Abortion on the rise in countries where it is illegal

by Annaliza Borg and Francesca Vella

While the World Health Organisation (WHO) is working on the findings of a report which says that higher abortion rates are being registered in countries where it is illegal, Malta’s only records on the number of women who terminate their pregnancies are those published by the British Department of Health.

No records on the number of Maltese women who have abortions in other countries are available, and the health ministry doesn’t seem intent on publishing any such statistics.

Abortion is illegal in Malta, but it is a well known fact that Maltese women seeking to terminate their pregnancy travel to the UK and Sicily to have an abortion. The procedure is also said to have been carried out in unauthorised clinics in Malta in the past.

The Malta Independent asked the health ministry whether it considers the WHO report to be worrying and whether it might consider publishing clear statistics on the number of women who go abroad to terminate their pregnancies, for policies to better address unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.

In its replies, the ministry said: “Malta has always supported declarations and resolutions passed in international fora which call for the reduction in complications of illegal abortions. However, Malta can never support any initiative which promotes abortion, in line with local legislation.”

The ministry pointed out that from hospital admission records there is no evidence of any admissions resulting from complications following illegal abortions. However, the ministry said that such issues fall under the criminal code and therefore fall within the remit of the police.

“It is not to be believed that having records on the number of women travelling overseas to get an abortion would in any way shed light on illegal abortions, if any, being carried out in Malta,” it said.

Is it time for any change in policy on abortion? this newspaper asked.

“It is not within the remit of the ministry responsible for health to determine whether abortion policies in Malta are to be reviewed,” it said.

According to a report by the British Department of Health, 51 Maltese women had an abortion in the UK in 2010 and 78 women had the procedure undertaken the year before.

In 2010, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said an average of 57 Maltese women per year had an abortion in England and Wales over the previous decade.

However, there are no known statistics on the number of women who had abortions in Italy or in other countries, so it is difficult to have a clear picture of the number of women resorting to abortion.

In Malta, abortion is illegal even if a woman is raped or if her life is at risk.

In the past, Rebecca Gomperts, project director of a pro-choice, non-profit organisation, Women on Waves, came to Malta at the invitation of Alpha Liberal Democratic Reformist Political Party, led by Emmy Bezzina. In 2007, Dr Gomperts estimated that about 300 Maltese had been having an abortion every year, the vast majority of which take place overseas.

Women on Waves sails to countries where abortion is illegal to provide early medical abortions safely, professionally and legally. As long as the ship stays in international waters, Dutch laws apply.

Abortions carried out illegally and which are consequently dangerous, are on the rise, according to the study commissioned by the WHO and published in the journal The Lancet, last Thursday. Women in countries with more restrictive abortion laws are the most likely to resort to unsafe abortions. The report looks at the incidence and trends in induced abortions worldwide from 1995 to 2008.

Nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, with the vast majority taking place in developing countries, the study concludes. Experts could not say whether more liberal laws led to fewer procedures, but said good access to birth control in those countries resulted in fewer unwanted pregnancies.

The global abortion rate remained virtually unchanged from 2003 to 2008, at about 28 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, a total of about 43.8 million abortions, according to the study. The rate had previously been dropping since 1995.

About 47,000 women died from unsafe abortions in 2008, and another 8.5 million women had serious medical complications. Almost all unsafe abortions were in developing countries, where family planning and contraceptive programmes have mostly levelled off.

“An abortion is actually a very simple and safe procedure,” said Gilda Sedgh, a senior researcher at the US-based Guttmacher Institute, designated by the World Health Organization as an official Collaborating Centre for Reproductive Health. “All of these deaths and complications are easily avoidable,” said Sedgh, the study’s lead author.

Sedgh and colleagues concluded that the proportion of unsafe abortions rose from 44 % in 1995 to 49 % in 2008, the last year for which statistics were available and studied in the report. Sedgh acknowledged it was difficult to get an accurate number for unsafe abortions in particular and described their estimates as modest.

They used sources including official statistics, national surveys, and hospital records. To account for unreported abortions, they made adjustments and relied on information from other kinds of studies, expert assessments, and surveys of women.

Abortion rates were lowest in Western Europe — 12 per 1,000 — and highest in Eastern Europe — 43 per 1,000. The rate in North America was 19 per 1,000. Sedgh said she and colleagues found a link between higher abortion rates and regions with more restrictive legislation, such as in Latin America and Africa. They also found that 95 to 97 % of abortions in those regions were unsafe.

Source: http://www.independent.com.mt