11/05/07
The Lancet, The Alan Guttmacher Institute

A new study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization (WHO) published recently in the medical journal, The Lancet, examined the number of induced abortions worldwide between 1995-2003 and found that the number of induced abortions worldwide declined from nearly 46 million to under 42 million.  Abortion rates fell most significantly in Eastern Europe, a trend that corresponds with substantially increased contraceptive use in the region.  Overall, the abortion rate decreased more in developed countries, where abortion is generally safe and legal for broad circumstances, than in developing countries, where the procedure is largely illegal and unsafe.

Significantly, the abortion rate for 2003 was roughly equal in developed and developing countries, despite abortion being largely illegal in developing countries.  This evidence suggests that restricting access to abortion or making it illegal does not reduce the rate of abortion.  Nor does liberalizing abortion policies cause the abortion rate to increase.  The study found that an estimated 20 million unsafe abortions occurred in 2003, 97% of these in developing countries.  By making abortion illegal, it only drives it underground and makes it even more difficult for women who face an unintended pregnancy to get the health care they need.

The health consequences of abortions vary greatly among developed and developing countries.  The consequences of unsafe abortion – death, serious injury, infertility, and increased health care cost – are far greater in developing countries and are largely shouldered by poor women.  The report concludes that reducing unsafe abortions would result in a substantial reduction of maternal mortality and improve women’s health.  The crucial first step to making abortion safer is to legalize the procedure.

More importantly, the study reaffirms that the root cause of abortion is unintended pregnancy, and that increasing access and awareness to contraception as well as improving consistent and effective use are crucial steps toward reducing the unintended pregnancies in the first place.  The lowest abortion rate in the world in 2003 was for Western Europe, where contraceptive services and use are widespread and safe abortion is easily accessible and legal for many circumstances.  On the other hand, one of the highest abortion rates in 2003 was found in Sub-Saharan Africa, where contraceptive use is low and unsafe abortion-related mortality is high. 

For the first time in 20 years, both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives passed legislation ending the global gag rule.  President Bush reinstated the global gag rule when he took office in 2001, an egregious policy prohibiting foreign family planning agencies from receiving U.S. funds if, with their own funds, they counsel on or refer for abortion, advocate for more lenient abortion laws in their own country, or provide abortion services.  Without help from the U.S., these foreign agencies have had to close clinics and cut services and supplies, leaving many women in developing countries without access to vital reproductive health care that could prevent unintended pregnancies and HIV/AIDS.

You can help!  Call or write your Congressional representatives today and urge them to support legislation that will overturn the global gag rule and provide women and couples with access to reproductive health care and information that will help save lives.  Find out who represents you and contact information, then learn how you can effectively communicate with your elected officials with our step-by-step “How Do I” guides. 

Or send a message through our current advocacy campaign. 

You can find out more information on international reproductive health issues through the International Planned Parenthood Federation.