The magnitude of unsafe abortion in Brazil is a result of the country’s restrictive abortion laws. Research shows a direct relation between legal restrictions on abortion and high rates of unsafe abortion. In Brazil, abortion law is very restrictive despite existing progressive policies and legislation on sexual and reproductive rights. According to the 1940 Penal Code, abortion is permitted on...

BACKGROUND Nepal government has approved medical abortion and manual vacuum aspiration for early first trimester pregnancy. Both the procedures have been approved by World Health Organization for use in early first trimester. OBJECTIVES The study aims to compare efficacy and safety of medical abortion with surgical abortion in a district hospital of rural eastern Nepal. METHOD An observatio...

OBJECTIVE Approximately 18% of maternal deaths in East Africa is attributable to unsafe abortion. Availability of comprehensive abortion care (CAC) services at all levels of the healthcare system, including medical abortion, has the potential to increase access to safe abortion thereby reducing the burden of unsafe abortion. This study sought to assess trends in abortion-related morbidity indic...

BACKGROUND A breast cancer diagnosis and an abortion can each be pivotal moments in a woman's life. Research on abortion and breast cancer deals predominantly with women diagnosed during pregnancy who might be advised to have an abortion. The other-discredited but persistent-association is that abortions cause breast cancer. The aim here was to understand some of the ways in which women themsel...

Follow-up information on subsequent pregnancies after mifepristone (RU486)-induced abortion is scarce. The authors examined whether one mifepristone-induced first-trimester abortion affects the outcome of a subsequent wanted pregnancy. In a study conducted in 1998-2001 at antenatal clinics in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai, China, the authors enrolled 4,925 women with no history of induced abor...

BACKGROUND Abortion laws are extremely restrictive in Brazil. The knowledge, opinions of abortion laws, and abortion practices of obstetrician-gynecologists can have a significant impact on women's access to safe abortion. METHODS We conducted a mail-in survey with a 10% random sample of obstetrician-gynecologists affiliated with the Brazilian Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We...

OBJECTIVE To compare medical abortion practised at home and in clinics in terms of effectiveness, safety and acceptability. METHODS A systematic search for randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies comparing home-based and clinic-based medical abortion was conducted. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, MEDLINE and Popline were searched. Failure to abo...

CONTEXT The experiences of women who have negative emotional outcomes, including regret, following an abortion have received little research attention. Qualitative research can elucidate these women's experiences and ways their needs can be met and emotional distress reduced. METHODS Twenty-one women who had emotional difficulties related to an abortion participated in semi-structured, in-dep...

OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate public funding policies for abortion in countries with liberal or liberally interpreted laws (defined as permitting abortion for economic or social reasons or upon request). STUDY DESIGN In May 2011-February 2012 and June 2013-December 2014, we researched online resources and conducted an email-based survey among reproductive health experts to determ...

To cite: Rowlands S. J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2015;41:164–167. INTRODUCTION Access to safe abortion is a part of women’s human rights. It has been clearly shown that access to legal abortion improves physical and mental health outcomes both for women and for children. Abortion laws are therefore an important subject for consideration and investigation in a comparative fashion. This articl...