By Kelvin Mokaya
July 7, 2023
Evidence shows that restricting access to abortion does not reduce the number of abortions. What it does is increase the likelihood of an unsafe procedure. According to the Guttmacher Institute, in countries with the least restrictive abortion laws, less than one per cent of abortions are typically unsafe. In the most restrictive, that number goes up to 31 per cent.
Over the past two decades, the health evidence, technologies and human rights rationale for providing safe, comprehensive abortion care have evolved greatly. However, despite these advances, the World Health Organisation estimates that there are approximately 22 million unsafe abortions annually, resulting in 47,000 deaths and five million complications that end in hospital admission.