Induced abortion is one of the most performed medical interventions. Making abortion illegal does not reduce the number of abortions. 20 million of the 42 million abortions performed annually are illegal and unsafe. Legalization of abortion can prevent unnecessary suffering and death of women.

Worldwide more than 1/3 of all pregnancies are unplanned. Every year nearly 1/4 of all pregnant women worldwide choose to have an abortion (circa 42 million annually). The legal status of abortion makes little difference to overall levels of abortion incidence. Illegal abortions are often done with unsafe methods. Where illegal, it is primarily women without financial means who have to resort to unsafe abortion methods, resulting in the death of a woman every 6 minutes.

At the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, unsafe abortion was recognized as a major public health problem. The WHO estimates that 20 million of the 42 million pregnancies which are terminated by induced abortion every year are performed under unsafe conditions and in an adverse social and legal climate, resulting in approximately 80,000 deaths each year due to infection, hemorrhages, uterine injury and the toxic effects of agents taken to induce abortion.

At this moment approximately 25% of the world population lives in 54 countries (mainly in Africa, Latin America and Asia) with highly restrictive laws that either ban abortion entirely or permit it only to save the life of the pregnant women.

The poorer women are, the more likely it is that they will use dangerous methods to end their unwanted pregancies. These methods include provoking an abortion themselves or going to a person without medical training, increasing the risks to their health and the risk of hospitalization due to complications. Availability of safe and affordable abortions will have implications for the future financial situation of such women and their families, and can therefore be considered part of the struggle against poverty.

Romania provides a unique case study of the factors that influence the use of unsafe abortion: in 1966 legal abortion was restricted and the abortion-related maternal mortality rate increased sharply, to ten times higher than the average ...

Approximately 25% of the world's population lives in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws, mostly in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Legalization of abortion can prevent the unnecessary suffering and deaths of women. Restrictive abortion laws violate women's human rights based on agreements made at the UN International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 1 & 3 &12 &19 & 27.1).

Prior to the beginning of the 19th century, there were no abortion laws in existence. In 1869 Pope Pius IX declared that ensoulement occurs at conception. As a result the laws were changed to prohibit any termination of pregnancy. These laws form the basis of the restrictive legislation on abortion that still exist in many developing countries. Between 1950 and 1985 almost all developed countries liberalized their abortion laws for reasons of human rights and safety. Restricitve abortion laws in some countries are often due to old colonial laws and are always an expression of the opinions of the local population.

RED countries on the map: Abortion illegal in all circumstances or permitted only to save a woman's life.

South America:

Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gustamala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nigaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela,

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Angola, Benin, Central African Rep.Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Gabon, Guinea- Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauretania, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda.

Middle East and North Africa:

Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Sudan (r), Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

Asia and Pacific:

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka.

Europe:

Ireland, Malta....

PINK countries on the map: Abortion legally permitted only to save a woman's life or protect her physical health.

T]]> http://www.womenonweb.org/set-298-en.html Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:39:24 +0000 2005-10-20T12:01:04+00:00 0282ee14-93a3-1028-bba0-c2760bd50ab1 fd349d90-93a2-1028-bba0-c2760bd50ab1 http://www.womenonweb.org/set-175-en.html

Many myths about abortion have been created by people who are against choice.

Fertility problems
Safe abortion does not increase the risk of future infertility or pregnancy problems. Sexually transmitted diseases and unsafe abortions do increase these risks.
Medical problems
There is no evidence of any medical problems related to safe abortion. Opponents of abortion use selective and unscientific interpretation of research to try to suggest that there is an increased risk of breast cancer.
Psychological problems
For most women the decision to have an abortion is difficult and may provoke feelings of sadness or guilt. Still, most women also feel relieved afterward. There is no evidence of increased risk of long term 'post-abortion' stress, depression, anxiety, or any other psychological illness.

]]> http://www.womenonweb.org/set-175-en.html Fri, 21 Oct 2005 00:56:09 +0000 2005-10-20T11:55:33+00:00 fd349d90-93a2-1028-bba0-c2760bd50ab1