WorldPublicOpinion.org: World Publics Reject Criminal Penalties for Abortion

WorldPublicOpinion.org finds that in 17 out of 18 nations polled around the world, majorities reject using criminal penalties, such as fines and imprisonment, as a means to prevent abortion.

Nations differ on whether the government should make any effort to discourage abortion. In nine nations majorities believe their government should simply leave these matters to individuals.

Full PDF Version

ICMA Products

Medical Abortion: An International Forum on Policies, Programmes and Services.

• Medical abortion can make abortion earlier, more accessible, safer, less traumatic, less medicalised and less expensive. It has increased access to safe abortion and reduced maternal mortality, including in legally restricted settings.
• Medical abortion has been shown to be safe and effective in both the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, with efficacy rates as high as 95 - 98%. Acceptability among women is high, because medical abortion does not involve surgery or anaesthesia, and is a simple procedure that happens entirely in the woman's body.
• Acceptability among providers is high too, because they feel that it is safe and offers women an alternative to surgical abortion, and is a choice that many women prefer.

"Medical abortion" is the use of drugs to terminate a pregnancy. It is sometimes also called non-surgical abortion. The regimen for first trimester medical abortion, registered in more than 30 countries, consists of two drugs, recently included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines: mifepristone (an anti-progestogen that blocks progesterone, the hormone necessary to sustain a pregnancy) followed 36 - 48 hours later by misoprostol (a prostaglandin that makes the uterus contract). These drugs can be taken to cause a miscarriage to occur, starting from the time a woman misses her period. Where mifepristone is not available, misoprostol can be used alone to cause a miscarriage to occur.

• Unsafe abortions are a major public health problem. As many as 150 million women worldwide who want to limit or space their pregnancies lack access to effective contraception. Even women who use contraception may experience unintended pregnancies, as no contraceptive is 100% effective.
• Of 210 million pregnancies yearly, an estimated 46 million end in induced abortion
• Of the estimated 19 million unsafe abortions in the world each year, 18.5 million occur in developing countries.
• About 68 000 women die each year from unsafe abortion.
• Young and unmarried women are often afraid to tell anyone they are pregnant and are more likely to seek terminations from unqualified practitioners. They account for a disproportionate share of death and illness from the complications of dangerous abortions.

Submit your story!

“I liked the tablets. See, I did not need to stay in the hospital. With curetting I would have spent two days there. I told my mother-in-law I was going to the market. I did not abort at the hospital although I waited for 3 hours. I was scared, would mother-in-law come to know? How many days I bled....  I was going to the toilet every hour to check. See, we don’t have our own toilet. I felt embarrassed. But it happened when she was out. A little pain was there but that much is to be tolerated. Whatever you would have done, pain is always there. Everything has turned out well. I am very happy now. I will definitely use this method again.”  

(From Bela Ganatra’ presentation at ICMA conference, 2004)