DISHA SINGH, DR. SANJANA SHARMA MARWAHA
Department of Sociology, Amity Institute of Social Science
Amity University, Noida 201303
KEY FACTS –
Abortion is a common health procedure. It is safe when performed according to the method recommended by WHO, appropriate for the duration of pregnancy, and by a person with the necessary skills.Six out of 10 unwanted pregnancies end in medical abortion.About 45% of abortions are unsafe, 97% of which take place in developing countries.Unsafe abortion is a major – but preventable – cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. It can lead to physical and mental health complications as well as a social and financial burden on women, communities, and health systems.Lack of access to safe, timely, affordable, and respectful abortion care is an important human rights and public health issue.
ABORTION-
Around 73 million abortions are performed each year worldwide. 6/10 (61%) and 3/10 (29%)unintended pregnancies end in medical abortion.Comprehensive abortion care is on the list of essential health care services published by WHO in 2020. Abortion is a simple health care intervention that can be effectively managed by many people. medical staff using drugs or surgery. During the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, pregnant women can also safely self-administer outside a medical setting (eg, athome), in whole or in part. This requires the woman to have access to accurate information,quality medication, and support from trained medical personnel (if she needs or wants to during the procedure).
Comprehensive abortion care including abortion information, management, and post-abortion care. It includes care related to miscarriage (spontaneous abortion and miscarriage), induced abortion (voluntary termination of an ongoing pregnancy by medical or surgical means),incomplete abortion as well as fatal death (intrauterine fatal death). The information in this fact sheet relates to medical abortion-related care.
SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM-
When performed according to the WHO-recommended method appropriate to the length of
pregnancy and by a competent person, abortion is a safe health care intervention.
However, when unintended pregnancies face barriers to safe, timely, affordable,
geographically accessible, respectful, and non-discriminatory abortion, they often resort to
unsafe abortion.
Global estimates from 2010 to 2014 show 45% of all unsafe abortions. Of all unsafe
abortions, a third are performed in the least safe conditions, i.e., by untrained people using
dangerous and invasive methods.
Developing countries bear the brunt of 97% of all unsafe abortions. More than half of unsafe
abortions take place in Asia, with the majority in South and Central Asia. In Latin America
and Africa, the vast majority (about 3 out of 4) abortions are unsafe. In Africa, almost half of
abortions occur in the least safe circumstances.
Consequences of Inaccessible Quality Abortion Care-
Lack of access to safe, affordable, timely, and respectful abortion care, and the stigma
associated with abortion, poses risks to women’s physical and mental health throughout their
lives. Lack of access to quality abortion care risks violating many human rights of women
and girls, including the right to life; the right to the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health; the right to benefit from scientific progress and its implementation; the
right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of births; and the right
not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Each year, 4.7–13.2% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortion. In developed
regions, an estimated 30 out of every 100,000 women die from unsafe abortion. In
developing regions, this rises to 220 deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions. Estimates from
2012 indicate that in developing countries alone, 7 million women a year are treated in
hospital facilities for complications of unsafe abortion.
The physical health risks associated with unsafe abortion include:
• Incomplete abortion (inability to remove or expel all fatal tissue from the uterus);
• hemorrhage (heavy bleeding);
• infections;
• uterine perforation (caused when the uterus is punctured by a sharp object); and
• injuries to the genitals and internal organs resulting from the insertion of dangerous
objects into the vagina or anus.
While restrictive abortion regulations impose economic burdens on women and girls, they
can also cause suffering and stigma and risk violating their human rights, including their
rights to privacy, non-discrimination, and equality. I have. Regulations that force women to
travel to obtain legal assistance or require compulsory counselling or waiting periods result inlost income and other economic costs, and abortions for women with few resources.
In 2006, complications from unsafe abortion cost health systems in developing countries
$553 million annually in post-abortion care. In addition, the household lost $922 million in
income due to long-term disability related to unsafe abortions. Countries and health systems
can achieve significant economic savings by providing modern contraceptive methods and
better access to quality-attributed abortions.
A number of 2021 scoping reviews show that abortion regulation impacts women’s education,
labour market participation and positive contribution to GDP growth through its association
with fertility. The legal status of abortion can also affect a child’s educational outcomes and
subsequent labour market earnings. For example, the legalization of abortion may be
associated with increased parental investment in children, including girls’ education, by
reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and thereby increasing the likelihood of
choosing a child.
CONCLUSION
Overall, it can be concluded that the initiative on the determinants and consequences of induced abortion has revealed several important patterns. For example, abortion is not limited to adolescents but also occurs within marriages to limit family size. Medical abortions commonly occur both in settings where family planning services are available and in areas with high rates of contraceptive use and where family planning is uncommon, but for reasons such as: due to different. In the first case, the incentive to restrict family size is high and women will use any option if contraception fails or an unplanned pregnancy occurs. In the latter case, medical abortion is part of a series of emerging alternatives for fertility correction,most of them traditional and not very effective, but involving use or abuse modern methods.Few people seeking abortions, and even fewer among teenagers, used modern contraception at the beginning of their pregnancy. The heavy use of traditional methods in some countries leads to abortions because women/couples do not follow proper guidelines on safe periods.Unsafe surreptitious abortion is more commonly sought by poor women and adolescent girls.The results of this study are increasingly being used to challenge the legal status of abortionin countries where the law is limited, or to strengthen family planning efforts to reduce abortion rates.
REFRENCES-
Modern Shrines Publications 