The Global Gag Rule and Women's Reproductive Health by Yana van der Meulen Rodgers

The Global Gag Rule and Women's Reproductive Health by Yana van der Meulen Rodgers

Author:Yana van der Meulen Rodgers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00


Global Abortion Rates

Globally, abortion rates have fallen over time, from 40 to 35 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age between 1990–1994 and 2010–2014. Table 5.1, based on aggregate abortion rates published in Sedgh et al. (2016), shows that most of this decline occurred in developed countries (from 46 to 27 abortions per 1,000 women), while the estimated decline in developing countries (from 39 to 37) is much smaller and is not statistically significant. In the face of the overall decline in abortion rates, the absolute number of abortions considered unsafe according to standards set by the World Health Organization remained high, with close to 7 million women in developing countries receiving treatment for abortion complications in 2012, up from 5 million in 2005 (Singh and Maddow‐Zimet, 2016). Of note, abortion rates declined across regions except Latin America and Africa, the two regions with the most restrictive laws. Table 5.1 also indicates that the absolute number of abortions increased during the period. All of this growth occurred in developing countries, primarily due to population growth. Similarly, the percentage of pregnancies ending in abortion also rose in developing countries (from 21% to 24%, with a particularly large increase in Latin America), while it dropped considerably in developed countries (from 39% to 28%, with a particularly large drop in Europe). Globally, an average of one-quarter of all pregnancies ended in abortion in 2010–2014. Despite intense lobbying efforts by antiabortion groups, strong pressure from several religious institutions, formidable stigmas surrounding abortion, and highly restrictive abortion laws in numerous countries, abortion remains a common gynecological phenomenon across the globe.



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