This article presents part of the findings of a community-based study on the causes and effects of unplanned pregnancies in four districts of Western Province, Zambia. The study broke the silence around abortion in Western Province and revealed that induced abortion poses a public health problem. Using innovative methodology of recording and analyzing histories of deaths from induced abortion, ...

BACKGROUND Abortion services were legalized in India in 1972, however, the access to safe abortion services is restricted, especially in rural areas. In 2002, medical abortion using mifepristone- misoprostol was approved for termination of pregnancy, however, its use has been limited in primary care settings. METHODS This paper describes a service delivery intervention for women attending wit...

CONTEXT National and state-level information about abortion incidence can help inform policies and programs intended to reduce levels of unintended pregnancy. METHODS In 2015-2016, all U.S. facilities known or expected to have provided abortion services in 2013 or 2014 were surveyed. Data on the number of abortions were combined with population data to estimate national and state-level aborti...

OBJECTIVE To examine the uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods after abortion among women seeking abortions through a major Australian abortion provider. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional study of women's post-abortion contraceptive choices, conducted at Marie Stopes International clinics across Australia between 1 September and 31 December 2012. PARTICIPANTS 7267 o...

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY South Africa's Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1996 provides for safe termination of pregnancy (TOP) in designated facilities in the public and private health sectors. In 2001, mifepristone-misoprostol medical abortion was approved for TOP up to 56 days, but this method is not yet available in the public sector. Information on the operational requirements fo...

CONTEXT A cultural preference for sons may be a factor driving recourse to abortion in India, as women carrying female fetuses may decide to terminate their pregnancies. To assess this hypothesis, more information on the incidence of abortion, and on maternal and social correlates of the procedure, is needed. METHODS Birth order-specific abortion ratios were calculated using the birth histori...

PURPOSE In recent years, states have passed a range of regulations regarding ultrasound procedures in abortion care. Abortion rights opponents have promoted ultrasound viewing, believing that women who view their own ultrasound images are likely to be dissuaded from abortion. Abortion rights advocates, in contrast, routinely oppose these regulations, citing concerns that ultrasound viewing in t...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate attributes of public service providers associated with the provision of medical abortion in Vietnam. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study via interviewer-administered questionnaire among abortion providers from public health facilities in Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam between August 2011 and January 2012. We r...

BACKGROUND Gender-based violence (GBV) has profound adverse consequences on women's physical, mental, and reproductive health. Although Vietnam has high rates of induced abortion and GBV, literature examining this relationship is lacking. OBJECTIVE This study examines the association of GBV with induced abortion among married or partnered women of reproductive age in Thai Nguyen province, Vie...

CONTEXT Although abortion became legal in India in 1971, many women are unaware of the law. Behavior change communication interventions may be an effective way to promote awareness of the law and change knowledge of and perceptions about abortion, particularly in settings in which abortion is stigmatized. METHODS To evaluate the effectiveness of a behavior change communication intervention to...