OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness, in terms of complete abortion, of the World Health Organization (WHO)- and the China-recommended protocol for first-trimester medical abortion. METHODS A retrospective analysis of clinical data from women presenting for first trimester medical abortion between January 2009 and August 2010 at reproductive health clinics in Qingdao, Xi'an, Nanjing, Nannin...

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of 100 mg and 200 mg of mifepristone and 24- and 48-hour intervals to administration of 800 microg vaginal misoprostol for termination of early pregnancy. DESIGN Placebo-controlled, randomized, equivalence trial, stratified by centre. SETTING 13 departments of obstetrics and gynecology in nine countries. POPULATION 2,181 women with 63 days or less gestati...

PROBLEM/CONDITION Since 1969, CDC has conducted abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions in the United States. REPORTING PERIOD COVERED 2009. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies of 52 reporting areas (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City). The rep...

The abortion debates are characterized by confrontation, sides polarized one against the other, as James Taranto notes in his essay on “The ‘Roe Effect’.” What is more, most agree, including Taranto, that Roe is a “study in unanticipated consequences.” In Taranto’s case, he defines that study as the “nexus between the practice of abortion and the politics of abortion.” Specifically, he analyzes...

BACKGROUND There is a growing interest in examining death rates associated with different pregnancy outcomes for time periods beyond one year. Previous population studies, however, have failed to control for complete reproductive histories. In this study we seek to eliminate the potential confounding effect of unknown prior pregnancy history by examining mortality rates associated specifically ...

The aim of this paper is to provide a panoramic view of laws and policies on abortion around the world, giving a range of country-based examples. It shows that the plethora of convoluted laws and restrictions surrounding abortion do not make any legal or public health sense. What makes abortion safe is simple and irrefutable—when it is available on the woman’s request and is universally afforda...

Results from case-control studies suggest that induced abortion may be associated with a small increase in risk of breast cancer. While risk estimates from cohort studies have generally not observed such an association, these studies have had limited information regarding abortion and possible confounding variables. Therefore, we conducted a study among a cohort of post-menopausal women from wh...

BACKGROUND The requirement for ultrasound to establish gestational age among women seeking abortion can be a barrier to access. Last menstrual period dating without clinical examination should be a reasonable alternative among selected women, and if reliable, can be task-shared with non-clinicians. This study determines the accuracy of gestational age estimation using last menstrual period (LMP...

OBJECTIVES To assess women's preferences for, and the acceptability of, medical abortion and vacuum aspiration in the early first trimester. DESIGN Patient centred, partially randomised trial. Medical abortion was performed with mifepristone 600 mg followed 48 hours later by gemeprost 1 mg vaginal pessary. Vacuum aspiration was performed under general anaesthesia. SETTING Teaching hospital ...