Costs, legislation and stigma can hinder access to safe abortion
Barriers to accessing safe abortion include:
- restrictive laws
- poor availability of services
- high cost
- stigma
- the conscientious objection of health-care providers and
- unnecessary requirements, such as mandatory waiting periods, mandatory counselling, provision of misleading information, third-party authorization, and medically unnecessary tests that delay care.
Restricting access to abortion does not reduce the number of abortions
Women with unintended pregnancies rely on abortion even in settings where abortion is restricted. Generally speaking, abortion rates are similar in countries where abortion is broadly legal and in those where it is restricted (40 per 1 000 women and 36 per 1 000 women, respectively).
In countries where abortion is legal on broader grounds, most of the abortions that take place are safe. In contrast, in countries where abortion is banned or allowed only to save a woman’s life or physical health, most abortions that occur are unsafe.
Legal restrictions, as well as social and cultural beliefs linked to abortion, can make women reluctant to seek timely medical care in case of abortion-related complications, which further puts women’s health and well-being at risk
Abortion
Every individual has the right to decide freely and responsibly – without discrimination, coercion and violence – the number, spacing and timing of their children, and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health (ICPD 1994).
Access to legal, safe and comprehensive abortion care, including post-abortion care, is essential for the attainment of the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health.
Three out of ten of all pregnancies end in induced abortion. Nearly half of all abortions are unsafe, and almost all of these unsafe abortions take place in developing countries.
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