According to the World Health Organization, there are approximately 73 million abortions worldwide each year. Six out of every 10 pregnancies (60%) are unintended, and 29% of all pregnancies end in induced abortion.
Abortion care is included in the World Health Organization’s list of essential health services in 2020.
Abortion, or termination of pregnancy, is a health care service that can be provided safely and effectively by health workers, either through medication or surgery.
Medical abortion can be self-managed by a pregnant woman outside of a health care facility (for example, at home) within the first 12 months of pregnancy. However, this requires the right knowledge, quality medication, and the support of a trained health worker.
Comprehensive abortion care should include all three elements: education, abortion management, and post-abortion care. You can search online for countries that have such abortion care. Nepal is one South Asian country that has such abortion care.
Abortion is a safe health intervention if performed by a trained health worker, using a method recommended by the World Health Organization, within the recommended time frame.
However, not all women facing unplanned pregnancies receive comprehensive abortion care. Therefore, they often resort to unsafe abortion services.
When we look at the statistics, we see that restricting access to abortion does not stop abortion. Statistics show that in Sri Lanka, which has very strict restrictions on abortion, about 600 abortions occur every day.
Restricting access to abortion only jeopardizes the safety of women and girls seeking abortions.
The lack of access to comprehensive abortion care jeopardizes a number of 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 the benefits of scientific advancement, the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of children, and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment are all violated in situations where access to abortion is lacking.