MATERNAL AND FETAL RISK FACTORS OF LICENSING THERAPEUTIC ABORTION BY ILAM LEGAL MEDICINE ORGANIZATION: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background & Aims: Therapeutic abortion refers to the termination of pregnancy before the birth of a fetus to maintain maternal health or fetal diseases. Increased awareness of the medical team and the community about permissible cases of therapeutic abortion can reduce the number of illegal abortions. The purpose of the present research was to determine the frequency of causes of therapeutic abortion licensing in clients who were referred to Ilam forensic medicine. Materials & Methods: Data were extracted from a cross- sectional study of 203 pregnant women who were referred to Ilam forensic medicine in 2016 and 2017 using data collection forms. Then, the results were presented as mean  standard deviation (SD), absolute frequency, and percentage for independent variables. Results: The results showed that 52.2% of abortion requests led to therapeutic abortion licensing. 80.2% were due to fetal malformations, and 19.8% were due to maternal illness. Downs syndrome, beta-thalassemia major, and encephalitis were the most frequent fetal malformations. ITP disease, chronic renal failure, and refractory chronic hypertension had the highest frequency among maternal diseases. Conclusion: 52.2% of therapeutic abortion requests that were referred to forensic medicine received the authorization. Given that most clients were under medical care during pregnancy, the medical community should be aware of therapeutic abortion laws and refer mothers to forensic medicine at the appropriate time when they have indications.