21:32
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