Countries Banning Abortion See Higher Rates of Unsafe Procedures

[Judi Lynn]

Countries Banning Abortion See Higher Rates of Unsafe Procedures
QBy Makiko Kitamura - Jan 18, 2012 6:01 PM CT

...Countries restricting abortions, particularly in Africa and Latin America, have higher rates of unsafe abortion than those that allow the procedure, according to a study published today in The Lancet journal.

The rate of unsafe abortion in Africa was 28 per 1,000 women of childbearing age and 31 per 1,000 in Latin America, regions where abortion is highly restricted in almost all countries, according to the study led by Gilda Sedgh at the Guttmacher Institute in New York, using the most recent data gathered in 2008. That compares with less than 0.5 per 1,000 in western Europe and North America.

The World Health Organization defines unsafe abortion as a procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that doesn’t conform to minimal standards. Legally restricting abortions leads to unsafe procedures as women have more difficulty locating practitioners and the ones they do find are less likely to be adequately trained, Sedgh said.

“The data continue to confirm what we have known for decades: that women who wish to terminate unwanted pregnancies will seek abortion at any cost, even when it is illegal or involves risks to their own lives,” Beverly Winikoff, a professor of clinical population and family health at Columbia University, said in a commentary published with the Lancet article.

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-19/countries-banning-abortion-see-higher-rates-of-unsafe-procedures.html

[Ecumenist]

1. No kiddin'. Women who are pregnant against their will will find someway to end their

pregnancies, come hail or high water. This has ALWAYS been the case. It'll be the rich and connected that will get safe and confidential procedures or have "miscarriages" That's what my mom told me it was like in the 50's and 60's, pre Roe v Wade.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. +1. The rich can find a reason to visit France

or some other choice-friendly country with first-rate medical facilities.

Only the poor need to suffer.

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

[lunatica]

4. I had an uncle who was a doctor in Mexico

He gave talks on the need for safe medical abortions in Mexico in the 60s. He told everyone who would listen that women will use any means they have when they're desperate enough and that many of those end up killing them. He was also a fighter for birth control.

I come from a Progressive family from way back.

[cosmicone]

5. No shit, Sherlock. n/t