Global abortions decline, unsafe abortions climb: Study

The findings of the survey suggested that abortion occurs at roughly equal rates in countries where it is legal and where it is highly restricted.

However, countries with restrictive abortion laws reported high rate of deaths and medical complications from unsafe abortions like using inappropriate drugs or herbal potions, or by untrained traditional healers.

Global survey of 197 countries
The survey was carried out by the Guttmacher Institute--a non-profit sexual health organization based in U.S.--on 197 countries worldwide.

The report of the survey stated that there were 41.6 million abortions in 2003, compared with 45.5 million in 1995. The worldwide unintended pregnancy rate declined from 69 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 in 1995 to 55 per 1,000 in 2008, it said.

Researchers speculate that the key reason for that fall was that the proportion of married women using contraceptives worldwide, increased from 54 percent in 1990 to 63 percent in 2003. But in poorer countries like Africa, the proportion of married women using contraceptives remained lower at 28 percent.

On the other hand, an astonishing high number, almost 20 million, of the unsafe abortions frequently carried out by the women themselves using inappropriate means, was recorded from mostly poorer countries.

It was also noted that many countries have liberalized their abortion laws since 1997, excluding only three countries--Poland, Nicaragua and El Salvador--which have substantially increased restrictions on the abortion laws.

Despite that, nearly 40 percent of the world's women live in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws, stated the report.

"It is significant and tragic that while the overall rate of abortion is on the decline, unsafe abortion has not declined," said Sharon Camp, president of the Guttmacher Institute.

"Legal restrictions do not stop abortion from happening, they just make the procedure dangerous. Too many women are maimed or killed each year because they lack legal abortion access," she added.

Recommendations to eradicate unsafe abortions
In order to ensure that no woman has to die to end a pregnancy she neither wanted nor planned for, certain recommendations were made by the Guttmacher Institute in its report.

-Expansion of modern contraception facilities and improving family planning services.

-Ensuring that safe, legal abortion services are available to women in need.

-Improved post-abortion care facilities that would reduce maternal death and complications from unsafe abortions.

Dr. Camp said, "The evidence is strong and growing that empowering women with the means to decide for themselves when to become pregnant and how many children to have significantly lowers unintended pregnancy rates and thereby reduces the need for abortion.”

"Addressing the unmet need for contraception, which remains very high in many parts of the world, is critical in promoting the wellbeing of women and their families," she added.