Résumé : Induced abortion is viewed in different ways: as a crime, as a free choice, as a desperate response to a difficult situation, or as a routine means of family planning. Abortion is the oldest method of fertility control. It is practiced everywhere, in all social and economic groups, and an abortionist can always be found. An estimated 20-30% of pregnancies worldwide end in abortions, at least half of which are illegal. Bolivia has the highest maternal mortality rate in South America, and at least 30% of maternal deaths result from abortion. Abortion legislation throughout the world has been substantially modified over the past four decades. Abortion in the first trimester is quite freely available in 20 countries containing 2/3 of the world's population. At the other extreme, abortion is not permissible under any circumstances in 25 countries. Statistics on frequency of abortion in Bolivia are unreliable because most abortions are illegal. An estimated 60 women die per 10,000 abortions in Bolivia, and the situation is similar elsewhere in Latin America. Providing free access to family planning information and services constitutes an essential step in combating abortion. Bolivia's total fertility rate in the 1982 fertility survey was 5.2, the highest in Latin America, but the average number of children desired was only 3.2. 30.3% of women in union use a contraceptive method. 12.2% use a modern method. In urban areas, 39.1% use any method and 17.9% use a modern method. Among women in union currently using a modern method, 39.3% use IUDs, 36.1% female sterilization, 15.5% pills, 5.7% injectables, 2.5% condoms, and 0.8% diaphragms. 89.4% of those using traditional methods use periodic abstinence. 67.5% of women in Bolivia know about some modern method of contraception. 48% of Bolivian women do not want more children, and another 10% do not want another child in the near future.
Notes : Español/espagnol/Spanish, nbsp;Abstract : Popline (http://db.jhuccp.org/popinform/basic.html) - PIP 107091