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Abortions Just As Likely Where Outlawed, Study Says

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The Associated Press

Published: October 12, 2007

LONDON - Women are just as likely to get an abortion in countries where it is outlawed as they are in countries where it is legal, according to research published Friday.

In a study examining abortion trends from 1995 to 2003, experts also found that abortion rates are virtually equal in rich and poor countries, and that half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe.

The study was done by Gilda Sedgh of the Guttmacher Institute in the United States and colleagues from the World Health Organization. It was published in an edition of The Lancet medical journal devoted to maternal health.

Abortion accounts for 13 percent of maternal mortality worldwide. About 70,000 women die every year from unsafe abortions. An additional 5 million women suffer permanent or temporary injury.

The number of worldwide abortions has dipped from about 46 million in 1995 to just under less than 42 million in 2003. There was no change in the rate of unsafe abortions; nearly half the procedures are still performed illegally in potentially dangerous conditions.

'The only way to decrease unsafe abortion is to increase contraception,' said Sharon Camp, president and chief executive officer of the Guttmacher Institute.

Camp said that more countries are allowing women to have abortions legally, but many women only receive medical attention after a procedure has gone wrong. 'I don't think women should have to hurt themselves before they get medical treatment,' she said.

The vast majority of abortions, 35 million, were in the developing world, and nearly 97 percent of all unsafe abortions were in poor countries. Worldwide, one in five pregnancies ends in abortion, and nine out of 10 women will have an abortion before age 45.

In eastern Europe, there are more abortions than live births: 105 abortions for every 100 live births, the research found. In Western Europe, there are 23 abortions for every 100 live births.

In North America, there are 33 abortions for every 100 live births, and in Africa, where abortion is illegal in most countries, there are 17 abortions for every 100 live births.

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