by Marelise van der Merwe
29 Sep 2016 12:07 (South Africa), Daily Maverick

As the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council continues in Geneva, delegates have been negotiating a key resolution expected to be deposited on Thursday and voted on by the end of the week – a resolution on maternal mortality and morbidity, which could impact some 830 preventable deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth each day.

On Wednesday September 28, which also marked the Global Day of Action for Safe and Legal Abortion, the UN spoke out against countries that still prohibited termination of pregnancy or had restrictive laws. According to a UN statement issued by the Office of the High Commissioner, in the 21st century, unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. World Health Organisation (WHO) data adds that about 22-million unsafe abortions take place each year worldwide, with an estimated 47,000 women dying annually from complications resulting from the resort to unsafe practices for termination of pregnancy.

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Source: Daily Maverick