Unsafe abortion
[8] The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that for the time period of 2010-14 there were 55.7 million abortions worldwide each year.
[14] The article states "ending the silent pandemic of unsafe abortion is an urgent public-health and human-rights imperative."
It also states "access to safe abortion improves women's health, and vice versa, as documented in Romania during the regime of President Nicolae Ceaușescu" and "legalisation of abortion on request is a necessary but insufficient step toward improving women's health" citing that in some countries, such as India, where abortion has been legal for decades, access to competent care remains restricted because of other barriers.
"[16] The WHO's Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), whose research concerns people's sexual and reproductive health and lives,[17] has an overall strategy to combat unsafe abortion that comprises four interrelated activities:[16] A 2007 study published in The Lancet found that, although the global rate of abortion declined from 45.6 million in 1995 to 41.6 million in 2003, unsafe procedures still accounted for 48% of all abortions performed in 2003.
[20] The WHO and the Guttmacher Institute stress the need for access to a safe abortion for all women and that unsafe methods must be replaced.
[7] However, the prevalence of unsafe abortion may also be determined by other factors, such as whether it occurs in a developing country that has a low level of competent medical care.
In addition, a lack of access to safe and effective contraception contributes to unsafe abortion.
[24] Source: WHO 2006[25] In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 7–2 that laws prohibiting an abortion violated a woman's right to privacy.
In the 1960s, the National Opinion Research Center found that hundreds of women were attempting to self-abort with coat hangers, knitting needles and ballpoint pens, and by swallowing toxic chemicals like bleach and laundry detergent.
[29] In 2005, the Detroit News reported that a 16-year-old boy, at his pregnant, under-age girlfriend's request, repeatedly beat her abdomen with a bat to abort the fetus.
The young couple lived in Michigan and were evading a state law requiring a minor to receive a parent's or a judge's consent to obtain a legal abortion.
[9] WHO estimates that at least 7.9% of maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortion, with a greater proportion occurring in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa and a lesser proportion in East Asia where access to abortion is generally legal.
[43] An unsafe abortion can lead to wide range of health risks that can affect the well-being of women.Complications of unsafe abortion include severe hemorrhage, sepsis, perforation of the uterus or intestines, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility.
Recent studies emphasize that timely post-abortion care significantly reduces fatal outcomes, yet access remains limited in many regions.
[50] An estimated 5.3 million women worldwide have developed complications or disabilities from unsafe abortion, which may be either temporary or permanent.
