Abortion In The Developing World

Twenty million unsafe abortions are performed each year, 90% of which occur in the developing world. Even in countries such as China, where abortion is fully accessible in practice as well as in theory, our understanding of the phenomenon is very partial. The result of a global research project commissioned by the World Health Organization, this book provides new information on abortion, why it happens and what happens when it does. There are sections detailing women' s perspectives and also chronicling the providers views and the effect they have on medical provision. Several essays focus on the relationship between contraception and abortion, while a section on adolescents addresses a newly emerging concern for program managers around the world. Including much previously unavailable material, this book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date picture of abortion globally.

Sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, infertility, and other reproductive problems are a growing concern around the world, especially in developing countries. Reproductive Health in Developing Countries describes the magnitude of these problems and what is known about the effectiveness of interventions in the following areas: Infection-free sex. Immediate priorities for combating sexually transmitted and reproductive tract diseases are identified. Intended pregnancies and births. The panel reports on the state of family planning and ways to provide services. Healthy pregnancy and delivery. The book explores the myths and substantive socio-economic problems that underlie maternal deaths. Healthy sexuality. Such issues as sexual violence and the practice of female genital mutilation are discussed in terms of the cultural contexts in which they occur. Addressing the design and delivery of reproductive health services, this volume presents lessons learned from past programs and offers principles for deciding how to spend limited available funds. Reproductive Health in Developing Countries will be of special interest to policymakers, health care professionals, and researchers working on reproductive issues in the developing world.

At a UN General Assembly Special Session in 1999, governments recognised unsafe abortion as a major public health concern, and pledged their commitment to reduce the need for abortion through expanded and improved family planning services, as well as ensure abortion services should be safe and accessible. This technical and policy guidance provides a comprehensive overview of the many actions that can be taken in health systems to ensure that women have access to good quality abortion services as allowed by law.

The report on "Abortion Policies and Reproductive Health Around the World" provides up-to-date information on Government policies on abortion and related reproductive health issues for all 193 Member States, 2 Observer States and 2 non-member States of the United Nations. The report provides changes between 1996 and 2013 in legal grounds on which induced abortion is permitted in each country. Seven legal grounds for abortion are included, namely: (1) to save the life of a woman; (2) to preserve a woman's physical health; (3) to preserve a woman's mental health; (4) in case of rape or incest; (5) because of foetal impairment; (6) for economic or social reasons; and (7) on request. The report also includes latest available information on Government policies and programmes related to fertility, family planning, access to reproductive health services, and maternal mortality. In addition, the report provides information on how abortion policies are associated with selected reproductive health indicators.

First published in 1999, this volume represents an empirical model of reproductive rights in developing countries. The model encompasses three explanations of reproductive rights. The first proposes that reproductive rights levels are negatively related to population growth. The second explanation argues that gender equality has a positive effect on reproductive rights. Finally, the authors propose that women’s education has a positive effect on reproductive rights. The empirical model takes into account the effects of modernization, secularization, and family planning program effort on population growth, women’s education, and gender equality.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Medicine - Gynecology, Andrology, grade: A, University of Manchester (HCRI), course: Global Health, language: English, abstract: 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 does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both. Unsafe abortion is common in places where abortion is illegal. Every year almost 44,000 abortions occur globally and nearly half of them are unsafe whereby almost all unsafe abortions (98 percent) are happening in developing Countries. In Countries where abortion remains unsafe, it is a leading cause of maternal mortality. According to the WHO unsafe abortions contribute to 13% of all maternal mortality globally and are direct cause of maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. When comparing women with their counterpart men in Sexual and Reproductive Health, there is no such a high cause of mortality in men. This difference shows the existent gender inequality in most developing Countries. In these settings women are denied access to information, education on safe sex, contraception and are not offered an informed consent on their fertility choices. Gender based violence is one of the contributing factor to this inequality that women suffer and this affect their potential development and enjoyment of their right to health including their right to Sexual and Reproductive Health. These universal rights legitimate women to choose whether to conceive or when to form a family. This should have not been difficult to achieve in a World with so much technologies of modern effective contraceptive methods. And the issue of unsafe abortion and its complications could be averted. Conversely this is not the case in the context where legal structures should determine the fate of those who should make decisions for their own lives. The legalization or non-legalization of termination of pregnancy has been a battle ground for Centuries in many Countries across the Globe with different variations in the trends of abortion legal frameworks. In this essay, I will discuss why unsafe abortion is perceived as neglected globally and evaluate the extent to which human rights-based approach can be useful to mitigate this public health problem and conclude with my personal view on this issue.