WHO Researchers: 30% Decrease in Deaths Due to Unsafe Abortion

By Samantha Singson | December 3, 2010

WHO researchers Iqbal Shah and Elisabeth Ahman report that the number of women dying from unsafe abortion has decreased by approximately one-third, from 67,000 in 2003 to 47,000 in 2008. The figures reflect a similar decrease reported on this year on the total number of maternal deaths.

The Shah-Ahman study also found that the number of unsafe abortions has increased from 19.7 million in 2003 to 21.6 in 2008. The researchers explain this increase as due to a greater number of women of reproductive age (15-44) living throughout the world.

For years, abortion advocates have used the “unsafe abortion” argument to pressure countries to legalize abortion, arguing that legal abortion would reduce the number of deaths. Critics are quick to point out that “legal” doesn’t necessarily equate with “safe.”

Shah and Ahman’s study appears in the current issue of Reproductive Health Matters.

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