BACKGROUND Unsafe abortion is estimated to account for 13% of maternal mortality globally. Medical abortion is a safe alternative. METHODS By estimating mortality risks for unsafe and medical abortion and childbirth for Tanzania and Ethiopia, we modelled changes in maternal mortality that are achievable if unsafe abortion were replaced by medical abortion. We selected Ethiopia and Tanzania be...

BACKGROUND Despite South Africa's liberal abortion law permitting abortion on request in the first trimester and under restricted conditions for second-trimester pregnancies, the practice of unsafe self-induced abortion persists. However, the prevalence of this practice, the methods used and the reasons behind it are relatively under-researched. As part of a larger study seeking to improve abor...

Abortion is legally restricted in most of Latin America where 95% of the 4.4 million abortions performed annually are unsafe. Medical abortion (MA) refers to the use of a drug or a combination of drugs to terminate pregnancy. Mifepristone followed by misoprostol is the most effective and recommended regime. In settings where mifepristone is not available, misoprostol alone is used.Medical abort...

Worldwide, abortion is one of the commonest gynaecological procedures (Sedgh et al., 2012). The common occurrence of abortion around the globe, however, belies considerable diversity in the social, political, and ethical meanings of terminating a pregnancy, as well as the practices surrounding abortion. All of these vary from locale to locale, from one historical time to another, and among soci...

CONTEXT The legal status of induced abortion helps determine the availability of safe, affordable abortion services in a country, which in turn influences rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. It is important, therefore, for health professionals to know both the current status of abortion laws worldwide and the extent to which those laws are changing. METHODS Abortion-related laws in 152...

Objectives: Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone is one of the highest in the world and complications from unsafe abortion are one of the leading causes. This article reports the results of a 2012 study to assess the impact and costs of treatment of abortion complications on the country’s public health system, and estimate the costs of a shift to safe, legal abortion. Methods: Records of postabor...

OBJECTIVE Training midlevel providers (MLPs) to conduct surgical abortions and manage medical abortions has been proposed as a way to increase women's access to safe abortion. This paper reviews the evidence that compares the effectiveness and safety of abortion procedures administered by MLPs versus doctors. METHODS A systematic search was conducted of published trials and comparison studies...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality due to abortion complications stands among the three leading causes of maternal death in Botswana where there is a restrictive abortion law. This study aimed at assessing the patterns and determinants of post-abortion complications. METHODS A retrospective institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at four hospitals from January to August 2014. Data we...

OBJECTIVE To determine which characteristics and circumstances were associated with very early and second-trimester abortion. METHODS Paper and pencil surveys were collected from a national sample of 8,380 non-hospital U.S. abortion patients in 2014 and 2015. We used self-reported LMP to calculate weeks gestation; when LMP was not provided we used self-reported weeks pregnant. We constructed ...

BACKGROUND Increasing access to safe abortion services is the most effective way of preventing the burden of unsafe abortion, which is achieved by increasing safe choices for pregnancy termination. Medical abortion for termination of early abortion is said to safe, effective, and acceptable to women in several countries. In Ethiopia, however, medical methods have, until recently, never been use...