After a period of substantial decline, the global abortion rate has stalled but unsafe abortions are on the rise around the world, according to new research from the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization.
From 2003 to 2008, the abortion rate per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44) only changed slightly, from 29 to 28 per 1,000 women. But the proportion of unsafe abortions that took place across the world rose 44 percent in 1995 to 49 percent in 2008.
"The declining abortion trend we had seen globally has stalled, and we are also seeing a growing proportion of abortions occurring in developing countries, where the procedure is often clandestine and unsafe. This is cause for concern," says Gilda Sedgh, lead author of the study and a senior researcher at the Guttmacher Institute. "This plateau coincides with a slowdown in contraceptive uptake. Without greater investment in quality family planning services, we can expect this trend to persist."
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While almost all reported abortions were deemed safe in North America and Europe, nearly all abortions (97 percent) in Africa were considered unsafe in 2008. Research from WHO shows that complications due to unsafe abortion continued to account for an estimated 13 percent of all maternal deaths worldwide in 2008; almost all of these deaths occurred in developing countries. Each year approximately 8.5 million women in developing countries experience abortion complications serious enough to require medical attention, and three million of them do not receive the needed care.
About 20 percent of pregnancies end in abortion, research shows.
The Obama administration announced Friday that church-affiliated institutions will get only one additional year to meet a new rule to cover birth control free of charge. In the move angering religious groups, contraceptives that can cause abortions will also be covered.
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