Today,
worldwide, women may wish to
interrupt a larger percentage of
pregnancies than ever before.
Throughout this century and
especially since mid-century, women
in nearly every country have been
wishing to bear fewer and fewer
children. As a result of these
declining fertility desires and
changing mores, the proportion of
marital and extra-marital sexual
activity in which children are
unwanted or unacceptable has
increased.
Theoretically, modern contraceptive
techniques, such as intrauterine
devices, surgical sterilization and
pharmaceuticals can prevent
pregnancy in most instances. In
actual practice, all except
sterilization very commonly allow
pregnancies to happen. Moreover,
partly because modern techniques are
unavailable in many areas, a
majority or at least a sizable
minority of the world's
contracepting women rely on
traditional methods, such as
periodic abstention from
intercourse, coitus interruptus and
herbs.
Based
on observations in many populations,
these methods cannot limit
pregnancies to anywhere near the 2
or 3 that most women want. Abortion
is women's only option to close the
gap between the number of their
pregnancies and the number of
children they consent to bear.
back to top
The
World Health Organization estimated
that worldwide, about 50 million
abortions were induced annually in
the years circa 1990. Combining this
estimate with others, WHO concluded
that each year in this period,
approximately 3.4% of women in the
childbearing ages of 15 to 49 years
had an abortion (the abortion rate),
and 25% of all pregnancies ended in
abortion (the abortion ratio).
These
estimates imply that at least a
substantial minority of the world's
women have the experience of
undergoing or self-administering a
procedure to induce abortion
sometime during the span of their
childbearing years. Many are at high
risk for procedure-related morbidity
and mortality, with repercussions,
too, for their families and wider
social networks.
So many
abortions and complications are
deeply troubling, emotionally or
morally, to many people. They impose
considerable strains on health
budgets, personnel and resources,
which, in some areas, might
seriously compromise the ability to
pursue other health objectives.
These
global rates do not, of course,
apply equally to all women
everywhere. A Population Council
compilation of data showed that the
abortion rate was twice as high
among more developed compared to
less developed countries: 6.0%
versus 2.8%.
Abortion rates (per 1,000 women aged
15 to 44 years) ranged from a low of
6 in the Netherlands, to 13 in
Tunisia, 100 in Viet Nam, and -
highest of all - 183 in Romania.
Corresponding abortion ratios were
9.6% in the Netherlands, 9.8% in
Tunisia, 38.4% in Viet Nam, and
74.4% in
Romania.
