Posted on May 27, 2022
Do restrictive abortion laws actually reduce abortion? A global map offers insights
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https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/05/27/ [login to see] /do-restrictive-abortion-laws-actually-reduce-abortion-a-global-map-offers-insigh
In countries where abortion is illegal, are there fewer abortions?
The question sounds simple. But it's tough to answer, says social demographer Jonathan Bearak at the Guttmacher Institute. That's largely because, in places with strict abortion laws, the procedure is almost completely hidden. So estimating the rate of abortions is extremely difficult.
Nevertheless, for the past two decades scientists at the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute have been developing tools to estimate abortion rates around the globe. Both institutions support abortion rights for people worldwide. This past February, they published, for the first time, abortion rates for nearly every country. And they've also updated their analysis looking at how abortion rates vary across regions of the world – and whether the legality of the procedure is associated with those rates.
"So let's say you group together the countries where abortion is broadly legal," says Bearak, who led the study. "And then you group together countries where abortion is completely prohibited altogether, even without exception for the health of the woman."
Which group has the higher abortion rate?
In countries where abortion is illegal, are there fewer abortions?
The question sounds simple. But it's tough to answer, says social demographer Jonathan Bearak at the Guttmacher Institute. That's largely because, in places with strict abortion laws, the procedure is almost completely hidden. So estimating the rate of abortions is extremely difficult.
Nevertheless, for the past two decades scientists at the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute have been developing tools to estimate abortion rates around the globe. Both institutions support abortion rights for people worldwide. This past February, they published, for the first time, abortion rates for nearly every country. And they've also updated their analysis looking at how abortion rates vary across regions of the world – and whether the legality of the procedure is associated with those rates.
"So let's say you group together the countries where abortion is broadly legal," says Bearak, who led the study. "And then you group together countries where abortion is completely prohibited altogether, even without exception for the health of the woman."
Which group has the higher abortion rate?
Do restrictive abortion laws actually reduce abortion? A global map offers insights
Posted from npr.org
Abortion
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Posted 2 y ago
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We know that non-clinical abortions can be quite complicated and even fatal.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""We found that in countries where abortion is legal – and available to women on request – 9 out of 10 abortions happen safely," Ganatra says. "But if you look at countries where abortions are most restricted then only 1 out of 4 abortions happens safely."
"But it's not just the law that's important," she adds. For the rate of unsafe abortions to drop in a country, people also have to have access to safe abortions, she says. "Just because the law changes and abortion is allowed, it doesn't automatically mean that unsafe abortion goes away. Clinics actually have to have the medicines, they have to train practitioners and they actually have to make the services available.
"Changing the law [to allow abortions] is necessary for reducing the rate of unsafe abortions. It's a step, but it's not only about the law," Ganatra adds."
...""We found that in countries where abortion is legal – and available to women on request – 9 out of 10 abortions happen safely," Ganatra says. "But if you look at countries where abortions are most restricted then only 1 out of 4 abortions happens safely."
"But it's not just the law that's important," she adds. For the rate of unsafe abortions to drop in a country, people also have to have access to safe abortions, she says. "Just because the law changes and abortion is allowed, it doesn't automatically mean that unsafe abortion goes away. Clinics actually have to have the medicines, they have to train practitioners and they actually have to make the services available.
"Changing the law [to allow abortions] is necessary for reducing the rate of unsafe abortions. It's a step, but it's not only about the law," Ganatra adds."
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