Session No. & Title: S 21, Approaches to measuring abortion Title of the abstract: Availability and Access to Abortion Services in India: Myth and Realities Name of the main author: Dr. Sandhya Barge (Presenter) Address: Centre for Operations Research and Training (CORT) Wood Land Apartments, 4th Floor, B Race Course, Baroda 390007 Gujarat, India Ph # 0091-265-336875 Fax # 0091-265-342941 E-mail #
[email protected] 1 AVAILABILITYAND ACCESS TO ABORTION SERVICES IN INDIA: MYTH AND REALITIES M. E. Khan, Sandhya Barge, Nayan Kumar Women facing unwanted pregnancy have practiced induced abortion since ages in all cultures to varying degrees. Abortion is a very safe procedure when properly performed by trained health personnel. In spite of this abortion is legally restricted in many countries leading women to resort to unsafe abortion, a major cause of maternal deaths, injuries and illnesses worldwide. An estimated 20 million unsafe abortions take place each year, accounting for between 50,000 and 100,000 deaths annually. In India, according to the Office of Registrar General of India (RGI), abortion is a major cause of maternal death and contributes about 12 per cent of maternal deaths every year (RGI, 1990). Another study attributes about 20 per cent of the maternal deaths in India to septic abortions due to unsafe abortions (Coyaji, 1994). ICPD AND ABORTION In the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, September 1994, abortion was perhaps the most contentious issue that was discussed and debated at length. At the end however, by consensus, unsafe abortion was recognized as a major public health problem and the right to abort unwanted pregnancy as woman’s basic right.