The constitutional controversies surrounding abortion-related legislation now include the Religion Clauses of the first amendment. The legislation being challenged, by either restricting the Medicaid funding of abortions or regulating the performance of abortions , embodies anti-abortion interests. Arguments have been advanced that religious beliefs and values have played a predominant role in ...

CONTEXT Abortion is highly restricted by law in Senegal. Although women seek care for abortion complications, no national estimate of abortion incidence exists. METHODS Data on postabortion care and abortion in Senegal were collected in 2013 using surveys of a nationally representative sample of 168 health facilities that provide postabortion care and of 110 professionals knowledgeable about ...

OBJECTIVE To understand intersections between intimate partner violence (IPV) and other constraints to women's reproductive autonomy, and the influence of IPV on reproductive health. METHODS A secondary analysis examined cross-sectional data from a facility-based sample of women seeking abortion care (for spontaneous or induced abortion) between March 1 and October 31, 2013. Women aged 18-49 ...

CONTEXT Abortion is legally restricted in Malawi, and no data are available on the incidence of the procedure. METHODS The Abortion Incidence Complications Methodology was used to estimate levels of induced abortion in Malawi in 2009. Data on provision of postabortion care were collected from 166 public, nongovernmental and private health facilities, and estimates of the likelihood that women...

CONTEXT In the Philippines, abortion is legally restricted. Nevertheless, many women obtain abortions--often in unsafe conditions--to avoid unplanned births. In 1994, the estimated abortion rate was 25 per 1,000 women per year; no further research on abortion incidence has been conducted in the Philippines. METHODS Data from 1,658 hospitals were used to estimate abortion incidence in 2000 and...

CONTEXT Although Guatemalan law permits induced abortion only to save a woman's life, many women obtain abortions, often under unsafe conditions and in response to an unintended pregnancy. Recent studies indicate that unsafe abortion is a key factor contributing to maternal morbidity and mortality in the country, but no national data on the incidence of abortion exist. METHODS Surveys of all ...

BACKGROUND Induced abortion contributes significantly to maternal mortality in developing countries yet women still seek repeat induced abortion in spite of availability of contraceptive services. The aim of this study is to determine the rate of abortion and contraceptive use among women seeking repeat induced abortion in Western Nigeria. METHOD A prospective cross-sectional study utilizing ...

BACKGROUND Concern has been expressed about potential harm to women's mental health in association with having an induced abortion, but it remains unclear whether induced abortion is associated with an increased risk of subsequent psychiatric problems. METHODS We conducted a population-based cohort study that involved linking information from the Danish Civil Registration system to the Danish...

In spite of the fact that efficient contraception is available in many countries, induced abortion is still a quite prevalent means of birth control, especially in certain subpopulations of women (young, socially deprived, etc). Judging by the published statistics, induced abortion rates vary dramatically between countries, with the lowest level being in West Germany (5-7 per 1000 women aged 15...