Résumé : Induced abortion is one of the most serious public health problems in Latin America. Abortions performed in unsafe conditions have high rates of complications, and can lead to infertility or death. Precise statistics for abortion morbidity are available only for women seeking treatment in health facilities. The exact number of maternal deaths and abortion deaths in Latin America is unknown. An estimated 28,000 maternal deaths occurred in 1990, with 10,000 due to abortion complications. 83-250 deaths are estimated for each 100,000 abortions, compared to 0.6% where abortion is legal. Abortion mortality is lower where contraceptive usage is high and quality treatment for complications is available. The costs of reducing unwanted pregnancy by improving coverage and quality of family planning services and offering services to adolescents would be lower than the direct cost of care for abortion complications. Some 400,000 abortions occur each year in Latin America, where 19-34% of fertile aged women do not use effective contraception. Wealthier women are able to obtain relatively safe abortions from trained personnel, but poor women resort to desperate and unsafe measures. They often receive poor treatment for complications from insensitive workers, and few are given family planning counseling. Official programs, world opinion, and the media promote small families, but do not acknowledge the role of abortion in achieving small families. Society should openly and honestly debate the status of abortion.
Notes : Español/espagnol/Spanish, nbsp;Abstract : Popline (http://db.jhuccp.org/popinform/basic.html) - PIP 143868