Institute of Development Studies
you are here: Home \ UK Policy on Unsafe Abortion Launched
UK Policy on Unsafe Abortion Launched
Kate Hawkins - 14 October 2009
The issue of access to safe abortion hit the headlines today with the publication of a new report by the Guttmacher Institute (pdf) which assesses progress over the past decade on the legality, safety and accessibility of abortion services worldwide. Today also saw the launch of the UK Department for International Development's updated Policy Position on Unsafe and Safe Abortion (pdf).
The scale of the problem
Access to safe abortion is central to international development. Unsafe abortion is the responsible for 13 per cent of maternal deaths and is a cause of significant ill health. Action to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services and the realisation of related rights has gained renewed visibility through activities this year to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
The new report from the Guttmacher Institute found that the overall abortion rate declined between 1995 and 2003. However, globally, 40 per cent of women of childbearing age live in countries with highly restrictive laws (those that prohibit abortion altogether, or allow the procedure only to save a woman's life, or protect her physical or mental health). Of the 41.6 million terminations in 2003 19.7 million were unsafe.
Policy response
The Department for International Development policy sends the strong message that they support safe abortion on two grounds. First, it is a right. Women have the right to reproductive health choices. Second, it is necessary. Their policy references a report published by IDS on the economic costs of unsafe abortion. The report was led by Michael Vlassoff of the Guttmacher Institute. Whilst there is little data available to estimate the costs of unsafe abortion, recent estimates suggest that the annual cost to developing country health systems is between $375 and $838 million; out of pocket expenses may amount to a further $600 million.
'As our synthesis of the economic evidence-base illustrated the costs associated with unsafe abortions are considerable. It should however, be noted, that the evidence-base from which our estimates were derived is patchy, with very little data on the costs borne by women who seek informal care, or on the productivity losses related to morbidity or mortality. Economic data from Asia and Eastern Europe is largely lacking, signaling the need for more, and better data to be collected from these regions. Nevertheless, synthesising such economic data has provided a strong and new dimension to existing arguments about the need to eliminate unsafe abortion', explained Damian Walker, co-author of the report from the Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
International Development Minister, Mike Foster, said:
‘Every year a devastating number of women die because of unsafe abortion. If we ignore this issue, the stark reality is that millions more women will suffer, and back street practices will continue to increase the pressure for treatment on already overburdened health services.
Better access to family planning information and contraception is of vital importance in eliminating unsafe abortion but the truth is that it is not always enough. That is why the Department for International Development will continue to support the prevention of unsafe abortion as part of broader efforts to improve sexual and reproductive health.'
Kate Hawkins is Communications Officer for the Health and Social Change Programme at IDS.
Photo: Panos / Svenn Torfinn
Related News
Unsafe Abortion: A Development Issue
Published: 23 Oct 2008Abortion has become an ever more controversial issue, provoking strong reactions both ‘for’ and ‘against’. Language used in disputes over whether or not women should have access to safe and legal abortion indicates just how polarised debates have become: pro-choice versus pro-life; pro-abortion versus anti-choice. The extension of these forces to parts of the world where thousands of women die every year because they were unable to access safe abortion and protect themselves from HIV infection, has turned this polarised dispute into an urgent development issue.
The High Cost of Unsafe Abortion
Published: 14 Nov 2007Each year, around 68,000 women die as a result of unsafe abortions, most in low-income countries. A new issue of id21 Health Focus highlights the findings of a technical meeting on unsafe abortion and its links to poverty that was held at IDS earlier this year, and points to important lessons for decision-makers.
Related Publications
- Lynch, A., Standing, H. and Cornwall, A. (2008) 'Unsafe Abortion: A Development Issue', IDS Bulletin 39.3, Brighton: IDS
- Vlassoff, M., Shearer, J. Walker, D. and Lucas, H. (2008) 'Economic Impact of Unsafe Abortion-Related Morbidity and Mortality: Evidence and Estimation Challenges', IDS Research Report 59, Brighton: IDS
Related Projects
- Realising Rights Research Programme Consortium - (Ongoing)
- Future Health Systems Research Programme Consortium - (Ongoing)