BACKGROUND Abortion was legalized in Nepal in 2002, following advocacy efforts highlighting high maternal mortality from unsafe abortion. We sought to assess whether legalization led to reductions in the most serious maternal health consequences of unsafe abortion. METHODS We conducted retrospective medical chart review of all gynecological cases presenting at four large public referral hospi...

OBJECTIVES In 2013, Texas passed omnibus legislation restricting abortion services. Provisions restricting medical abortion, banning most procedures after 20 weeks and requiring physicians to have hospital-admitting privileges were enforced in November 2013; by September 2014, abortion facilities must meet the requirements of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). We aimed to rapidly assess the ch...

OBJECTIVE To assess the accuracy of assessment of eligibility for early medical abortion by community health workers using a simple checklist toolkit. DESIGN Diagnostic accuracy study. SETTING Ethiopia, India and South Africa. METHODS Two hundred seventeen women in Ethiopia, 258 in India and 236 in South Africa were enrolled into the study. A checklist toolkit to determine eligibility for...

OBJECTIVE This survey was performed to examine the inclusion and extent of abortion education in US medical schools. STUDY DESIGN A 3-item confidential survey requesting information about abortion education throughout the 4 years of medical school was mailed to the OB-GYN clerkship directors of the 126 accredited US medical schools. RESULTS Seventy-eight surveys were returned, for a respons...

Background and methodology Uptake of the mifepristone/ misoprostol combination to induce early medical abortion in England and Wales has been slow. Women’s concern that early medical abortion is painful may be a contributory factor. This pilot study evaluated the pain experienced by women when Dilapan-STM, a synthetic hygroscopic dilator (polyacrylonitrile) is used instead of mifepristone as ce...

Abortion is legally restricted in most of Latin America where 95% of the 4.4 million abortions performed annually are unsafe. Medical abortion (MA) refers to the use of a drug or a combination of drugs to terminate pregnancy. Mifepristone followed by misoprostol is the most effective and recommended regime. In settings where mifepristone is not available, misoprostol alone is used.Medical abort...

OBJECTIVE To assess pharmacy workers' knowledge and provision of abortion information and methods in Kenya. METHODS In 2013 we interviewed 235 pharmacy workers in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu about the medical abortion services they provide. We also used mystery clients, who made 401 visits to pharmacies to collect first-hand information on abortion practices. RESULTS The majority (87.5%) of...

BACKGROUND Although abortion is legally available in South Africa, barriers to access exist. Early medical abortion is available to women with a gestational age up to 63 days and timely access is essential. This study aimed to determine women's acceptability and ability to self-assess eligibility for early medical abortion using an online gestational age calculator. Women's acceptability, views...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organisation suggests that simplification of the medical abortion regime will contribute to an increased acceptability of medical abortion, among women as well as providers. It is expected that a home-based follow-up after a medical abortion will increase the willingness to opt for medical abortion as well as decrease the workload and service costs in the clinic. M...

currently exists and offers an agenda for further discussion of this problem and its solution. In the United States, termination of pregnancy is an explosive subject. Many books and articles have analyzed the major changes in our abortion laws. There has, however, been much less written about the development of English law. This book by Dr. Keown studies abortion law in England during the exten...