Abstract : An estimated 80,000 women die each year from complications related to unsafe abortion. Globally, about 13% of pregnancy-related deaths are due to this cause. In several countries in Latin America, where other determinants of maternal deaths have been addressed and reduced substantially, abortion deaths have become the main cause of maternal mortality. In developing countries, the risk of death following complications of unsafe abortion may be several hundred times higher than that of an abortion performed professionally under safe conditions. Both the incidence of unsafe abortion and resulting mortality appear to be rising among unmarried adolescents in urban areas where abortion is illegal and access to fertility regulation services is inadequate. Access to sexuality and contraceptive information and services targeted to the young could help reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancies. Ongoing surveillance of trends in unsafe abortion is essential. Sustained reductions in abortion-related mortality require a combination of changes in abortion laws, increased access to safe abortion services and/or menstrual regulation, more widespread access to contraception, increased skills on the part of abortion providers outside the formal health care system, and the availability of treatment facilities for abortion-related complications.
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