Malta – Forty, pregnant, and seeking an abortion

A trend is emerging in Malta among women aged 40 and over, who already have children and who experience unintended pregnancies despite using contraception. The Journal catches up with Doctors for Choice - Malta’s Dr Natalie Psaila.

The Journal
Jan 16, 2024

If you think that unwanted pregnancies are exclusive to teenagers, think again.
“An emerging trend that we’re observing is among individuals aged 40 and over, who already have children, who say that they have used contraception, but still experience unintended pregnancies,” reveals Dr Natalie Psaila, a Maltese doctor who make it to the BBC’s top 100 inspirational women in 2023. 

These women confirm using CE certified condoms but, despite these precautions, they still get pregnant, she pointed out. “These condoms shouldn’t fail easily but no contraceptive is fail-proof. This is why these couples are getting pregnant. Condoms have about 10% failure rate. Something like the pull-out method – a favourite with the Maltese – has a 40% failure rate.”

Continued: https://thejournal.mt/forty-pregnant-and-seeking-an-abortion/


Nigeria – How preventing unwanted pregnancies can reduce abortion, deaths — Experts

by Sade Oguntola 
August 31, 2023

INDUCED abortion is illegal in Nigeria, except when performed to save a woman’s life. Both the penal code, which is generally applied in the country’s northern states, and the criminal code, which generally applies in the southern states, allow this exception and the regions specify similar criminal penalties for noncompliance.

Yet, pregnancy terminations are quite common and because they are often performed clandestinely or by unskilled providers, they are sometimes unsafe. A recent survey indicated that unintended pregnancy and abortion are experienced by women worldwide.

Continued: https://tribuneonlineng.com/how-preventing-unwanted-pregnancies-can-reduce-abortion-deaths-experts/


USA – I am the product of rape. Here’s why I support abortion rights

by Victoria Reyes
June 12, 2022

“I wish you had never been born. I should have had an abortion.”

I can’t remember the first time my mother told me that. But I do remember the first time I responded differently, other than freezing in place or bursting into tears.

Continued: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-06-12/abortion-reproductive-justice-rights-roe-supreme-court-product-of-rape


Tanzania: Govt Advised to Strengthen Legal Measures to Control Sexual Abuses

25 APRIL 2022
Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

CALL has been made to improve laws to control sexual abuses which contribute to unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions among young girls.

A health expert and Country Director of Marie Stopes Tanzania (MST) Vadacanthara Chandrashekar, hinted this in Dar es Salaam during Iftar organized by Marie Stopes Tanzania to the Muslim community.

Continued: https://allafrica.com/stories/202204250093.html


Women on Web starts providing abortion pills in advance

Women on Web, an international telemedicine abortion service, opens a new service that enables women to request abortion pills before an unwanted pregnancy

For immediate release, 17/02/2022

With the help of this new service, women can request abortion pills in advance and take them as soon as they discover they are pregnant. Women on Web's medical team will prescribe the abortion pills to people who are not yet pregnant but who anticipate that they may need them in the future.

“Abortion pills are an important family planning tool. Having a solution in your medicine cabinet before you are pregnant is a way to feel more protected and prepared. Advance access to abortion pills is especially important for anyone living in a country or community where access to abortion is restricted or limited, or for anyone who considers themselves at high risk of an unwanted pregnancy”, Venny Ala-Siurua, Executive Director, WoW

Continued: https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/21297/women-on-web-starts-providing-abortion-pills-in-advance


Nepal – COVID taking toll on sexual and reproductive health

RASTRIYA SAMACHAR SAMITI, Nepalnews
2021 DEC 26

COVID-19 is taking its toll on sexual and reproductive health in the country. The global pandemic has thrown up challenges to the government's goals of reducing maternal and child mortality rate while unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion have increased due to lack of access to contraceptives and safe abortion services, according to the Department of Health Services under the Family Welfare Division.

The use of contraceptives has dropped to 39.37 per cent during the pandemic. One hundred thirty-four new mothers and pregnant women lost their lives during the infection between March 24 and July 21, 2020, when the country was in lockdown and the number of women who availed safe abortion service during the same period was less than 15,000, according to the Department. Lack of transportation and qualified health workers, excessive bleeding, abortion and labour complication as well as delivery at home were among the factors that led to their death.

Continued: https://www.nepalnews.com/s/issues/covid-taking-toll-on-sexual-and-reproductive-health


India – Child Marriages, Unplanned Pregnancies And Unsafe Abortions Still High In Rajasthan, Warns Expert

Nearly 15 of every 1,000 adolescent girls in Rajasthan aged undergo induced abortions annually, 60% of these abortions are 'unsafe', reveals an NGO.

Longjam Dineshwori
November 3, 2021

Women with unwanted pregnancies often resort to unsafe abortion when they do not have access to safe abortion. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 50% of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, and almost all of these unsafe abortions take place in developing countries. Unsafe abortions are a critical reproductive-health issue in the Indian state of Rajasthan, said Divya Santhanam, Senior State Program Manager, Population Foundation of India.

Based on data from a recent study, the NGO noted that 35% of women aged 20-24 years in Rajasthan reported getting married before 18 years of age, which is quite high compared to the national average of 26%. Nearly 15 of every 1,000 girls in Rajasthan in the age group 15-19 years undergo induced abortions annually. Only 40 percent of these abortions occur with assistance from healthcare providers, indicating that the rest 60 percent of the abortions in the age group are 'unsafe' and without any trained assistance, the NGO highlighted in a press release.

Continued: https://www.thehealthsite.com/pregnancy/child-marriages-unplanned-pregnancies-and-unsafe-abortions-still-high-in-rajasthan-warns-expert-845765/


10 Women in India Die Each Day Due to Unsafe Abortion

According to research published in India Today, more than 80 percent of women do not know that abortion is legal in India.

Newsx Bureau
29 July 2021

It is estimated that 15.6 million abortions take place in India every year. A
significant number of these abortions are done under highly unsafe conditions.
Unsafe abortion leads to the death of 13 women in India each day. It is the
third-largest cause of maternal mortality in India.

According to statistics from various reports
published on the WHO website:

  • Between 2015 and 2019, on average, 73.3
    million induced (safe and unsafe) abortions occurred worldwide each year.
  • There were 39 induced abortions per 1000
    women aged between 15–49 years.
  • 3 out of 10 (29%) of all pregnancies,
    and 6 out of 10 (61%) of all unintended pregnancies, ended in induced
    abortion.
  • Around 7 million women are admitted to
    hospitals every year in developing countries due to unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://www.newsx.com/health-and-environment/10-women-in-india-die-each-day-due-to-unsafe-abortion.html


What Is The Global Gag Rule & How Does It Affect Abortion Access Around The World?

Alice Broster
Feb 8, 2021

It’s been estimated that between 2015 and 2019 around 121 million unintended
pregnancies occurred around the globe. Of those, 61% ended in abortion. This
equates to around 73 million abortions every year. This can mean very different
things depending on where you live. For a termination to be considered safe it
should be carried out by someone who is trained and in an environment that’s
clean. For many people, this isn’t an option. So, what is the global gag rule?
It’s been reported that President Biden will end the U.S. government's efforts
to restrict access to reproductive rights and healthcare around the world
through the Mexico City Policy, AKA the global gag rule.

Continued: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicebroster/2021/02/08/what-is-the-global-gag-rule--how-does-it-affect-abortion-access-around-the-world/


South Korea’s abortion law revision plan sparks controversy

Conservatives and religious groups are facing off with women's rights organizations in a fierce debate over changes to a 1953 law that makes abortion illegal.

13.10.2020
Julian Ryall

The South Korean government has announced plans to reverse the blanket ban on abortions that was imposed in 1953 and revise the law to permit a termination before the 14th week of a pregnancy. The proposed changes have been strongly criticized by both sides of the argument.

Last week, the government announced that it will alter sections of both the Criminal Act and the Mother and Child Health Act that refer to abortion. The changes will also allow abortions up to a maximum of 24 weeks for women with extenuating medical or economic circumstances, if a genetic disorder is identified in the baby or if they have been the victim of a rape.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/south-korea-abortion-controversy/a-55253968