Abortion rates drop in more developed

regions but fail to improve in developing

regions*
12 May 2016 -- New estimates, published today in the Lancet, indicate that the induced abortion
rate has declined significantly in more developed countries between 1990 and 2014, but not in
developing countries.

After inserting an implant into a client's arm, a health worker reiterates to her the advantages and
disadvantages of different family planning methods. Mozambique
Arturo Sanabria/Photoshare

THE LANCET

See the new estimates published in the Lancet

12 May 2016

Making greater investments in quality family planning services, providing safe abortion to the
full extent of the law and ensuring post-abortion care including post-abortion contraception are
essential public health strategies.

Bela Ganatra, Scientist, WHO

Key facts on induced abortion worldwide

Download the key facts

pdf, 78kb

A new study, undertaken by the Guttmacher Institute and WHO, has estimated that, worldwide,
during the period 2010-2014, there were 35 abortions per 1000 women aged 15-44. This
translates to over 56 million abortions per year.

The study shows marked differences between the regions that are classified by the UNPD as
developed (Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan) and those that are classified
as developing regions.

While, in the more developed regions the abortion rate has declined by 41% since 1990-94 to a
current rate of 27 abortions per 1000 women, the abortion rate in developing regions has
remained virtually unchanged for the past 25 years at a rate of 37 abortions per 1000 women.
Nearly 88% of all abortions take place in developing regions.

The continuing high rates of abortion, particularly in developing regions, clearly underscore the
need to improve and expand access to effective contraceptive services. Ensuring that women and
couples have access to a wide range of effective contraceptive methods to choose from and that
they receive comprehensive information about how to use their chosen method consistently and
correctly is sound public health policy. Investing in modern contraceptive methods would be far
less costly to women and society than the costs of managing the outcomes of unintended
pregnancies.

However, unintended pregnancies also occur among women using contraceptive methods who
experience method failure or those who become pregnant as a result of rape. Women may also
seek abortion for other reasons related to their health or other circumstances. In such situations,
they should have access to safe abortion services to the full extent of the law. Where safe
abortion services are not available, women may resort to an unsafe procedure and be at risk of
severe complications and possibly death. Access to post-abortion care is critical to address such
complications, counsel the woman on appropriate care, and ensure she has access to
contraceptive services.

This paper is the first of a two part series. Using a new conceptual and methodological approach,
the second paper will provide global and regional estimates of the proportion of abortions that
are unsafe. These estimates will be published later this year.

Related links

More information

See full list of publications

* Developed and developing regions as categorized by the United Nations Population Division
(UNPD)

Summary
Background

Information about the incidence of induced abortion is needed to motivate and inform efforts to
help women avoid unintended pregnancies and to monitor progress toward that end. We estimate
subregional, regional, and global levels and trends in abortion incidence for 1990 to 2014, and
abortion rates in subgroups of women. We use the results to estimate the proportion of
pregnancies that end in abortion and examine whether abortion rates vary in countries grouped
by the legal status of abortion.

Methods

We requested abortion data from government agencies and compiled data from international
sources and nationally representative studies. With data for 1069 country-years, we estimated
incidence using a Bayesian hierarchical time series model whereby the overall abortion rate is a
function of the modelled rates in subgroups of women of reproductive age defined by their
marital status and contraceptive need and use, and the sizes of these subgroups.

Findings

We estimated that 35 abortions (90% uncertainty interval [UI] 33 to 44) occurred annually per
1000 women aged 1544 years worldwide in 201014, which was 5 points less than 40 (3948)
in 199094 (90% UI for decline 11 to 0). Because of population growth, the annual number of
abortions worldwide increased by 59 million (90% UI 13 to 154), from 504 million in 1990
94 (486 to 599) to 563 million (524 to 700) in 201014. In the developed world, the abortion
rate declined 19 points (26 to 14), from 46 (41 to 59) to 27 (24 to 37). In the developing
world, we found a non-significant 2 point decline (90% UI 9 to 4) in the rate from 39 (37 to 47)
to 37 (34 to 46). Some 25% (90% UI 23 to 29) of pregnancies ended in abortion in 201014.
Globally, 73% (90% UI 59 to 82) of abortions were obtained by married women in 201014
compared with 27% (18 to 41) obtained by unmarried women. We did not observe an association
between the abortion rates for 201014 and the grounds under which abortion is legally allowed.

Interpretation

Abortion rates have declined significantly since 1990 in the developed world but not in the
developing world. Ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health care could help millions of
women avoid unintended pregnancies and ensure access to safe abortion.

Funding
UK Government, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World
Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human
Reproduction.

This article is available free of charge.

Abortion should be banned

Because a women brought you to this world! What if your mom had aborted you? Think
about those can't have kids. If you didn't want a child in the beginning then you would
have used protection. Nobody should be killed for no reason. Don't want a child, use
protection! It's as simple as that.

Posted by: vfranco

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A fetus is still a human being.

Abortion should only be performed if it is for a serious reason, like a life or death
situation, a rape from a stranger or family member, or for the baby's sake (you know it's
going to die anyways) People should not get an abortion just because they don't want a
baby, they have adoption agencies for that reason.

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 1

Its murder !

Us people don't realize the damage we do to ourselves and mostly to the unborn child
who never got a chance to speak for themselves. That is a child who would never get to
see their parents and call them mommy or daddy, a child who never was loved and last
thing that happened to that child was being torn apart by a stranger who was allowed to
by their mother which is someone who is supposed to keep us from harm, danger, and
instead of feeling loved from her the baby is being neglected, abandoned and tortured...
The baby feels everything

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No matter what

I don't care what no one says I really think abortions should be banned it's just not right
,they are kids of our God who brought those children's to this world and then you plan to
kill them it's just not fair just give the baby to a close family member who can't have a
child of their own or set up for an adoption but don't kill the babies ...

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 1

Abortion should be banned but with some flexibility

Yes it is true, as we all knows that the baby is in the womb of a lady can't express his/her
feeling about good or bad but, as a human being we know that without child world can't
assume themselves. If every person wants to get rid off from his liabilities of take care of
infant, our world get destroyed in coming some years. Everybody should be careful
before making intercourse and should use preventive steps to avoid these such type of
mistakes. If, there are doing it intentionally, they don't have any right for abortion of a
baby growing in the womb of her mother.

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This should not be a debate it's murder

I think it is definitely murder.God makes everything in this world.This is a human life we

are talking about what is wrong with people in this world. 1 day we will all be judged in
front of our maker.Its just wrong that is my opinion.Im a father and i love my children...

Posted by: Gregp

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 1

Tho shalt not kill!!!

Nobody has the right to take a life! Murder is illegal!! Tho shalt not kill!! It is written in
the bible!!! And the Ten Commandments!!! If it is ok with the mother to killer her child
in the womb, and she is not in prison, then why are the mothers that kill that child some
time after birth, ARE in prison? Shouldn't they both be?

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This is murder!!!

We are the USA!!! The land of the free!!!! Any child conceived in the USA, has a RIGHT
to live!!! This is GODS creation!!! A gift! As a nation founded on Christianity! We are
supposed to protect those who can not protect themselves!!! If the mother wants nothing
to do with that child, then there are more than enough resources here in the USA to put
that child up for adoption!! So many families on waiting lists for a newborn? Why are
they on waiting lists? Because you allow the mother to legally KILL a baby???? That
could have had a shot at a good life with a family who cares... This should not even be a
debate! This is life!! I have 5 children, I lost 2, 1 miscarriage, 1 at birth!!! I seen with
each child, I seen a different personality in all of them, and have ultrasound pics and
videos of there growth, my daughter was sucking her thumb in the womb, she sucked that
 thumb till she was 8 years old, now 10!! I was also told "get a abortion " as to the dad
wanted nothing to do with his own child? I was alone and scared!! But to kill my own
child, unspeakable!!! So I kept my child and got rid of the dad!!! Dads that feel this way,
womens that feel this way should be castrated!!! End of story!!

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I think that abortion should be completely banned.

I think this because abortion is like murdering a child, even thought its not born yet it is
still considered your child and a human being. By having an abortion you are taking the
chance of life away from an innocent, helpless, and voiceless human being who could
live a great life.

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Unborn children deserve to see the world.

Babies start forming at conception, this means that the child has their right, the childs
right to life. This is against the childs human rights. The child hasnt done anything
 wrong, why should it be killed?
The child hasnt even lived yet or seen the light of day and you're killing it.
Children are killed because they are not wanted, these children deserve to see the world
as it is part of their rights.

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It should be banned

I think that abortion should not be allowed because its stupid girls get pregnant because
they dont use protecting and end up getting pregnant. It should not be allowed because
they got into that problem so just have to deal with it its not the poor baby's fault its the
parents fault for not taking care of themselves.

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Is it yours?
 I personally think if a woman finds herself incompetent of raising a child, whether
mentally or physically or financially, I think it her right to abort the baby. I do not want a
child to be raised by a woman who can't take care of it, and don't want any more people
in poverty. And to people who say it's murder: When people get abortions it tends to be in
the early stages, when the fetus (an unborn child) is still a group of developing cells. With
that fact and the fact that it is not your baby, I think abortion should be legalized.

Posted by: ChristopherCaldwell

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It's the woman's body not the government's!!!

If the government really was in which you call pro life , why don't they help the ones who
are already suffering?? They should but they don't. Every one in this country is financial
struggling and the government can do things that are economically better but they don't
do it. The majority of people's salaries goes to insurance for the lower class, struggle at
their jobs, and struggle with expenses. And more expenses for the unwanted child and a
woman didn't even plan on having another one?? Why make her go through the nine
months and then give the child to a foster parent. Most foster caregivers are not really
good and the child grows up with disappointment and pain because he's not with his real
family. It's a hard fact to face!!! Why put that kind of pain on a child??? Why?? If you're
pro life, consider the ones who are alive and suffering and make sure they don't die!! Hey
our government is being influenced by religious views!! Wether you know it or not but if
our government is being influenced religiously, then so much for equality, we'll never
achieve it until the government is 100% secular and reaches every one's needs with out
making religious excuses to not take action, including both the majority and the minority.
It needs to be focused on the whole population. People should be free to make their
choice wether or not to have an abortion, the world is overly populated as it is and there
are impoverished countries that are in need of it as well because of the limited resources.
 America someday might become impoverished as well if we don't do things that are good
for the economy. Please everyone make sure that we don't have too many children.
Because overpopulation and scarce recourse is no picnic especially for countries in Africa
and nations like Haiti, India, and many others!! This is a serious thing to think about!!!
This could someday save our lives and the people who love in these countries as well!!
So if you say that you're pro life, help the starving, unfortunate, Poor, impoverished,
broken, injured, and the homeless. It's better for the financially struggling mom have her
baby aborted than to have baby live a life in misery! Please think in secular terms after
reading this, thanks.

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Stop Shaming Women

People are so quick to judge the woman about her horrible mistakes and that she should
live with them. Everyone makes mistakes, and we should be, as a society, caring for a
woman with a horrible choice (either way) and supporting her in her decision. She
shouldn't be shamed by being forced to look at pictures of "fetuses that are alive", when
most women have their abortion when it isn't even considered a fetus yet. Furthermore, it
is a woman's right to choose what she does with her body. If we can make this argument
for plastic surgery and anything else and woman (or a man) does with their body, the
same can be said for abortion.

Stop shaming women who have abortions. They have been through enough.

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 1

It's a right we should have as humans

Let's say your a teenage girl. Your heading home from school one day and just having a
average, typical normal day for a teenage girl. Deciding to take a long route home you
walk through a park. It's about 4:30 pm and suddenly the day changes from good to bad.
A strange man sits down beside you on a bench and he doesn't look friendly. He threatens
to hurt you if you don't follow him. Scared and wary you follow him. He leads you to a
public washroom and forces you to get undressed. He then proceeds to rape you. A few
months later you get a test. It's positive and you haven't even finished high school yet.
Your life is ruined. After being forced to have the child you don't know what to do. Your
parents are very stressed and you can understand that. High school is a lot more difficult
because you have to take care of this child and also finish schoolwork. And you feel like
your life is a living hell.

Now, let's say this girl had an abortion. It would fix a lot of her problems. She wouldn't
have to use up money to take care of it and she would almost have a regular teenage life.
She shouldn't have to be weighed down with this burden. It would help her improve her
life to the point where she's READY to have a child.
Besides if abortions were illegal think about how many orphans there would be.

Posted by: Hwaldnerthoen

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0
 Its a women's choice.

You cant control a person on what to do with their own body. And its their right to do
what they what to it. And what if they did get raped, some women might not be okay with
a baby growing inside them; a constant reminder of what had happened to them. Or what
if they can barely take care of themselves.

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NO! Its up to the woman to chose.

Abortion should not be illegalised when for years people were protesting for it to be
legalised and now it is they don't want it to be! They should be able to chose what
happens to their body and if they have a baby in them that they don't want to be there
then they should be given the choice to get rid of it. At the point of an abortion, the baby
is not even formed properly so you cant say that an innocent baby is being killed because
it isn't even a proper baby its only a fetus! Therefore abortion should not be banned!

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 Its their choice

All the people here say that they can just put it up for adoption, but what if the girl was
raped? What if the girl will die from the operation? What if the child should have a
disease that will make it suffer? The child in question is not unborn, it isn't even
construed, by the time a woman finds out she's pregnant it isn't even alive yet, it is
developing. So why is it your argument is all about how it's killing a baby? What of the
adoption centers either? They are usually well kept, but not always, sometimes they're
environments can be extremely harmful to them. Another thing is limiting the population,
the populous is strictly getting way too high, so limits on population like this could
support that! Lastly the woman's right to decide whether she wants a baby she didn't
mean to have is their decision, not yours

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Abortion should not be banned

Just in case of rap or incest. If a person objects to having an abortion, then they should
not have one. But no one else should be denied to the right to have one. Fetuses are not
people with a full slate of rights like the mother has. So their should not be banned
abortion

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 0

Absolutely not; keep abortion legal

It is important to keep abortion legal. Women are not incubators and should never be
forced to continue a pregnancy if they do not want to. Abortion is an important human
right and banning it would be devastating for American women. If you don't trust us with
a choice, why would you trust us with a child?

1) Murder is illegal.

Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with some level of intent. California law
includes a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature.

The only thing preventing abortion from being included in the definition of murder is that its
currently not unlawful. But basic science proves that an unborn child is a human being. No
mention of personhood is necessary for basic murder definitions. Killing a human being or a
fellow creature, even, is enough.

Why, as a society, do we pick and choose human beings whom we can deliberately kill? These
human beings are fully human, entirely innocent, and helpless and voiceless. Yet we purposely
target them, setting very few restrictions on their killings.

Is there any other class of human beings that our society will make it lawful to kill? Belgium is
already on the path to extending legal murder through its legalization of euthanasia even child
euthanasia. History shows that Nazi Germany, once it began to legalize the murder of human
beings, simply continued down the path the elderly, the sick, the disabled, gypsies,
homosexuals, the Jews, those who defended the Jews. Where would it have stopped?

This is why abortion must be illegal if murder is illegal. It should never be lawful to kill any
innocent human being.

2) The 14th Amendment was designed to protect classes of people like the unborn.

At the time the 14th Amendment was adopted, abortion was already illegal or being made illegal
throughout the nation.

The criminalization of abortion accelerated during the 1860s, and by 1900 it was generally
considered a felony in every state.

Thus, there was no reason for Congress to specifically discuss the unborn in their debate on the
14th Amendment. The unborn were already a protected class in the U.S.
However, during the debate on the 14th Amendment, Senate Sponsor Jacob Howard explained
that it was essential for every man (or human being) to be equal in regard to the basic right to
life:

I urge the amendment for the enforcement of these essential provisions of your Constitution,
divine in their justice, sublime in their humanity, which declare that all men are equal in the
rights of life and liberty before the majesty of American law.

Senator Howard also stated:

It establishes equality before the law, and it gives to the humblest, the poorest, the most despised
of the race the same rights and the same protection before the law as it gives to the most
powerful, the most wealthy, or the most haughty.

House sponsor John Bingham further explained the intent when he argued, as Robert C. Cetrulo
writes, that the Amendment was intended to be universal and to apply to any human being.
Fourteenth Amendment rights were intended not only to pertain to American citizenship but also
to common humanity.'

3) Federal laws already protect the unborn.

Justice requires our laws to be consistent.

The law on the death penalty and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act are prime examples.

Federal law prohibits the death penalty for pregnant women until they give birth. (18 U.S.C.A.
S.3596) In essence, the law declared that an innocent unborn person cannot be sentenced and put
to death for a crime he did not commit. If the unborn child were not seen as a person in the eyes
of the law, there would be no need for this prohibition.

Common law typically prohibited the execution of a pregnant woman until birth, though its
prohibition was not even as strong as the current federal law. The U.S. Supreme Court (in Union
P. R. Co. v. Botsford) explained the purpose of the common law doctrine: to guard against the
taking of the life of an unborn child for the crime of the mother. Inconsistently, the Court calls
the unborn child a child and yet refuses to recognize her as a person.
Its wrong for a mother to have the right to kill her children. True feminists realize that our power
doesnt come through the blood of our children.

The UVVA specifically prohibits the killing of unborn children, defining them as follows:

a child in utero, and the term child in utero or child, who is in utero means a member of the
species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.

And yet, even with this powerful definition, the law makes exceptions for mothers to give
permission for their children to be killed.

How contradictory, tragic, and wrong.