Abortion and society

Abortion in Context

Abortion has been practised since the earliest of times. No criminal sanction or constitutional provision has ever or will ever stop women seeking abortions. In countries where there are criminal sanctions for seeking a termination and where there is no possibility of recourse to safe abortion, women have sought the procedure for themselves, often with catastrophic consequences. Unsafe abortions cause the death of about 78,000 women every year worldwide. In other countries criminal sanctions result in women going abroad, as in Ireland.

Abortion is legal under some circumstances in nearly all countries of the world:

More than 61% of the world’s people live in countries where induced abortion is permitted either for a wide range of reasons or without restriction as to reason, while 26% reside in countries where abortion is generally prohibited (Center for Reproductive Rights, 2005).

Globally, 46 million abortions take place every year; 19 million are unsafe (WHO, 2003).

95% of unsafe abortions occur in developing countries (WHO, 2003)

Globally, one in five women has been physically or sexually abused in her lifetime. Sexual violence can lead to forced pregnancies, and reproductive morbidity and mortality (Krug et al., 2002).

Read also: safeandlegal.blog