Indian women need better access to safe abortion practices

Indian women need better access to safe abortion practices

Written By Nidhi Jamwal
Wednesday 27 December 2017

Finally, we have comprehensive and credible data on abortions in India. A one-of-its-kind study on abortion and unintended pregnancy, recently published in The Lancet, has estimated that 15.6 million abortions occurred in India in 2015. This is more than double the previous (2004) estimate of 6.4 million annual abortions in the country, of which one-third were ‘informal’ or performed by medically unqualified people.

The recent study has put together robust data to show that 81 per cent abortions are medication abortions, ie, termination of pregnancy using medical abortion drugs. Only 2.2 million, or 14 per cent, abortions are performed surgically, whereas the remaining five per cent abortions are ‘probably unsafe’.

Continued at source: http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-indian-women-need-better-access-to-safe-abortion-practices-2570774