Response to COVID 19
In countries where women can have a legal abortion, the risk of complications and death is minimised, as are the costs to health systems. However, estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicate that 19 million unsafe and unsafe abortions are performed each year, 97 percent of which are in developing countries.
It also indicates that 13 per cent of maternal deaths globally are due to unsafe abortion. In Mexico, until 2019 this was the fourth leading cause of maternal mortality. As of 2020, Covid-19 joined the causes of death associated with pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. In fact, it became the leading cause of death.
Information from Ipas, a civil society organisation that promotes sexual and reproductive rights, indicates that in developed countries there are 30 deaths per 100,000 abortions. In developing countries the rate is 220 per 100,000. By region, in Sub-Saharan Africa it is 550 and in Latin America and the Caribbean, 62 per 100,000.
Of the total number of estimated unsafe abortions (19 million) about 7 million women have temporary or permanent sequelae after an unsafe clandestine procedure. These can include haemorrhage, infections, vaginal injuries, uterine perforations and damage to the uterine tract, the group says.
Hence the importance of not criminalising and, on the contrary, guaranteeing women's human rights, because regardless of what the laws say, unwanted pregnancies are terminated. The difference is in the way they are carried out.
Noting the importance of ensuring access to formal medical services, Ipas said that in these settings, the risk of death is virtually eliminated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented that the chance of loss of life for women is 0.58 per 100,000 procedures. It is as safe as a penicillin injection, Ipas said.
She insisted that the harms associated with abortions that women have, regardless of whether the law permits it, can be prevented precisely if they have access to medical care with trained personnel and sufficient supplies.
Ipas also documented that where abortion is legal and accessible, nine out of 10 procedures are performed safely, while where restrictive laws criminalize women, three out of four are performed in unsafe conditions.