Patterns of online abortion among teenagers

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Wahyudi, A.; Jacky, M.; Mudzakkir, M.; Deprita, R.

2018-01-01

An on-going debate of whether or not to legalize abortion has not stopped the number of abortion cases decreases. New practices of abortion such as online abortion has been a growing trend among teenagers. This study aims to determine how teenagers use social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia for the practice of abortion. This study adopted online research methods (ORMs), a qualitative approach 2.0 by hacking analytical perspective developed. This study establishes online teen abortion as a research subject. This study finds patterns of online abortions among teenagers covering characteristics of teenagers as perpetrators, styles of communication, and their implication toward policy, particularly Electronic Transaction Information (ETI) regulation. Implications for online abortion behavior among teenagers through social media. The potential abortion client especially girls find practical, fast, effective, and efficient solutions that keep their secret. One of prevention patterns that has been done by some people who care about humanity and anti-abortion in the online world is posting a anti-abortion text, video or picture, anti-sex-free (anti -free intercourse before marriage) in an interesting, educative, and friendly ways.

Swedish teenager perceptions of teenage pregnancy, abortion, sexual behavior, and contraceptive habits--a focus group study among 17-year-old female high-school students.

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Ekstrand, Maria; Larsson, Margareta; Von Essen, Louise; Tydén, Tanja

2005-10-01

Sweden has the highest abortion numbers among the Nordic countries. Since 1995, the abortion rate among teenagers has increased by nearly 50%. We therefore undertook a study where the overall aim was to gain a deeper understanding on which factors female teenagers believe may explain the increasing numbers of teenage abortions. Teenagers' perceptions of teenage pregnancy, abortion, sexual behavior, and contraceptive habits were investigated. Six focus group interviews with 17-year-old Swedish girls were conducted. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by manifest content analysis. Negative attitudes toward teenage pregnancy and supportive attitudes toward abortion were expressed. Risk-taking behaviors such as negligence in contraceptive use and intercourse under the influence of alcohol were suggested as main reasons behind the increasing numbers of abortions among Swedish teenagers. The contemporary, sexualized, media picture was believed to influence adolescents' sexual behavior, and liberal attitudes toward casual sex were expressed. Girls were perceived as more obliged than boys in taking responsibility for contraceptive compliance and avoidance of pregnancy. The apprehension that hormonal contraceptives cause negative side-effects was widely spread, and the participants were found to have a somewhat limited knowledge of abortion. The majority were unsatisfied with the quality of sexual education provided by the schools. Possible reasons for increased abortion numbers among teenagers in Sweden could be liberal attitudes toward casual sex in combination with negligence in contraceptive use, use of alcohol followed by sexual risk-taking, fear of hormonal contraceptives, and a deterioration of sexual education in the schools.

Predictors and Correlates of Abortion in the Fragile Families and Well-Being Study: Paternal Behavior, Substance Use, and Partner Violence

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Coleman, Priscilla K.; Maxey, Charles David; Spence, Maria; Nixon, Charisse L.

2009-01-01

This study was designed to identify predictors of the choice to abort or deliver a child within 18 months of a previous birth and to compare mothers who chose to abort or deliver relative to substance use and adverse partner behavior. Using a systems perspective, data from the Fragile Families and Well-Being Study were examined. The sample…

Abortion in Adolescence.

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Campbell, Nancy B.; And Others

1988-01-01

Explored differences between 35 women who had abortions as teenagers and 36 women who had abortions as adults. Respondents reported on their premorbid psychiatric histories, the decision-making process itself, and postabortion distress symptoms. Antisocial and paranoid personality disorders, drug abuse, and psychotic delusions were significantly…

ABORTION- A CASE REPORT.

African Journals Online (AJOL)

presentation, she noticed coital bleeding; it was mildI self with no associated dizziness or dyspareunis. She had been treated with drugs on many occasions at hospitals as well as over the counter medicaiions with no improvement. Eight years prior to presentation, she had an induced abortion at about 14 weeks of gestaiion ...

Migration Experiences and Reported Sexual Behavior Among Young, Unmarried Female Migrants in Changzhou, China.

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Zong, Zhanhong; Yang, Wenjian; Sun, Xiaoming; Mao, Jingshu; Shu, Xingyu; Hearst, Norman

2017-09-27

China has a large migrant population, including many young unmarried women. Little is known about their sexual behavior, contraceptive use, and risk of unintended pregnancy. 475 unmarried female migrants aged 15-24, working in 1 of 6 factories in 2 districts of Changzhou city, completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire in May 2012 on demographic characteristics, work and living situation, and health. We examined demographic and migration experience predictors of sexual and contraceptive behavior using bivariate and multivariate regressions. 30.1% of the respondents were sexually experienced, with the average age at first sex of 19 years (standard deviation=3). 37.8% reported using contraception at first sex, 58.0% reported using consistent contraception during the past year, and 28.0% reported having at least 1 unintended pregnancy with all unintended pregnancies resulting in abortion. Those who had had at least 1 abortion reported having on average 1.6 abortions [SD=1] in total. Migrating with a boyfriend and changing jobs fewer times were associated with being sexually experienced. Younger age, less education, and changing jobs more times were associated with inconsistent contraceptive use. These findings demonstrate there is an unmet need for reproductive health education and services where these women work as well as in their hometown communities. This education must begin early to reach young women before they migrate. © Zong et al.

Abortion related stigma: a case study of abortion stigma in regions ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Abortion accounts for 35% of maternal mortality in Kenya. Kenya has reported an increase in the rate of unsafe abortions from 32 to 48 per 1000 women of reproductive age in 2002 and 2012 respectively. During the same period, women presented in public health facilities with severe complications indicating ...

Report: a study of morbidity of induced abortion data from women belonging to Karachi, Pakistan.

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Aslam, Farah; Aslam, Muhammad

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the morbidity of induced abortion in relation to facilities, service providers and social responses of general population of women, from Karachi, Pakistan. Cross-sectional survey, conducted from February to December 2010, through a researcher-administered questionnaire from 61 randomly selected women, who underwent for Induced Abortion, aged 18-50 years. The questionnaire included open and closed ended questions, regarding demography, facilities, service providers and various complications observed. Overall, 98 immediate health problems were reported by 40 (65.5%) of the respondents, 153 late adverse effects or chronic by 46 (75.4%); while 101 mental complications had been reported by 45 (73.8%) of the 61 aborting women; respectively. Private clinics surfaced as the most frequently adopted source as reported by 40.7% of the respondents. Two third majorities had the procedure in satisfactory, good hygienic conditions by skilled professionals. Around 59% of the aborting women were aware of the religious perspective of the subject. Marked incidence of complications had been registered, regardless of type of method adopted, hygienic condition of the procedure or skill of the provider. Although, awareness of religious perspective of the subject was there, still quite a lot opted for abortion. This suggests that strong socioeconomic factors influence women to take peril of such an attempt. It also reveals the existence of a big gap for the awareness services for educating the risks involved to the women's health. Study revealed that services are easily accessible; without any legal, religious or social barriers. Semi or un-educated women, mostly from low socioeconomic sector are opting the procedure in majority, being less aware and stalwartly influenced by environmental factors; hence excessive availability of abortion services should be revisited. Lack of deep awareness of the consequences also contributes for deteriorating

Abortion in a just society.

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Hunt, M E

1993-01-01

A female Catholic theologian imagines a just society that does not judge women who decide to undergo an abortion. The Church, practitioners, and the courts must trust that women do make person-enhancing choices about the quality of life. In the last 15 years most progress in securing a woman's right to abortion has been limited to white, well-educated, and middle or upper middle class women. A just society would consider reproductive options a human right. Abortion providers are examples of a move to a just society; they are committed to women's well-being. There are some facts that make one pessimistic about achieving abortion in a just society. The US Supreme Court plans to review important decisions establishing abortion as a civil right. Further, some men insist on suing women who want to make their own reproductive decisions--an anti-choice tactic to wear away women's right to reproductive choice. Bombings of abortion clinics and harassment campaigns by anti-choice groups are common. These behaviors strain pro-choice proponents emotionally, psychically, and spiritually. Their tactics often lead to theologians practicing self-censorship because they fear backlash. Abortion providers also do this. Further, the reaction to AIDS is that sex is bad. Anti-abortion groups use AIDS to further their campaigns, claiming that AIDS is a punishment for sex. Strategies working towards abortion in a just society should be education and persuasion of policymakers and citizens about women's right to choose, since they are the ones most affected by abortion. Moreover, only women can secure their rights to abortion. In a just society, every health maintenance organization, insurance company, and group practice would consider abortion a normal service. A just society provides for the survival needs of the most marginalized.

The incidence of abortion worldwide.

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Henshaw, S K; Singh, S; Haas, T

1999-01-01

Accurate measurement of induced abortion levels has proven difficult in many parts of the world. Health care workers and policymakers need information on the incidence of both legal and illegal induced abortion to provide the needed services and to reduce the negative impact of unsafe abortion on women's health. Numbers and rates of induced abortions were estimated from four sources: official statistics or other national data on legal abortions in 57 countries; estimates based on population surveys for two countries without official statistics; special studies for 10 countries where abortion is highly restricted; and worldwide and regional estimates of unsafe abortion from the World Health Organization. Approximately 26 million legal and 20 million illegal abortions were performed worldwide in 1995, resulting in a worldwide abortion rate of 35 per 1,000 women aged 15-44. Among the subregions of the world, Eastern Europe had the highest abortion rate (90 per 1,000) and Western Europe to the lowest rate (11 per 1,000). Among countries where abortion is legal without restriction as to reason, the highest abortion rate, 83 per 1,000, was reported for Vietnam and the lowest, seven per 1,000, for Belgium and the Netherlands. Abortion rates are no lower overall in areas where abortion is generally restricted by law (and where many abortions are performed under unsafe conditions) than in areas where abortion is legally permitted. Both developed and developing countries can have low abortion rates. Most countries, however, have moderate to high abortion rates, reflecting lower prevalence and effectiveness of contraceptive use. Stringent legal restrictions do not guarantee a low abortion rate.

Oral contraception following abortion

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Che, Yan; Liu, Xiaoting; Zhang, Bin; Cheng, Linan

2016-01-01

Abstract Oral contraceptives (OCs) following induced abortion offer a reliable method to avoid repeated abortion. However, limited data exist supporting the effective use of OCs postabortion. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis in the present study reported immediate administration of OCs or combined OCs postabortion may reduce vaginal bleeding time and amount, shorten the menstruation recovery period, increase endometrial thickness 2 to 3 weeks after abortion, and reduce the risk of complications and unintended pregnancies. A total of 8 major authorized Chinese and English databases were screened from January 1960 to November 2014. Randomized controlled trials in which patients had undergone medical or surgical abortions were included. Chinese studies that met the inclusion criteria were divided into 3 groups: administration of OC postmedical abortion (group I; n = 1712), administration of OC postsurgical abortion (group II; n = 8788), and administration of OC in combination with traditional Chinese medicine postsurgical abortion (group III; n = 19,707). In total, 119 of 6160 publications were included in this analysis. Significant difference was observed in group I for vaginal bleeding time (P = 0.0001), the amount of vaginal bleeding (P = 0.03), and menstruation recovery period (P abortion (P abortion, and reduce the risk of complications and unintended pregnancies. PMID:27399060

Abortion Stigma Among Low-Income Women Obtaining Abortions in Western Pennsylvania: A Qualitative Assessment.

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Gelman, Amanda; Rosenfeld, Elian A; Nikolajski, Cara; Freedman, Lori R; Steinberg, Julia R; Borrero, Sonya

2017-03-01

Abortion stigma may cause psychological distress in women who are considering having an abortion or have had one. This phenomenon has been relatively underexplored in low-income women, who may already be at an increased risk for poor abortion-related outcomes because of difficulties accessing timely and safe abortion services. A qualitative study conducted between 2010 and 2013 used semistructured interviews to explore pregnancy intentions among low-income women recruited from six reproductive health clinics in Western Pennsylvania. Transcripts from interviews with 19 participants who were planning to terminate a pregnancy or had had an abortion in the last two weeks were examined through content analysis to identify the range of attitudes they encountered that could contribute to or reflect abortion stigma, the sources of these attitudes and women's responses to them. Women commonly reported that partners, family members and they themselves held antiabortion attitudes. Such attitudes communicated that abortion is morally reprehensible, a rejection of motherhood, rare and thus potentially deviant, detrimental to future fertility and an irresponsible choice. Women reacted to external and internal negative attitudes by distinguishing themselves from other women who obtain abortions, experiencing negative emotions, and concealing or delaying their abortions. Women's reactions to antiabortion attitudes may perpetuate abortion stigma. Further research is needed to inform interventions to address abortion stigma and improve women's abortion experiences. Copyright © 2016 by the Guttmacher Institute.

Lawful Sinners: Reproductive Governance and Moral Agency Around Abortion in Mexico.

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Singer, Elyse Ona

2018-03-01

The Catholic Hierarchy unequivocally bans abortion, defining it as a mortal sin. In Mexico City, where the Catholic Church wields considerable political and popular power, abortion was recently decriminalized in a historic vote. Of the roughly 170,000 abortions that have been carried out in Mexico City's new public sector abortion program to date, more than 60% were among self-reported Catholic women. Drawing on eighteen months of fieldwork, including interviews with 34 Catholic patients, this article examines how Catholic women in Mexico City grapple with abortion decisions that contravene Church teachings in the context of recent abortion reform. Catholic women consistently leveraged the local cultural, economic, and legal context to morally justify their abortion decisions against church condemnation. I argue that Catholic women seeking abortion resist religious injunctions on their reproductive behavior by articulating and asserting their own moral agency grounded in the contextual dimensions of their lives. My analysis informs conversations in medical anthropology on moral decision-making around reproduction and on local dynamics of resistance to reproductive governance. Moreover, my findings speak to the deficiencies of a feminist vision focused narrowly on fertility limitation, versus an expanded framework of reproductive justice that considers as well the need for conditions of income equality and structural supports to facilitate reproduction and parenting among women who desire to keep their pregnancies.

Legalized abortion in Japan.

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Hart, T M

1967-10-01

The enactment of the Eugenic Protection Act in Japan was followed by many changes. The population explosion was stemmed, the birth rate was halved, and while the marriage rate remained steady the divorce rate declined. The annual total of abortions increased until 1955 and then slowly declined. The highest incidence of abortions in families is in the 30 to 34 age group when there are four children in the family. As elsewhere abortion in advanced stages of pregnancy is associated with high morbidity and mortality. There is little consensus as to the number of criminal abortions. Reasons for criminal abortions can be found in the legal restrictions concerning abortion: Licensing of the abortionist, certification of hospitals, taxation of operations and the requirement that abortion be reported. Other factors are price competition and the patient's desire for secrecy. Contraception is relatively ineffective as a birth control method in Japan. Oral contraceptives are not yet government approved. In 1958 alone 1.1 per cent of married women were sterilized and the incidence of sterilization was increasing.

Therapeutic abortion follow-up study.

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Margolis, A J; Davison, L A; Hanson, K H; Loos, S A; Mikkelsen, C M

1971-05-15

To determine the long-range psychological effects of therapeutic abortion, 50 women (aged from 13-44 years), who were granted abortions between 1967 and 1968 Because of possible impairment of mental and/or physical health, were analyzed by use of demographic questionnaires, psychological tests, and interviews. Testing revealed that 44 women had psychiatric problems at time of abortion. 43 patients were followed for 3-6 months. The follow-up interviews revealed that 29 patients reacted positively after abortion, 10 reported no significant change and 4 reacted negatively. 37 would definitely repeat the abortion. Women under 21 years of age felt substantially more ambivalent and guilty than older patients. A study of 36 paired pre- and post-abortion profiles showed that 15 initially abnormal tests had become normal. There was a significant increase in contraceptive use among the patients after the abortion, but 4 again became pregnant and 8 were apparently without consistent contraception. It is concluded that the abortions were therapeutic, but physicians are encouraged to be aware of psychological problems in abortion cases. Strong psychological and contraceptive counselling should be exercised.

Abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, E L

1989-01-01

If you are pregnant and near 40 years old there is 1/137 chance that your child may have Down's syndrome, or 1/65 chance he will have a physical or mental problem. There are tests that can indicate these problems but they increase the risk of spontaneous abortion. A woman should not be forced to carry an unwanted child, and the needs of childless couples should not be addressed in abortion discussions. The Roe v. Wade case made the distinction of not having to determine when life begins, but when it can be sustained outside the body. The Missouri statute states that human life begins at conception, an unborn child has protectable life interests and the parents of that child have protectable life interests of the unborn child in relation to life, health and its well being. States that are really concerned with the interests of unborn children should improve prenatal care, educate teens on contraception, AIDS, and be concerned about violent behavior and smoking. Voters in Michigan and Arkansas approved a law to stop the use of public funds for abortion, other than saving the mother's life. Pro- choice advocates are concerned that the conservative appointees to the supreme court will reverse the previous decision.

Abortion patients' perceptions of abortion regulation.

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Cockrill, Kate; Weitz, Tracy A

2010-01-01

Most states regulate abortion differently than other health care services. Examples of these regulations include mandating waiting periods and the provision of state-authored information, and prohibiting private and public insurance coverage for abortion. The primary purpose of this paper is to explore abortion patients' perspectives on these regulations. We recruited 20 participants from three abortion providing facilities located in two states in the U.S. South and Midwest. Using a survey and semistructured interview, we collected information about women's knowledge of abortion regulation and policy preferences. During the interviews, women weighed the pros and cons of abortion regulations. We used grounded theory analytical techniques and matrix analysis to organize and interpret the data. We discovered five themes in these women's considerations of regulation: responsibility, empathy, safe and accessible health care, privacy, and equity. Women in the study generally supported policies that they felt protected women or informed decisions. However, most women also opposed laws mandating two-day abortion appointments for women who were traveling long distances. Women tended to favor financial coverage of abortion, arguing that it could help poor women afford abortion or reduce state expenditures. Overall the study participants' opinions on abortion policy reflect key values for advocates and policy makers to consider: responsibility, empathy, safe and accessible health care, privacy, and equity. Future work should examine abortion regulations in light of these shared values. Laws that promote misinformation or prohibit accommodations of unique circumstances are not consistent the positions articulated by the subjects in our study. Copyright 2010 Jacobs Institute of Women

Understanding abortion-related stigma and incidence of unsafe abortion: experiences from community members in Machakos and Trans Nzoia counties Kenya.

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Yegon, Erick Kiprotich; Kabanya, Peter Mwaniki; Echoka, Elizabeth; Osur, Joachim

2016-01-01

The rate of unsafe abortions in Kenya has increased from 32 per 1000 women of reproductive age in 2002 to 48 per 1000 women in 2012. This is one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, Kenya changed its Constitution to include a more enabling provision regarding the provision of abortion services. Abortion-related stigma has been identified as a key driver in silencing women's ability to reproductive choice leading to seeking to unsafe abortion. We sought to explore abortion-related stigma at the community level as a barrier to women realizing their rights to a safe, legal abortion and compare manifestations of abortion stigma at two communities from regions with high and low incidence of unsafe abortion. A qualitative study using 26 focus group discussions with general community members in Machakos and Trans Nzoia Counties. We used thematic and content analysis to analyze and compare community member's responses regarding abortion-related stigma. Although abortion is recognized as being very common within communities, community members expressed various ways that stigmatize women seeking an abortion. This included being labeled as killers and are perceived to be a bad influence for women especially young women. Women reported that they were poorly treated by health providers in health facilities for seeking abortion especially young unmarried women. Institutionalization of stigma especially when Ministry of Health withdrew of standards and guidelines only heightened how stigma presents at the facilities and drives women seeking an abortion to traditional birth attendants who offer unsafe abortions leading to increased morbidity and mortality as a result of abortion-related complications. Community members located in counties in regions with high incidence of unsafe abortion also reported higher levels of how they would stigmatize a woman seeking an abortion compared to community members from counties in low incidence region. Young unmarried women bore the

Prevalence of Abortion and Contraceptive Practice among Women Seeking Repeat Induced Abortion in Western Nigeria.

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Lamina, Mustafa Adelaja

2015-01-01

Induced abortion contributes significantly to maternal mortality in developing countries yet women still seek repeat induced abortion in spite of availability of contraceptive services. The aim of this study is to determine the rate of abortion and contraceptive use among women seeking repeat induced abortion in Western Nigeria. A prospective cross-sectional study utilizing self-administered questionnaires was administered to women seeking abortion in private hospitals/clinics in four geopolitical areas of Ogun State, Western Nigeria, from January 1 to December 31 2012. Data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0. The age range for those seeking repeat induced abortion was 15 to 51 years while the median age was 25 years. Of 2934 women seeking an abortion, 23% reported having had one or more previous abortions. Of those who had had more than one abortion, the level of awareness of contraceptives was 91.7% while only 21.5% used a contraceptive at their first intercourse after the procedure; 78.5% of the pregnancies were associated with non-contraceptive use while 17.5% were associated with contraceptive failure. The major reason for non-contraceptive use was fear of side effects. The rate of women seeking repeat abortions is high in Nigeria. The rate of contraceptive use is low while contraceptive failure rate is high.

Post abortion syndrome?

Science.gov (United States)

1987-12-01

There is general agreement that uncertainty persists regarding the psychological sequelae of abortion. Inconsistencies of interpretation stem from a lack of consensus about the symptoms, severity, and duration of mental disorder. In addition, opinions differ based on individual case studies and there is no national reporting system or adequate follow up system. Frequently, reviews combine studies conducted prior to and after the 1973 Supreme Court decision, mix elective abortion with those induced for medical reasons, or fail to distinguish between abortions performed early or late in gestation. The literature reveals methodological problems, a lack of controls, and sampling inadequacies. A review of the available literature and the files of "Abortion Research Notes" suggests that women at particular risk for postabortion stress reactions are those who terminate an originally wanted pregnancy, are strongly ambivalent, come very late in their pregnancy, or lack the support of significant others.

[Abortion and rights. Legal thinking about abortion].

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Perez Duarte, A E

1991-01-01

Analysis of abortion in Mexico from a juridical perspective requires recognition that Mexico as a national community participates in a double system of values. Politically it is defined as a liberal, democratic, and secular state, but culturally the Judeo-Christian ideology is dominant in all social strata. This duality complicates all juridical-penal decisions regarding abortion. Public opinion on abortion is influenced on the 1 hand by extremely conservative groups who condemn abortion as homicide, and on the other hand by groups who demand legislative reform in congruence with characteristics that define the state: an attitude of tolerance toward the different ideological-moral positions that coexist in the country. The discussion concerns the rights of women to voluntary maternity, protection of health, and to making their own decisions regarding their bodies vs. the rights of the fetus to life. The type of analysis is not objective, and conclusions depend on the ideology of the analyst. Other elements must be examined for an objective consideration of the social problem of abortion. For example, aspects related to maternal morbidity and mortality and the demographic, economic, and physical and mental health of the population would all seem to support the democratic juridical doctrine that sees the clandestine nature of abortion as the principal problem. It is also observed that the illegality of abortion does not guarantee its elimination. Desperate women will seek abortion under any circumstances. The illegality of abortion also impedes health and educational policies that would lower abortion mortality. There are various problems from a strictly juridical perspective. A correct definition of the term abortion is needed that would coincide with the medical definition. The discussion must be clearly centered on the protected juridical right and the definition of reproductive and health rights and rights to their own bodies of women. The experiences of other

A qualitative study of safe abortion and post-abortion family planning service experiences of women attending private facilities in Kenya.

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Penfold, Suzanne; Wendot, Susy; Nafula, Inviolata; Footman, Katharine

2018-04-24

To inform improvements in safe abortion and post-abortion family planning (PAFP) services, this study aimed to explore the pathways, decision-making, experiences and preferences of women receiving safe abortion and post-abortion family planning (PAFP) at private clinics in western Kenya. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 women who had recently used a safe abortion service from a private clinic. Interviews explored abortion-seeking behaviour and decision-making, abortion experience, use and knowledge of contraception, experience of PAFP counselling, and perceived facilitators of and challenges to family planning use. Respondents discovered their pregnancies due to physical symptoms, which were confirmed using pregnancy testing kits, often purchased from pharmacies. Respondents usually discussed their abortion decision with their partner, and, sometimes, carefully-selected friends or family members. Some reported being referred to private clinics for abortion services directly from other providers. Others had more complex pathways, first seeking care from unsafe providers, trying to self-induce abortion, being turned away from alternative safe facilities that were closed or too busy, or taking time to gather financial resources to pay for care. Participants wanted to use abortion services at facilities reputed for being accessible, clean, medically safe, and offering quick, respectful, private and courteous services. Awareness of reputable clinics was gained through personal experience, and recommendations from contacts and other health providers. Most participants had previously used contraception, with some reports of incorrect use and many reports of side effects. PAFP counselling was valued by clients, but some accounts suggested the counselling lacked comprehensive information. Many women chose contraception immediately following PAFP counselling; but others wanted to delay decision-making about contraception until the abortion was complete

Abortion - medical

Science.gov (United States)

Therapeutic medical abortion; Elective medical abortion; Induced abortion; Nonsurgical abortion ... A medical, or nonsurgical, abortion can be done within 7 weeks from the first day of the woman's last ...

Abortion hysterectomy at 11 weeks’ gestation due to undiagnosed placenta accreta (PA: A case report and a mini review of literatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayman H. Shaamash

2014-09-01

Full Text Available First trimester placenta accreta (PA is a rare event; there are few reported cases worldwide. Herein we report a case of abortion hysterectomy at 11 weeks’ gestation due to undiagnosed first trimester placenta accreta. Also, we reviewed medical literatures over the past 20 years for case reports of first trimester PA diagnosed after the occurrence of severe bleeding during abortive curettage or in the post abortive period.

Induced Abortion

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... Education & Events Advocacy For Patients About ACOG Induced Abortion Home For Patients Search FAQs Induced Abortion Page ... Induced Abortion FAQ043, May 2015 PDF Format Induced Abortion Special Procedures What is an induced abortion? What ...

Legalized abortion: a public health success story.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, M

1999-06-01

60% of more than 2000 women surveyed by the Picker Institute who underwent induced abortion procedures rated the quality of their care as excellent. Another third reported their care as being either very good or good. The survey also found that the quality of abortion care is comparable to other outpatient surgery. However, the high quality of care women receive from abortion providers is lost in the hostile anti-abortion climate created by threatening protesters outside of clinics and the murder of 7 clinic workers and physicians who performed abortions. Abortion opponents fail to acknowledge that legal abortion is a medical procedure which protects women's health and saves their lives. Before abortion was legalized in the US, countless women were either rendered unable to reproduce or died from abortion-related complications. Efforts to outlaw abortion persist despite it being widely recognized by medical experts as one of the most safe medical procedures currently performed in the US. When state legislatures target abortion providers with unduly strict regulations, abortion becomes prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain.

Abortion and sex-related conditions in substance-dependent Brazilian patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandra Diehl

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Abortion is a very sensitive issue with relevance to public health; however few clinical or population-based studies have examined induced abortion among drug users. The study aims to evaluate the prevalence of induced abortion and sex-related conditions in an inpatient drug user sample. A cross-sectional design study was conducted in an inpatient addiction treatment unit in São Paulo, Brazil, with a sample of 616 patients, aged 18-75. Sociodemographic data, sexual behavior, and dependence severity were evaluated in relation to induced abortion. Approximately 27% of patients reported having a history of abortion (themselves in the case of women or partners in the case of men. The mean age was 34.6±10.9 years old, 34.9% diagnosed with severe alcohol dependence, 33% were diagnosed with severe levels of dependence on other drugs, 69.6% were diagnosed cocaine users (inhaled and smoked, and alcohol was the drug of choice for 30.4%. Chances of having a history of abortion is greater for women than for men with a odds ratio (OR = 2.9; 95%CI: 1.75-4.76, (OR = 1.7; 95%CI: 1.09-2.75 of no condom use; (OR = 2.0; 95%CI: 1.35-3.23 of history of STI and (OR = 3.2; 95%CI: 1.29-5.73 use of morning-after pill. Drug- and alcohol-dependent patients have high-risk behaviours of sporadic use or no-condom use which contribute to unplanned pregnancy and induced abortion, making this vulnerable population a group which deserves special attention in sexual health prevention programmes and health promotion efforts for the reduction of induced abortion.

Factors associated with repeat induced abortion in Kenya.

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Maina, Beatrice W; Mutua, Michael M; Sidze, Estelle M

2015-10-12

Over six million induced abortions were reported in Africa in 2008 with over two million induced abortions occurring in Eastern Africa. Although a significant proportion of women in the region procure more than one abortion during their reproductive period, there is a dearth of research on factors associated with repeat abortion. Data for this study come from the Magnitude and Incidence of Unsafe Abortion Study conducted by the African Population and Health Research Center in Kenya in 2012. The study used a nationally-representative sample of 350 facilities (level II to level VI) that offer post-abortion services for complications following induced and spontaneous abortions. A prospective morbidity survey tool was used by health providers in 328 facilities to collect information on socio-demographic charateristics, reproductive health history and contraceptive use at conception for all patients presenting for post-abortion services. Our analysis is based on data recorded on 769 women who were classified as having had an induced abortion. About 16 % of women seeking post abortion services for an induced abortion reported to have had a previous induced abortion. Being separated or divorced or widowed, having no education, having unwanted pregnancy, having 1-2 prior births and using traditional methods of contraception were associated with a higher likelihood of a repeat induced abortion. The findings point to the need to address the reasons why women with first time induced abortion do not have the necessary information to prevent unintended pregnancies and further induced abortions. Possible explanations linked to the quality of post-abortion family planning and coverage of long-acting methods should be explored.

Abortion: a review of women's perception in relation to their partner's reactions in two Brazilians cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Nonnenmacher, Daniele; Benute, Gláucia Rosana Guerra; Nomura, Roseli Mieko Yamamoto; Azevedo, George Dantas de; Dutra, Elza Maria do Socorro; Rebouças, Melina Séfora Souza; Luci, Mara Cristina Souza de; Francisco, Rossana Pulcineli Vieira

2014-07-01

to analyze women's perception in relation to their partner's reaction and behavior during the abortion process in two Brazilian capitals, associating the variables from women who suffered a spontaneous abortion with those from women who induced it. semi-structured, questionnaire-based interviews were conducted with 285 women who underwent spontaneous abortion and 31 who reported having induced it. The data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique, and, subsequently, by the IBM SPSS Statistics Standard Edition software program. The significance level was set at p women who induced an abortion referred to the partner as the person who could not find out about the abortion (pindependence, women still regard male participation in the abortion process as an important factor. The specifics of each capital denote the influence of the geographic and cultural dimension, indicating the need to take into account the particulars of each region in Brazil while considering a holistic approach to women's health.

The effect of abortion legalization on sexual behavior: evidence from sexually transmitted diseases.

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Klick, Jonathan; Stratmann, Thomas

2003-06-01

Unwanted pregnancy represents a major cost of sexual activity. When abortion was legalized in a number of states in 1969 and 1970 (and nationally in 1973), this cost was reduced. We predict that abortion legalization generated incentives leading to an increase in sexual activity, accompanied by an increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using Centers for Disease Control data on the incidence of gonorrhea and syphilis by state, we test the hypothesis that abortion legalization led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. We find that gonorrhea and syphilis incidences are significantly and positively correlated with abortion legalization. Further, we find a divergence in STD rates among early legalizing states and late legalizing states starting in 1970 and a subsequent convergence after the Roe v. Wade decision, indicating that the relation between STDs and abortion is casual. Abortion legalization accounts for about one-fourth of the average disease incidence.

Demand for abortion and post abortion care in Ibadan, Nigeria.

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Awoyemi, Bosede O; Novignon, Jacob

2014-01-01

While induced abortion is considered to be illegal and socially unacceptable in Nigeria, it is still practiced by many women in the country. Poor family planning and unsafe abortion practices have daunting effects on maternal health. For instance, Nigeria is on the verge of not meeting the Millennium development goals on maternal health due to high maternal mortality ratio, estimated to be about 630 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Recent evidences have shown that a major factor in this trend is the high incidence of abortion in the country. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to investigate the factors determining the demand for abortion and post-abortion care in Ibadan city of Nigeria. The study employed data from a hospital-based/exploratory survey carried out between March to September 2010. Closed ended questionnaires were administered to a sample of 384 women of reproductive age from three hospitals within the Ibadan metropolis in South West Nigeria. However, only 308 valid responses were received and analysed. A probit model was fitted to determine the socioeconomic factors that influence demand for abortion and post-abortion care. The results showed that 62% of respondents demanded for abortion while 52.3% of those that demanded for abortion received post-abortion care. The findings again showed that income was a significant determinant of abortion and post-abortion care demand. Women with higher income were more likely to demand abortion and post-abortion care. Married women were found to be less likely to demand for abortion and post-abortion care. Older women were significantly less likely to demand for abortion and post-abortion care. Mothers' education was only statistically significant in determining abortion demand but not post-abortion care demand. The findings suggest that while abortion is illegal in Nigeria, some women in the Ibadan city do abort unwanted pregnancies. The consequence of this in the absence of proper post-abortion

Demand for abortion and post abortion care in Ibadan, Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background While induced abortion is considered to be illegal and socially unacceptable in Nigeria, it is still practiced by many women in the country. Poor family planning and unsafe abortion practices have daunting effects on maternal health. For instance, Nigeria is on the verge of not meeting the Millennium development goals on maternal health due to high maternal mortality ratio, estimated to be about 630 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Recent evidences have shown that a major factor in this trend is the high incidence of abortion in the country. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to investigate the factors determining the demand for abortion and post-abortion care in Ibadan city of Nigeria. Methods The study employed data from a hospital-based/exploratory survey carried out between March to September 2010. Closed ended questionnaires were administered to a sample of 384 women of reproductive age from three hospitals within the Ibadan metropolis in South West Nigeria. However, only 308 valid responses were received and analysed. A probit model was fitted to determine the socioeconomic factors that influence demand for abortion and post-abortion care. Results The results showed that 62% of respondents demanded for abortion while 52.3% of those that demanded for abortion received post-abortion care. The findings again showed that income was a significant determinant of abortion and post-abortion care demand. Women with higher income were more likely to demand abortion and post-abortion care. Married women were found to be less likely to demand for abortion and post-abortion care. Older women were significantly less likely to demand for abortion and post-abortion care. Mothers’ education was only statistically significant in determining abortion demand but not post-abortion care demand. Conclusion The findings suggest that while abortion is illegal in Nigeria, some women in the Ibadan city do abort unwanted pregnancies. The consequence of this

Abortion - surgical

Science.gov (United States)

Suction curettage; Surgical abortion; Elective abortion - surgical; Therapeutic abortion - surgical ... Surgical abortion involves dilating the opening to the uterus (cervix) and placing a small suction tube into the uterus. ...

Reactions to abortion and subsequent mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Fergusson, David M; Horwood, L John; Boden, Joseph M

2009-11-01

There has been continued interest in the extent to which women have positive and negative reactions to abortion. To document emotional reactions to abortion, and to examine the links between reactions to abortion and subsequent mental health outcomes. Data were gathered on the pregnancy and mental health history of a birth cohort of over 500 women studied to the age of 30. Abortion was associated with high rates of both positive and negative emotional reactions; however, nearly 90% of respondents believed that the abortion was the right decision. Analyses showed that the number of negative responses to the abortion was associated with increased levels of subsequent mental health disorders (Pabortion and reporting negative reactions had rates of mental health disorders that were approximately 1.4-1.8 times higher than those not having an abortion. Abortion was associated with both positive and negative emotional reactions. The extent of negative emotional reactions appeared to modify the links between abortion and subsequent mental health problems.

Why do farmers and veterinarians not report all bovine abortions, as requested by the clinical brucellosis surveillance system in France?

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Bronner, Anne; Hénaux, Viviane; Fortané, Nicolas; Hendrikx, Pascal; Calavas, Didier

2014-04-24

Since 2005, France has been officially free of brucellosis, an infectious disease that causes abortion in cattle and can be transmitted from cattle to humans. Recent animal and human cases have drawn attention to the need to prevent infection of humans and animals from any primary outbreaks. In order to detect any new outbreaks as soon as possible, a clinical surveillance system requires farmers and veterinarians to report each abortion and to test the aborting cow for brucellosis. However, under-reporting limits the sensitivity of this system. Our objective was to identify the barriers and motivations influencing field actors in their decision to report or not to report bovine abortions. We used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews of 12 cattle farmers and their eight veterinarians. Our analysis showed that four main themes influence the decision-making process of farmers and veterinarians: 1) the perceived risk of brucellosis and other abortive diseases; 2) the definition of a suspected case of brucellosis and other abortive diseases adopted by field actors, which is less sensitive than the mandatory definition; 3) the cost-benefit analysis conducted by actors, taking into account regulatory and health aspects, economic and financial losses, technical and practical factors; 4) the level of cooperation within the socio-technical network. We discussed how early detection may be improved by revising the definition of abortion, extending the time frame for notification and generalising the differential diagnosis of the causes of abortion. In contrast to quantitative approaches, qualitative studies can identify the factors (including unknown factors) influencing the decision-making process of field actors and reveal why they take those factors into consideration. Our qualitative study sheds light on the factors underlying the poor sensitivity of clinical brucellosis surveillance system for cattle in France, and suggests that early detection may be

Reducing under-reporting of stigmatized health events using the List Experiment: results from a randomized, population-based study of abortion in Liberia.

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Moseson, Heidi; Massaquoi, Moses; Dehlendorf, Christine; Bawo, Luke; Dahn, Bernice; Zolia, Yah; Vittinghoff, Eric; Hiatt, Robert A; Gerdts, Caitlin

2015-12-01

Direct measurement of sensitive health events is often limited by high levels of under-reporting due to stigma and concerns about privacy. Abortion in particular is notoriously difficult to measure. This study implements a novel method to estimate the cumulative lifetime incidence of induced abortion in Liberia. In a randomly selected sample of 3219 women ages 15–49 years in June 2013 in Liberia, we implemented the ‘Double List Experiment’. To measure abortion incidence, each woman was read two lists: (A) a list of non-sensitive items and (B) a list of correlated non-sensitive items with abortion added. The sensitive item, abortion, was randomly added to either List A or List B for each respondent. The respondent reported a simple count of the options on each list that she had experienced, without indicating which options. Difference in means calculations between the average counts for each list were then averaged to provide an estimate of the population proportion that has had an abortion. The list experiment estimates that 32% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29-0.34) of respondents surveyed had ever had an abortion (26% of women in urban areas, and 36% of women in rural areas, P-value for difference Liberia, indicating the potential utility of this method to reduce under-reporting in the measurement of abortion. The method could be widely applied to measure other stigmatized health topics, including sexual behaviours, sexual assault or domestic violence.

Misperceptions about the risks of abortion in women presenting for abortion.

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Wiebe, Ellen R; Littman, Lisa; Kaczorowski, Janusz; Moshier, Erin L

2014-03-01

Misinformation about the risks and sequelae of abortion is widespread. The purpose of this study was to examine whether women having an abortion who believe that there should be restrictions to abortion (i.e., that some other women should not be allowed to have an abortion) also believe this misinformation about the health risks associated with abortion. We carried out a cross-sectional survey of women presenting consecutively for an abortion at an urban abortion clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia, between February and September 2012. Of 1008 women presenting for abortion, 978 completed questionnaires (97% response rate), and 333 of these (34%) favoured abortion restrictions. More women who favoured restrictions believed that the health risk of an abortion was the same as or greater than the health risk of childbirth (84.2% vs. 65.6%, P abortion caused mental health problems (39.1% vs. 28.3%, P abortion caused infertility (41.7% vs. 21.9%, P abortion should not be restricted was found to be a significantly correlated with correct answers about health risks, mental health problems, and infertility. Misinformed beliefs about the risks of abortion are common among women having an abortion. Women presenting for abortion who favoured restrictions to abortion have more misperceptions about abortion risks than women who favour no restrictions.

High Levels of Post-Abortion Complication in a Setting Where Abortion Service Is Not Legalized

Science.gov (United States)

Melese, Tadele; Habte, Dereje; Tsima, Billy M.; Mogobe, Keitshokile Dintle; Chabaesele, Kesegofetse; Rankgoane, Goabaone; Keakabetse, Tshiamo R.; Masweu, Mabole; Mokotedi, Mosidi; Motana, Mpho; Moreri-Ntshabele, Badani

2017-01-01

Background Maternal mortality due to abortion complications stands among the three leading causes of maternal death in Botswana where there is a restrictive abortion law. This study aimed at assessing the patterns and determinants of post-abortion complications. Methods A retrospective institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at four hospitals from January to August 2014. Data were extracted from patients’ records with regards to their socio-demographic variables, abortion complications and length of hospital stay. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis were employed. Result A total of 619 patients’ records were reviewed with a mean (SD) age of 27.12 (5.97) years. The majority of abortions (95.5%) were reported to be spontaneous and 3.9% of the abortions were induced by the patient. Two thirds of the patients were admitted as their first visit to the hospitals and one third were referrals from other health facilities. Two thirds of the patients were admitted as a result of incomplete abortion followed by inevitable abortion (16.8%). Offensive vaginal discharge (17.9%), tender uterus (11.3%), septic shock (3.9%) and pelvic peritonitis (2.4%) were among the physical findings recorded on admission. Clinically detectable anaemia evidenced by pallor was found to be the leading major complication in 193 (31.2%) of the cases followed by hypovolemic and septic shock 65 (10.5%). There were a total of 9 abortion related deaths with a case fatality rate of 1.5%. Self-induced abortion and delayed uterine evacuation of more than six hours were found to have significant association with post-abortion complications (p-values of 0.018 and 0.035 respectively). Conclusion Abortion related complications and deaths are high in our setting where abortion is illegal. Mechanisms need to be devised in the health facilities to evacuate the uterus in good time whenever it is indicated and to be equipped to handle the fatal complications. There is an indication for

High Levels of Post-Abortion Complication in a Setting Where Abortion Service Is Not Legalized.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadele Melese

Full Text Available Maternal mortality due to abortion complications stands among the three leading causes of maternal death in Botswana where there is a restrictive abortion law. This study aimed at assessing the patterns and determinants of post-abortion complications.A retrospective institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at four hospitals from January to August 2014. Data were extracted from patients' records with regards to their socio-demographic variables, abortion complications and length of hospital stay. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis were employed.A total of 619 patients' records were reviewed with a mean (SD age of 27.12 (5.97 years. The majority of abortions (95.5% were reported to be spontaneous and 3.9% of the abortions were induced by the patient. Two thirds of the patients were admitted as their first visit to the hospitals and one third were referrals from other health facilities. Two thirds of the patients were admitted as a result of incomplete abortion followed by inevitable abortion (16.8%. Offensive vaginal discharge (17.9%, tender uterus (11.3%, septic shock (3.9% and pelvic peritonitis (2.4% were among the physical findings recorded on admission. Clinically detectable anaemia evidenced by pallor was found to be the leading major complication in 193 (31.2% of the cases followed by hypovolemic and septic shock 65 (10.5%. There were a total of 9 abortion related deaths with a case fatality rate of 1.5%. Self-induced abortion and delayed uterine evacuation of more than six hours were found to have significant association with post-abortion complications (p-values of 0.018 and 0.035 respectively.Abortion related complications and deaths are high in our setting where abortion is illegal. Mechanisms need to be devised in the health facilities to evacuate the uterus in good time whenever it is indicated and to be equipped to handle the fatal complications. There is an indication for clinical audit on post-abortion care

Late-Term Elective Abortion and Susceptibility to Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priscilla K. Coleman

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The primary aim of this study was to compare the experience of an early abortion (1st trimester to a late abortion (2nd and 3rd trimester relative to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD symptoms after controlling for socio-demographic and personal history variables. Online surveys were completed by 374 women who experienced either a 1st trimester abortion (up to 12 weeks gestation or a 2nd or 3rd trimester abortion (13 weeks gestation or beyond. Most respondents (81% were U.S. citizens. Later abortions were associated with higher Intrusion subscale scores and with a greater likelihood of reporting disturbing dreams, reliving of the abortion, and trouble falling asleep. Reporting the pregnancy was desired by one's partner, experiencing pressure to abort, having left the partner prior to the abortion, not disclosing the abortion to the partner, and physical health concerns were more common among women who received later abortions. Social reasons for the abortion were linked with significantly higher PTSD total and subscale scores for the full sample. Women who postpone their abortions may need more active professional intervention before securing an abortion based on the increased risks identified herein. More research with diverse samples employing additional measures of mental illness is needed.

[On research concerning abortion in Latin America and studies on women].

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Barroso, C

1989-01-01

"Research on abortion is important for the Latin American women's movements. Rates of illegal abortion seem quite high. Cuba is the only country where abortion is legal. Policies on abortion are closely related to attitudes towards sexuality and women. Contraception has, in addition to health and economic costs, social and psychological costs, therefore unwanted pregnancies are the normal results of behavior that follows a certain rationality. Consequences of abortion depend on a woman's integration in her social network. The Latin American scene has two main differences from industrialized countries: mass poverty and the influence of the Catholic Church. Conditions of poverty affect less the motivation for abortion and more the conditions of its use." (SUMMARY IN ENG) excerpt

Access to abortion: what women want from abortion services.

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Wiebe, Ellen R; Sandhu, Supna

2008-04-01

Whether Canadian physicians can refuse to refer women for abortion and whether private clinics can charge for abortions are matters of controversy. We sought to identify barriers to access for women seeking therapeutic abortion and to have them identify what they considered to be most important about access to abortion services. Women presenting for abortion over a two-month period at two free-standing abortion clinics, one publicly funded and the other private, were invited to participate in the study. Phase I of the study involved administration of a questionnaire seeking information about demographics, perceived barriers to access to abortion, and what the women wanted from abortion services. Phase II involved semi-structured interviews of a convenience sample of women to record their responses to questions about access. Responses from Phase I questionnaires were compared between the two clinics, and qualitative analysis was performed on the interview responses. Of 423 eligible women, 402 completed questionnaires, and of 45 women approached, 39 completed interviews satisfactorily. Women received information about abortion services from their physicians (60.0%), the Internet (14.8%), a telephone directory (7.8%), friends or family (5.3%), or other sources (12.3%). Many had negative experiences in gaining access. The most important issue regarding access was the long wait time; the second most important issue was difficulty in making appointments. In the private clinic, 85% of the women said they were willing to pay for shorter wait times, compared with 43.5% in the public clinic. Physicians who failed to refer patients for abortion or provide information about obtaining an abortion caused distress and impeded access for a significant minority of women requesting an abortion. Management of abortion services should be prioritized to reflect what women want: particularly decreased wait times for abortion and greater ease and convenience in booking appointments

Incidence of Induced Abortion and Post-Abortion Care in Tanzania.

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Keogh, Sarah C; Kimaro, Godfather; Muganyizi, Projestine; Philbin, Jesse; Kahwa, Amos; Ngadaya, Esther; Bankole, Akinrinola

2015-01-01

Tanzania has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, and unsafe abortion is one of its leading causes. Yet little is known about its incidence. To provide the first ever estimates of the incidence of unsafe abortion in Tanzania, at the national level and for each of the 8 geopolitical zones (7 in Mainland plus Zanzibar). A nationally representative survey of health facilities was conducted to determine the number of induced abortion complications treated in facilities. A survey of experts on abortion was conducted to estimate the likelihood of women experiencing complications and obtaining treatment. These surveys were complemented with population and fertility data to obtain abortion numbers, rates and ratios, using the Abortion Incidence Complications Methodology. In Tanzania, women obtained just over 405,000 induced abortions in 2013, for a national rate of 36 abortions per 1,000 women age 15-49 and a ratio of 21 abortions per 100 live births. For each woman treated in a facility for induced abortion complications, 6 times as many women had an abortion but did not receive care. Abortion rates vary widely by zone, from 10.7 in Zanzibar to 50.7 in the Lake zone. The abortion rate is similar to that of other countries in the region. Variations by zone are explained mainly by differences in fertility and contraceptive prevalence. Measures to reduce the incidence of unsafe abortion and associated maternal mortality include expanding access to post-abortion care and contraceptive services to prevent unintended pregnancies.

The Agony of Unsafe Abortion in A Teenager: A Case Report | Akani ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This report represents a rare case of omental prolapse through posterior vaginal fornix laceration following an induced unsafe abortion. Miss T.R, a 14 year old orphan and junior secondary school 3 student had three different attempts at termination of 15 weeks pregnancy by a medical doctor in a private clinic. Physical ...

Situating stigma in stratified reproduction: Abortion stigma and miscarriage stigma as barriers to reproductive healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Bommaraju, Aalap; Kavanaugh, Megan L; Hou, Melody Y; Bessett, Danielle

2016-12-01

To examine whether race and reported history of abortion are associated with abortion stigma and miscarriage stigma, both independently and comparatively. Self-administered surveys with 306 new mothers in Boston and Cincinnati, United States. Abortion stigma perception (ASP); miscarriage stigma perception (MSP); and comparative stigma perception (CSP: abortion stigma perception net of miscarriage stigma perception). Regardless of whether or not they reported having an abortion, white women perceived abortion (ASP) to be more stigmatizing than Black and Latina women. Perceptions of miscarriage stigma (MSP), on the other hand, were dependent on reporting an abortion. Among those who reported an abortion, Black women perceived more stigma from miscarriage than white women, but these responses were flipped for women who did not report abortion. Reporting abortion also influenced our comparative measure (CSP). Among those who did report an abortion, white women perceived more stigma from abortion than miscarriage, while Black and Latina women perceived more stigma from miscarriage than abortion. By measuring abortion stigma in comparison to miscarriage stigma, we can reach a more nuanced understanding of how perceptions of reproductive stigmas are stratified by race and reported reproductive history. Clinicians should be aware that reproductive stigmas do not similarly affect all groups. Stigma from specific reproductive outcomes is more or less salient dependent upon a woman's social position and lived experience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Induced abortion in Italy: levels, trends and characteristics.

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Bettarini, S S; D'Andrea, S S

1996-01-01

Subsequent to the legalization of abortion in Italy in 1978, abortion; rates among Italian women first rose and then declined steadily, from a peak of 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age in 1983 to 9.8 per 1,000 in 1993. Abortion rates vary considerably by geographic region, with rates typically highest in the more secular and modernized regions and lowest in regions where traditional values predominate. Data from 1981 and 1991 indicate that age-specific abortion rates decreased during the 1980s for all age-groups, with the largest declines occurring in regions with the highest levels of abortion. Moreover, a shift in the age distribution of abortion rates occurred during the 1980s, with women aged 30-34 registering the highest abortion rate in 1991, whereas in 1981 the highest level of abortion occurred among those aged 25-29. The abortion rate among adolescent women was low at both times (7.6 per 1,000 in 1981 and 4.6 per 1,000 in 1991). These data are based only on reported legal abortions; the number of clandestine abortions remains unknown.

The horror of unsafe abortion: case report of a life threatening complication in a 29-year old woman.

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Naqvi, Kaniz Zehra; Edhi, Muhammad Muzzammil

2013-10-16

Every year 42 million women with unintended pregnancies choose abortion, and fifty percent of these procedures, 20 million are unsafe. An unsafe abortion is defined as a procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy carried out either by person lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards or both.Pakistan is the one of the six countries where more than 50% of the world's all maternal deaths occur. It is estimated that 890,000 induced abortions are performed annually in Pakistan, and estimate an annual abortion rate of 29 per 1000 women aged 15-49. Here we present a case report of a 29-year old woman who underwent an unsafe abortion for unintended pregnancy resulting in uterine perforation. The unskilled provider pulled out her bowel through vagina after perforating the uterus, as a result she lost major portion of her small intestine resulting in short bowel syndrome. The law of Pakistan only allows abortion during early stages of pregnancy for purpose of saving the life of a mother but does not cater for cases of rape, incest and fetal abnormalities or social reasons.Only legalization of abortion is not sufficient, preventing unintended pregnancy should be the priority of all the nations and for this reason contraception should be widely accessible.Practitioners need to become better trained in safer abortion methods and be to able transfer the patient to health facility when complications occur.

Abortion and mental health: Evaluating the evidence.

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Major, Brenda; Appelbaum, Mark; Beckman, Linda; Dutton, Mary Ann; Russo, Nancy Felipe; West, Carolyn

2009-12-01

The authors evaluated empirical research addressing the relationship between induced abortion and women's mental health. Two issues were addressed: (a) the relative risks associated with abortion compared with the risks associated with its alternatives and (b) sources of variability in women's responses following abortion. This article reflects and updates the report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion (2008). Major methodological problems pervaded most of the research reviewed. The most rigorous studies indicated that within the United States, the relative risk of mental health problems among adult women who have a single, legal, first-trimester abortion of an unwanted pregnancy is no greater than the risk among women who deliver an unwanted pregnancy. Evidence did not support the claim that observed associations between abortion and mental health problems are caused by abortion per se as opposed to other preexisting and co-occurring risk factors. Most adult women who terminate a pregnancy do not experience mental health problems. Some women do, however. It is important that women's varied experiences of abortion be recognized, validated, and understood. 2009 APA.

[Induced abortion: a world perspective].

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Henshaw, S K

1987-01-01

where the procedure is illegal. On the basis of hospital reports and other fragmentary information, the true rate appears to be relatively high in Latin America and the Far East. The abortion rate for Latin America in the mid-1970s was estimated at 65/1000 fertile aged women, and rates were believed to be higher in urban areas. Sub-Saharan Africa, where women desire very large families, apparently had the lowest rates. Up to 68% of pregnancies in the USSR, 57% in Rumania, and 55% in Japan may end in abortion. The proportion in developing countries ranged from 8% in Vietnam to 43% in China. Women undergoing abortion in developed countries tend to be young, childless, and single, while those in developing countries tend to be older, high parity, and married. Abortion mortality is still high in countries where large numbers of illegal abortions are performed by unqualified personnel, as in many parts of Latin America.

Setting the research agenda for induced abortion in Africa and Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Rachel H; Filippi, Veronique; Moore, Ann M; Acharya, Rajib; Bankole, Akinrinola; Calvert, Clara; Church, Kathryn; Cresswell, Jenny A; Footman, Katharine; Gleason, Joanne; Machiyama, Kazuyo; Marston, Cicely; Mbizvo, Mike; Musheke, Maurice; Owolabi, Onikepe; Palmer, Jennifer; Smith, Christopher; Storeng, Katerini; Yeung, Felicia

2018-05-10

Provision of safe abortion is widely recognized as vital to addressing the health and wellbeing of populations. Research on abortion is essential to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Researchers in population health from university, policy, and practitioner contexts working on two multidisciplinary projects on family planning and safe abortion in Africa and Asia were brought together for a workshop to discuss the future research agenda on induced abortion. Research on care-seeking behavior, supply of abortion care services, and the global and national policy context will help improve access to and experiences of safe abortion services. A number of areas have potential in designing intervention strategies, including clinical innovations, quality improvement mechanisms, community involvement, and task sharing. Research on specific groups, including adolescents and young people, men, populations affected by conflict, marginalized groups, and providers could increase understanding of provision, access to and experiences of induced abortion. Methodological and conceptual advances, for example in the measurement of induced abortion incidence, complications, and client satisfaction, conceptualizations of induced abortion access and care, and methods for follow-up of patients who have induced abortions, will improve the accuracy of measurements of induced abortion, and add to understanding of women's experiences of induced abortions and abortion care. © 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Why do farmers and veterinarians not report all bovine abortions, as requested by the clinical brucellosis surveillance system in France?

OpenAIRE

Bronner, Anne; Hénaux, Viviane; Fortané, Nicolas; Hendrikx, Pascal; Calavas, Didier

2014-01-01

Background Since 2005, France has been officially free of brucellosis, an infectious disease that causes abortion in cattle and can be transmitted from cattle to humans. Recent animal and human cases have drawn attention to the need to prevent infection of humans and animals from any primary outbreaks. In order to detect any new outbreaks as soon as possible, a clinical surveillance system requires farmers and veterinarians to report each abortion and to test the aborting cow for brucello...

Abortion checks at German-Dutch border.

Science.gov (United States)

Von Baross, J

1991-05-01

The commentary on West German abortion law, particularly in illegal abortion in the Netherlands, finds the law restrictive and in violation of the dignity and rights of women. The Max-Planck Institute in 1990 published a study that found that a main point of prosecution between 1976 and 1986, as reported by Der Spiegal, was in border crossings from the Netherlands. It is estimated that 10,000 annually have abortions abroad, and 6,000 to 7,000 in the Netherlands. The procedure was for an official to stop a young person and query about drugs; later the woman would admit to an abortion, and be forced into a medical examination. The German Penal Code Section 218 stipulates abortion only for certain reasons testified to by a doctor other than the one performing the abortion. Counseling on available social assistance must be completed 3 days prior to the abortion. Many counseling offices are church related and opposed to abortions. Many doctors refuse legally to certify, and access to abortion is limited. The required hospital stay is 3-4 nights with no day care facilities. Penal Code Section 5 No. 9 allows prosecution for uncounseled illegal abortion. Abortion law reform is anticipated by the end of 1992 in the Bundestag due to the Treaty or the Unification of Germany. The Treaty states that the rights of the unborn child must be protected and that pregnant women relieve their distress in a way compatible with the Constitution, but improved over legal regulations from either West or East Germany, which permits abortion on request within 12 weeks of conception without counseling. It is hoped that the law will be liberalized and Penal Code Section 5 No. 9 will be abolished.

Two steps back: Poland's new abortion law.

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Nowicka, W

1993-06-01

After the fall of Communism in Poland, the Catholic church exerted pressure to increase its influence in public life. One way in which this pressure has manifested itself has been in the passing of a restrictive abortion bill which was signed into law on February 15, 1993. Abortion had been legalized in Poland in 1956 and was used as a means of birth control because of a lack of availability and use of contraceptives. The number of abortions performed was variously reported as 60,000 - 300,000/year. In 1990, the Ministry of Health imposed restrictions on abortions at publicly funded hospitals, and 3 deaths were reported from self-induced abortions. In 1 year (1989-90), the number of induced abortions at 1 hospital dropped from 71 to 19, while the number of self-induced abortions increased from 48 to 85. Further restrictions were introduced in May 1992 as part of the "Ethical Code for Physicians," which allows abortions only in cases where the mother's life or health is in danger or in cases or rape. This code brought abortions to a halt at publicly funded hospitals and doubled or even tripled the cost of private abortions. Women have been refused abortions in tragic and life=threatening situations since the code was adopted. When an outright anti family planning bill was drafted in November 1992, the Polish citizenry collected 1,300,000 signatures to force a referendum. The referendum was not held, but the bill was defeated. The amended bill which passed allows abortions in publicly funded hospitals only when the mother's life or health is in danger and in cases of rape, incest, or incurable deformity of the fetus. The implications of this law remain unclear, since its language is strange and vague. The reproductive rights of Polish women face a further threat because the Catholic church is working to limit the availability of contraceptive methods which they deem to be "early abortives." On the other side of the issue, the Federation for Women and Planned

Can stories reduce abortion stigma? Findings from a longitudinal cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cockrill, Kate; Biggs, Antonia

2018-03-01

Women often hide or selectively disclose abortion experiences due to stigma. Secrecy can help women avoid stigma but may also result in isolation and a lack of social support and contribute to broader social silence. This study assesses whether a book-club intervention can support abortion disclosure among book club participants and improve participants' affective responses towards women who have abortions and abortion providers. A total of 109 women from 13 all-female book clubs located in 9 US states read and discussed a non-fiction book that included stories about pregnancy and abortion, participated in a book club discussion and completed baseline, immediate post-intervention and endline surveys. In 10 out of the 13 book club discussions, at least one member disclosed having had a previous abortion. Overall, 15 of the 19 women who privately reported having a previous abortion self-disclosed one or more abortions during the book club discussion. Following the book club intervention, women reported having more positive feelings toward women who have abortions and abortion providers. Greater improvement and longer lasting effects were seen in groups where there was also an in-person disclosure of abortion experience. Findings suggest that exposure to the stories of women who have had abortions can reduce abortion stigma.

Abortion Bans, Doctors, and the Criminalization of Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Oberman, Michelle

2018-03-01

January 2018, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology issued a position statement opposing the punishment of women for self-induced abortion. To those unfamiliar with emerging trends in abortion in the United States and worldwide, the need for the declaration might not be apparent. Several studies suggest that self-induced abortion is on the rise in the United States. Simultaneously, prosecutions of pregnant women for behavior thought to harm the fetus are increasing. The ACOG statement responds to both trends by urging doctors to honor the integrity and confidentiality inherent in the doctor-patient relationship. Seen in the context of the larger battle over legal abortion, the statement has far broader implications. By acknowledging the role doctors play in enforcing pregnancy-related crimes, the ACOG position statement wisely anticipates the ways in which doctors will be implicated should access to legal abortion be further restricted. To understand the need for the ACOG directive, you must first understand that the story of what will happen if abortion becomes a crime in the United States is not to be found in history books; it is staring at us across our southern border. © 2018 The Hastings Center.

Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Major, B; Cozzarelli, C; Cooper, M L; Zubek, J; Richards, C; Wilhite, M; Gramzow, R H

2000-08-01

Controversy exists over psychological risks associated with abortion. The objectives of this study were to examine women's emotions, evaluations, and mental health after an abortion, as well as changes over time in these responses and their predictors. Women arriving at 1 of 3 sites for an abortion of a first-trimester unintended pregnancy were randomly approached to participate in a longitudinal study with 4 assessments-1 hour before the abortion, and 1 hour, 1 month, and 2 years after the abortion. Eight hundred eighty-two (85%) of 1043 eligible women approached agreed; 442 (50%) of 882 were followed for 2 years. Preabortion and postabortion depression and self-esteem, postabortion emotions, decision satisfaction, perceived harm and benefit, and posttraumatic stress disorder were assessed. Demographic variables and prior mental health were examined as predictors of postabortion psychological responses. Two years postabortion, 301 (72%) of 418 women were satisfied with their decision; 306 (69%) of 441 said they would have the abortion again; 315 (72%) of 440 reported more benefit than harm from their abortion; and 308 (80%) of 386 were not depressed. Six (1%) of 442 reported posttraumatic stress disorder. Depression decreased and self-esteem increased from preabortion to postabortion, but negative emotions increased and decision satisfaction decreased over time. Prepregnancy history of depression was a risk factor for depression, lower self-esteem, and more negative abortion-specific outcomes 2 years postabortion. Younger age and having more children preabortion also predicted more negative abortion evaluations. Most women do not experience psychological problems or regret their abortion 2 years postabortion, but some do. Those who do tend to be women with a prior history of depression.

Factors Associated with Incidence of Induced Abortion in Hamedan, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini, Hatam; Erfani, Amir; Nojomi, Marzieh

2017-05-01

There is limited reliable information on abortion in Iran, where abortion is illegal and many women of reproductive age seek clandestine abortion to end their unintended pregnancy. This study aims to examine the determinants of induced abortion in the city of Hamedan, Iran. The study utilizes recent data from the 2015 Hamedan Survey of Fertility, conducted in a representative sample of 3,000 married women aged 15-49 years in the city of Hamedan, Iran. Binary logistic regression models are used to examine factors associated with the incidence of abortion. Overall, 3.8% of respondents reported having had an induced abortion in their life. Multivariate results showed that the incidence of abortion was strongly associated with women's education, type of contraceptive and family income level, after controlling for confounding factors. Women using long-acting contraceptive methods, those educated under high school diploma or postsecondary education, and those with high level of income were more likely to report having an induced abortion. The high incidence of abortion among less or more educated women and those with high income level signifies unmet family planning needs among these women, which must be addressed by focused reproductive health and family planning programs.

Diagnosis of Cervical Abortion by TransvaginaI Color Doppler Sonography : A Case Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Eun Ju; Ryu, Hee Sug; Ji, Hoon; Suh, Jung Ho

1995-01-01

Cervical abortion is a spontaneous abortion of an intrauterine pregnancy into the cervical canal where the abortus is retained by a closed external os, causing distension of the cervical canal. Cervical abortion should be distinguished from the cervical pregnancy. We present a case of cervical abortion diagnosed preoperatively by transvaginal sonography and color doppler imaging, and treated by dilatation and curettage. Charateristic transvaginal sonographic findings and identification of subtrophoblastic blood flow by color doppler imaging could allow differentiation of the cevical aborition from the cervical pregnancy

Medical students' attitudes toward abortion education: Malaysian perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nai-peng Tey

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Abortion is a serious public health issue, and it poses high risks to the health and life of women. Yet safe abortion services are not readily available because few doctors are trained to provide such services. Many doctors are unaware of laws pertaining to abortion. This article reports survey findings on Malaysian medical students' attitudes toward abortion education and presents a case for including abortion education in medical schools. METHODS AND RESULTS: A survey on knowledge of and attitudes toward abortion among medical students was conducted in two public universities and a private university in Malaysia in 2011. A total of 1,060 students returned the completed questionnaires. The survey covered about 90% of medical students in Years 1, 3, and 5 in the three universities. About 90% of the students wanted more training on the general knowledge and legal aspects of abortion, and pre-and post-abortion counseling. Overall, 75.9% and 81.0% of the students were in favor of including in medical education the training on surgical abortion techniques and medical abortion, respectively. Only 2.4% and 1.7% were opposed to the inclusion of training of these two methods in the curriculum. The remaining respondents were neutral in their stand. Desire for more abortion education was associated with students' pro-choice index, their intention to provide abortion services in future practice, and year of study. However, students' attitudes toward abortion were not significantly associated with gender, type of university, or ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Most students wanted more training on abortion. Some students also expressed their intention to provide abortion counseling and services in their future practice. Their desire for more training on abortion should be taken into account in the new curriculum. Abortion education is an important step towards making available safe abortion services to enable women to exercise their reproductive rights.

Domestic Violence and Abortion Among Rural Women in Four Indian States.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, Rob; Jadhav, Apoorva; Winter, Amy; Hindin, Michelle

2016-11-01

The prevalence of domestic violence and abortion in India is high, yet little is known about the relationship between these experiences. Data from two linked data sets, India's 1998-1999 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2) and a follow-up survey in 2002-2003, were analyzed. The analysis examines how the experience of physical violence affects the subsequent uptake of abortion, and how the experience of abortion affects subsequent experience of physical, sexual, and verbal violence. Women who experienced physical violence have significantly higher odds of reporting a subsequent induced abortion, whereas women who had an induced abortion have significantly higher odds of reporting subsequent sexual and verbal violence. There was no significant relationship between domestic violence and spontaneous abortion. © The Author(s) 2016.

Provokeret abort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Connie; Schmidt, Garbi; Christoffersen, Mogens

Gennem en række interview om kvinders oplevelse og erfaringer med provokert abort, samt ved at bruge data fra en stor forløbsundersøgelse af kvinder født i 1966, giver forfatterne bag denne rapport et præcist signalement af de kvinder, der vælger at få foretaget en provokeret abort og de eventuelle...... for sundhedspersonale og andre socialarbejdere. Den statistiske undersøgelse viser, at hver fjerde danske kvinde vil komme i den situation at skulle have en abort. Især kvinder med vanskelige opvækstvilkår er i risikogruppen. Tilgengæld er der næsten ingen langvarige fysiske og psykiske virkninger abort af abort, med...

Abortion legalized: challenges ahead.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, M; Jha, R

2007-01-01

To see whether advocacy for abortion law and comprehensive abortion care (CAC) sites after legalization of abortion in Nepal is adequate among educated people (above school leaving certificate). 150 participants were assigned randomly who agreed to be in the survey and were given structured questionnaires to find out their perception of abortion and CAC sites. Majority know abortion is legalized and majority have positive attitude about legalization of abortion, however majority are not aware of abortion service in CAC sites and none knew the cost of abortion service. Proper and adequate advocacy of the new abortion law and CAC service is essential.

Listeria abortions in sheep on the Accra plains: A case report | Osei ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Listeria abortions in sheep on the Accra plains: A case report. ... Fifteen (19.2 per cent) of the 78 ewes were affected. Serological tests ... L'organisme était également isolé des prélèvements vaginaux et préputiaux des moutons à Achimota et Kade, d'où les animaux de reproduction avaient transférés à Pokoase et Achimota.

The politicization of abortion and the evolution of abortion counseling.

Science.gov (United States)

Joffe, Carole

2013-01-01

The field of abortion counseling originated in the abortion rights movement of the 1970s. During its evolution to the present day, it has faced significant challenges, primarily arising from the increasing politicization and stigmatization of abortion since legalization. Abortion counseling has been affected not only by the imposition of antiabortion statutes, but also by the changing needs of patients who have come of age in a very different era than when this occupation was first developed. One major innovation--head and heart counseling--departs in significant ways from previous conventions of the field and illustrates the complex and changing political meanings of abortion and therefore the challenges to abortion providers in the years following Roe v Wade.

Prolonged grieving after abortion: a descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, D; Elkins, T E; Larson, D B

1993-01-01

Although flawed by methodological problems, the research literature tends to provide support for the assumption that induced abortion in the 1st trimester is not accompanied by enduring negative psychological sequelae. In cases where such sequelae are reported, the morbidity is attributed to a pre-existing psychiatric condition or circumstances precipitating the choice of abortion. However, detailed descriptive letters from 45 women prepared in response to a request by a pastor of an upper-middle-class Protestant congregation in Florida indicate that prolonged grieving after abortion may be more widespread phenomenon than previously believed. Letter writers ranged in age from 25-60 years; 75% were unmarried at the time of the procedure and 29% aborted before the legalization of abortion in the US. The most frequently cited long-term sequela, especially among those who felt coerced to abort, was a continued feeling of guilt. Fantasies about the aborted fetus was the next most frequently mentioned experience. Half of the letter writers referred to their abortions, as "murder" and 44% voiced regret about their decision to abort. Other long-term effects included depression (44%), feelings of loss (31%), shame (27%), and phobic responses to infants (13%). For 42% of these women, the adverse psychological effects of abortion endured over 10 years. Since letter-writers came from a self-selected population group with a known bias against abortion and only negative experiences were solicited, these experiences must be regarded as subjectives and anecdotal. However, they draw attention to the need for methodologically sound studies of a possible prolonged grief syndrome among a small percentage of women who have abortions, especially when coercion is involved.

[Role of ultrasound in elective abortions].

Science.gov (United States)

Wylomanski, S; Winer, N

2016-12-01

Ultrasound plays a fundamental role in the management of elective abortions. Although it can improve the quality of post-abortion care, it must not be an obstacle to abortion access. We thus studied the role of ultrasound in pregnancy dating and possible alternatives and analyzed the literature to determine the role of ultrasound in post-abortion follow-up. During an ultrasound scan, the date of conception is estimated by measurement of the crown-rump length (CRL), defined by Robinson, or of the biparietal diameter (BPD), as defined by the French Center for Fetal Ultrasound (CFEF) after 11 weeks of gestation (Robinson and CFEF curves) (grade B). Updated curves have been developed in the INTERGROWTH study. In the context of abortion, the literature recommends the application of a safety margin of 5 days, especially when the CRL and/or BPD measurement indicates a term close to 14 weeks (that is equal or below 80 and 27mm, respectively) (best practice agreement). Accordingly, with the ultrasound measurement reliable to±5 days when its performance meets the relevant criteria, an abortion can take place when the CRL measurement is less than 90mm or the BPD less than 30mm (INTERGROWTH curves) (best practice agreement). While a dating ultrasound should be encouraged, its absence is not an obstacle to scheduling an abortion for women who report that they know the date of their last menstrual period and/or of the at-risk sexual relations and for whom a clinical examination by a healthcare professional is possible (best practice agreement). In cases of intrauterine pregnancy of uncertain viability or of a pregnancy of unknown location, without any particular symptoms, the patient must be able to have a transvaginal ultrasound to increase the precision of the diagnosis (grade B). Various reviews of the literature on post-abortion follow-up indicate that the routine use of ultrasound during instrumental abortions should be avoided (best practice agreement). If it becomes

Conceptualising abortion stigma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kumar, Anuradha; Hessini, Leila; Mitchell, Ellen M. H.

2009-01-01

Abortion stigma is widely acknowledged in many countries, but poorly theorised. Although media accounts often evoke abortion stigma as a universal social fact, we suggest that the social production of abortion stigma is profoundly local. Abortion stigma is neither natural nor 'essential' and relies

Psychiatric aspects of induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Stotland, Nada L

2011-08-01

Approximately one third of the women in the United States have an abortion during their lives. In the year 2008, 1.21 million abortions were performed in the United States (Jones and Koolstra, Perspect Sex Reprod Health 43:41-50, 2011). The psychiatric outcomes of abortion are scientifically well established (Adler et al., Science 248:41-43, 1990). Despite assertions to the contrary, there is no evidence that abortion causes psychiatric problems (Dagg, Am J Psychiatry 148:578-585, 1991). Those studies that report psychiatric sequelae suffer from severe methodological defects (Lagakos, N Engl J Med 354:1667-1669, 2006). Methodologically sound studies have demonstrated that there is a very low incidence of frank psychiatric illness after an abortion; women experience a wide variety of feelings over time, including, for some, transient sadness and grieving. However, the circumstances that lead a woman to terminate a pregnancy, including previous and/or ongoing psychiatric illness, are independently stressful and increase the likelihood of psychiatric illness over the already high baseline incidence and prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders among women of childbearing age. For optimal psychological outcomes, women, including adolescents, need to make autonomous and supported decisions about problem pregnancies. Clinicians can help patients facing these decisions and those who are working through feelings about having had abortions in the past.

Abortion

Science.gov (United States)

An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or ... personal. If you are thinking of having an abortion, most health care providers advise counseling.

Is there an "abortion trauma syndrome"? Critiquing the evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Gail Erlick; Stotland, Nada L; Russo, Nancy Felipe; Lang, Joan A; Occhiogrosso, Mallay

2009-01-01

The objective of this review is to identify and illustrate methodological issues in studies used to support claims that induced abortion results in an "abortion trauma syndrome" or a psychiatric disorder. After identifying key methodological issues to consider when evaluating such research, we illustrate these issues by critically examining recent empirical studies that are widely cited in legislative and judicial testimony in support of the existence of adverse psychiatric sequelae of induced abortion. Recent studies that have been used to assert a causal connection between abortion and subsequent mental disorders are marked by methodological problems that include, but not limited to: poor sample and comparison group selection; inadequate conceptualization and control of relevant variables; poor quality and lack of clinical significance of outcome measures; inappropriateness of statistical analyses; and errors of interpretation, including misattribution of causal effects. By way of contrast, we review some recent major studies that avoid these methodological errors. The most consistent predictor of mental disorders after abortion remains preexisting disorders, which, in turn, are strongly associated with exposure to sexual abuse and intimate violence. Educating researchers, clinicians, and policymakers how to appropriately assess the methodological quality of research about abortion outcomes is crucial. Further, methodologically sound research is needed to evaluate not only psychological outcomes of abortion, but also the impact of existing legislation and the effects of social attitudes and behaviors on women who have abortions.

Abortion: a history.

Science.gov (United States)

Hovey, G

1985-01-01

This review of abortion history considers sacred and secular practice and traces abortion in the US, the legacy of the 19th century, and the change that occurred in the 20th century. Abortion has been practiced since ancient times, but its legality and availability have been threatened continuously by forces that would denigrate women's fundamental rights. Currently, while efforts to decrease the need for abortion through contraception and education continue, access to abortion remains crucial for the well-being of millions of women. That access will never be secure until profound changes occur in the whole society. Laws that prohibit absolutely the practice of abortion are a relatively recent development. In the early Roman Catholic church, abortion was permitted for male fetuses in the first 40 days of pregnancy and for female fetuses in the first 80-90 days. Not until 1588 did Pope Sixtus V declare all abortion murder, with excommunication as the punishment. Only 3 years later a new pope found the absolute sanction unworkable and again allowed early abortions. 300 years would pass before the Catholic church under Pius IX again declared all abortion murder. This standard, declared in 1869, remains the official position of the church, reaffirmed by the current pope. In 1920 the Soviet Union became the 1st modern state formally to legalize abortion. In the early period after the 1917 revolution, abortion was readily available in state operated facilities. These facilities were closed and abortion made illegal when it became clear that the Soviet Union would have to defend itself against Nazi Germany. After World War II women were encouraged to enter the labor force, and abortion once again became legal. The cases of the Catholic church and the Soviet Union illustrate the same point. Abortion legislation has never been in the hands of women. In the 20th century, state policy has been determined by the rhythms of economic and military expansion, the desire for cheap

Religion and attitudes toward abortion and abortion policy in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogland, Curtis P; Verona, Ana Paula

2011-01-01

This study examines the association between religion and attitudes toward the practice of abortion and abortion policy in Brazil. Drawing upon data from the 2002 Brazilian Social Research Survey (BSRS), we test a number of hypotheses with regard to the role of religion on opposition to the practice of abortion and its legalization. Findings indicate that frequently attending Pentecostals demonstrate the strongest opposition to the practice of abortion and both frequently attending Pentecostals and Catholics demonstrate the strongest opposition to its legalization. Additional religious factors, such as a commitment to biblical literalism, were also found to be significantly associated with opposition to both abortion issues. Ultimately, the findings have implications for the future of public policy on abortion and other contentious social issues in Brazil.

Maternal smoking predicts the risk of spontaneous abortion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Ann; Hannibal, Charlotte Gerd; Lindekilde, Bodil Eriksen

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined smoking prior to pregnancy and the occurrence of spontaneous abortion, as most studies have addressed the risk of spontaneous abortion in relation to smoking during pregnancy. However, results are not entirely consistent. The aim of the present study...... was to assess the risk of spontaneous abortion considering smoking prior to pregnancy. METHODS: We performed a nested case-control study using prospective data from a population-based cohort comprising 11,088 women aged 20-29 years. From this cohort, women who experienced either a spontaneous abortion (n=343......) or who gave birth (n=1,578) during follow-up were selected. Associations between self-reported smoking at enrollment and subsequent spontaneous abortion were analyzed by means of multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: The risk of spontaneous abortion in relation to pre-pregnancy smoking showed a clear...

Abortion trends from 1996 to 2011 in Estonia: special emphasis on repeat abortion

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The study aimed to describe the overall and age-specific trends of induced abortions from 1996 to 2011 with an emphasis on socio-demographic characteristics and contraceptive use of women having had repeat abortions in Estonia. Methods Data were retrieved from the Estonian Medical Birth and Abortion Registry and Statistics Estonia. Total induced abortion numbers, rates, ratios and age-specific rates are presented for 1996–2011. The percentage change in the number of repeat abortions within selected socio-demographic subgroups, contraception use and distribution of induced abortions among Estonians and non-Estonians for the first, second, third, fourth and subsequent abortions were calculated for the periods 1996–2003 and 2004–2011. Results Observed trends over the 16-year study period indicated a considerable decline in induced abortions with a reduction in abortion rate of 57.1%, which was mainly attributed to younger cohorts. The percentage of women undergoing repeat abortions fell steadily from 63.8% during 1996–2003 to 58.0% during 2004–2011. The percentage of women undergoing repeat abortions significantly decreased over the 16 years within all selected socio-demographic subgroups except among women with low educational attainment and students. Within each time period, a greater percentage of non-Estonians than Estonians underwent repeat abortions and obtained third and subsequent abortions. Most women did not use any contraceptive method prior to their first or subsequent abortion. Conclusion A high percentage of women obtaining repeat abortions reflects a high historical abortion rate. If current trends continue, a rapid decline in repeat abortions may be predicted. To decrease the burden of sexual ill health, routine contraceptive counselling, as standard care in the abortion process, should be seriously addressed with an emphasis on those groups - non-Estonians, women with lower educational attainment, students and women with children

Misinformation on abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowlands, Sam

2011-08-01

To find the latest and most accurate information on aspects of induced abortion. A literature survey was carried out in which five aspects of abortion were scrutinised: risk to life, risk of breast cancer, risk to mental health, risk to future fertility, and fetal pain. Abortion is clearly safer than childbirth. There is no evidence of an association between abortion and breast cancer. Women who have abortions are not at increased risk of mental health problems over and above women who deliver an unwanted pregnancy. There is no negative effect of abortion on a woman's subsequent fertility. It is not possible for a fetus to perceive pain before 24 weeks' gestation. Misinformation on abortion is widespread. Literature and websites are cited to demonstrate how data have been manipulated and misquoted or just ignored. Citation of non-peer reviewed articles is also common. Mandates insisting on provision of inaccurate information in some US State laws are presented. Attention is drawn to how women can be misled by Crisis Pregnancy Centres. There is extensive promulgation of misinformation on abortion by those who oppose abortion. Much of this misinformation is based on distorted interpretation of the scientific literature.

Induced abortion among women veterans: data from the ECUUN study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, Eleanor Bimla; Sileanu, Florentina E; Zhao, Xinhua; Mor, Maria K; Callegari, Lisa S; Borrero, Sonya

2018-01-01

We compared rates of induced abortion among women veterans receiving Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare to rates in the general US population, as current policy prohibits VA provision of abortion counseling or services even when pregnancy endangers a veteran's life. We analyzed data from 2298 women veterans younger than 45 years who completed a telephone-based, cross-sectional survey of randomly sampled English-speaking women from across the United States who had received VA healthcare. We compared lifetime, last-5-year and last-year rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion among participants to age-matched data from the National Survey of Family Growth. As few abortions were reported in the last year, we used multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between abortion in the last 5 years and age, race/ethnicity, income, education, religion, marital status, parity, geography, deployment history, housing instability, and past medical and mental health among VA patients. Women veterans were more likely than matched US women to report ever having an abortion [17.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 16.1%-19.3% vs. 15.2% of US women]. In the last 5 years, unintended pregnancy and abortion were reported by veterans at rates similar to US women. In multivariable models, VA patients were more likely to report abortion in the last 5 years if their annual income was less than $40,000 (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.95, 95% CI 1.30-6.70), they had experienced homelessness or housing instability (adjusted OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.01-3.62), they were single (adj. OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.23-4.91) and/or they had given birth (adjusted OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.19-4.40). Women veterans face unintended pregnancy and seek abortion as often as the larger US population. The Veterans Health Care Act, which prohibits provision of abortion services, increases vulnerable veterans' out-of-pocket healthcare costs and limits veterans' reproductive freedom. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Population Group Abortion Rates and Lifetime Incidence of Abortion: United States, 2008-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Rachel K; Jerman, Jenna

2017-12-01

To assess the prevalence of abortion among population groups and changes in rates between 2008 and 2014. We used secondary data from the Abortion Patient Survey, the American Community Survey, and the National Survey of Family Growth to estimate abortion rates. We used information from the Abortion Patient Survey to estimate the lifetime incidence of abortion. Between 2008 and 2014, the abortion rate declined 25%, from 19.4 to 14.6 per 1000 women aged 15 to 44 years. The abortion rate for adolescents aged 15 to 19 years declined 46%, the largest of any group. Abortion rates declined for all racial and ethnic groups but were larger for non-White women than for non-Hispanic White women. Although the abortion rate decreased 26% for women with incomes less than 100% of the federal poverty level, this population had the highest abortion rate of all the groups examined: 36.6. If the 2014 age-specific abortion rates prevail, 24% of women aged 15 to 44 years in that year will have an abortion by age 45 years. The decline in abortion was not uniform across all population groups.

Induced Abortion: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dastgiri, Saeed; Yoosefian, Maryam; Garjani, Mehraveh; Kalankesh, Leila R

2017-03-01

Induced abortion accounts for 1 in 8 of approximately 600000 maternal deaths that occur annually worldwide. Induced abortion rate can be considered as one of the indicators for assessing availability of the appropriate reproductive health plans for women and identifying needs for appropriate related health policies and programs. Researchers searched Pubmed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane, Iranian Scientific Information Database (SID), Iranian biomedical journals (Iranmedex), and Iranian Research Institute of Information and Documentation (Irandoc) between January 2000 and June 2013, which reported induced abortion. Search terms from two categories including abortion and termination of pregnancy were compiled. The search terms were "induced abortion", "illegal abortion", "illegal abortion", "unsafe abortion", and "criminal abortion". The search was also conducted with "induced termination of pregnancy", "illegal termination of pregnancy", "illegal termination of pregnancy", "unsafe termination of pregnancy" and "criminal termination of pregnancy". Meta-analysis was carried out by using OpenMeta software. Induced abortion rates were calculated based on the random effect model. Overall induced abortion rate was obtained 58.1 per 1000 women (95%CI: 55.16-61.04). In continental level, rate of induced abortion was 14 per 1000 women (95%CI: 11-16). Nation-wide and local rates were obtained 67.27 per 1000 women (95% CI: 60.02-74.23) and 148.92 (95% CI: 140.06-157.79) respectively. Induced abortion is a major public health problem that occurs worldwide whether under the legal restriction or freedom, and it remains as reproductive health concern globally. To eliminate the need for induced abortion is at the core of any effort for preventing this issue. Option with the highest priority is to prevent unwanted pregnancies through promoting reproductive health plans for women of reproductive age. In case the prevention strategies fail, universal provision of

Self reported outcomes and adverse events after medical abortion through online telemedicine: population based study in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Aiken, Abigail R A; Digol, Irena; Trussell, James; Gomperts, Rebecca

2017-05-16

Objectives  To assess self reported outcomes and adverse events after self sourced medical abortion through online telemedicine. Design  Population based study. Setting  Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, where abortion is unavailable through the formal healthcare system except in a few restricted circumstances. Population  1000 women who underwent self sourced medical abortion through Women on Web (WoW), an online telemedicine service, between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2012. Main outcome measures  Successful medical abortion: the proportion of women who reported ending their pregnancy without surgical intervention. Rates of adverse events: the proportion who reported treatment for adverse events, including receipt of antibiotics and blood transfusion, and deaths reported by family members, friends, or the authorities. Care seeking for symptoms of potential complications: the frequency with which women reported experiencing symptoms of a potentially serious complication and the proportion who reported seeking medical attention as advised. Results  In 2010-12, abortion medications (mifepristone and misoprostol) were sent to 1636 women and follow-up information was obtained for 1158 (71%). Among these, 1023 women confirmed use of the medications, and follow-up information was available for 1000. At the time women requested help from WoW, 781 (78%) were <7 weeks pregnant and 219 (22%) were 7-9 weeks pregnant. Overall, 94.7% (95% confidence interval 93.1% to 96.0%) reported successfully ending their pregnancy without surgical intervention. Seven women (0.7%, 0.3% to 1.5%) reported receiving a blood transfusion, and 26 (2.6%, 1.7% to 3.8%) reported receiving antibiotics (route of administration (IV or oral) could not be determined). No deaths resulting from the intervention were reported by family, friends, the authorities, or the media. Ninety three women (9.3%, 7.6% to 11.3%) reported experiencing any symptom for which they were advised to seek

[Demand for abortion. Pre-abortion discussion].

Science.gov (United States)

Guiol, L

1994-03-01

The preabortion interview required by French law takes place between the medical consultation and the aspiration or administration of RU-486. The three marriage counselors at the Center for Social Gynecology in Marseilles have each undertaken a course of personal therapy to enable them to understand their own reactions and motivations as a way of improving their effectiveness with clients. The preabortion interview is an opportunity to listen to and support women who may be experiencing anguish, sadness, ambivalence, or aggressivity. Each client determines the content of the interview. Often the reason for the abortion is given, frequently in terms of economic problems, unemployment, or other justification. The women almost always state that they "cannot", not that they "do not want", to continue the pregnancy, as if external circumstances had made their decision. The decision is usually made with little discussion. Young adolescents are often astounded to find themselves pregnant. Among young girls, the pregnancy may represent an appeal to the parents for attention or understanding. Sometimes the abortion represents a repetition or a reminder of some difficult event in the past, such as a previous abortion or the death of a child. Often the abortion exacerbates problems in the couple's relationship. The mother often experiences rejection of the pregnancy by the father as rejection of herself. Repeat abortions raise questions about whether some aspect of counseling was neglected. The abortion request always occasions a great feeling of guilt, both for being pregnant and for refusing the pregnancy. The interview permits the client to express her feelings and may help her make sense of the experience.

Disparities in abortion experience and access to safe abortion ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In Ghana, abortion mortality constitutes 11% of maternal mortality. Empirical studies on possible disparities in abortion experience and access to safe abortion services are however lacking. Based on a retrospective survey of 1,370 women aged 15-49 years in two districts in Ghana, this paper examines disparities in ...

Abortion and subsequent mental health: Review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellieni, Carlo V; Buonocore, Giuseppe

2013-07-01

The risk that abortion may be correlated with subsequent mental disorders needs a careful assessment, in order to offer women full information when facing a difficult pregnancy. All research papers published between 1995 and 2011, were examined, to retrieve those assessing any correlation between abortion and subsequent mental problems. A total of 36 studies were retrieved, and six of them were excluded for methodological bias. Depression, anxiety disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) and substance abuse disorders were the most studied outcome. Abortion versus childbirth: 13 studies showed a clear risk for at least one of the reported mental problems in the abortion group versus childbirth, five papers showed no difference, in particular if women do not consider their experience of fetal loss to be difficult, or if after a fetal reduction the desired fetus survives. Only one paper reported a worse mental outcome for childbearing. Abortion versus unplanned pregnancies ending with childbirth: four studies found a higher risk in the abortion groups and three, no difference. Abortion versus miscarriage: three studies showed a greater risk of mental disorders due to abortion, four found no difference and two found that short-term anxiety and depression were higher in the miscarriage group, while long-term anxiety and depression were present only in the abortion group. In conclusion, fetal loss seems to expose women to a higher risk for mental disorders than childbirth; some studies show that abortion can be considered a more relevant risk factor than miscarriage; more research is needed in this field. © 2013 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2013 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Update on abortion policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Conti, Jennifer A; Brant, Ashley R; Shumaker, Heather D; Reeves, Matthew F

2016-12-01

To review the status of antiabortion restrictions enacted over the last 5 years in the United States and their impact on abortion services. In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in the number of antiabortion laws enacted across the United States. In total, various states in the union enacted 334 abortion restrictions from 2011 to July 2016, accounting for 30% of all abortion restrictions since the legalization of abortion in 1973. Data confirm, however, that more liberal abortion laws do not increase the number of abortions, but instead greatly decrease the number of abortion-related deaths. Several countries including Romania, South Africa and Nepal have seen dramatic decreases in maternal mortality after liberalization of abortion laws, without an increase in the total number of abortions. In the United States, abortions are incredibly safe with very low rates of complications and a mortality rate of 0.7 per 100 000 women. With increasing abortion restrictions, maternal mortality in the United States can be expected to rise over the coming years, as has been observed in Texas recently. Liberalization of abortion laws saves women's lives. The rising number of antiabortion restrictions will ultimately harm women and their families.

Induced abortion in villages of Ballabgarh HDSS: rates, trends, causes and determinants.

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Kant, Shashi; Srivastava, Rahul; Rai, Sanjay Kumar; Misra, Puneet; Charlette, Lena; Pandav, Chandrakant S

2015-05-29

Induced abortion has been legal in India on a broad range of medical and social grounds since 1980s. Often, induced abortion is resorted to as a means for contraception, and has a potential to be misused for sex selective feticide. We assessed the rates, trends, causes and determinants of induced abortions from 2008-12 in a rural community of northern India. Present study is a secondary data analysis of pregnancy outcomes at Ballabgarh Health and Demographic Surveillance System from 2008-12. The data was retrieved from the Health and Management Information System maintained at Ballabgarh. Cause of abortion was self-reported by the women who underwent abortion. Of the 11,102 pregnancies, 1,226 (11%) culminated as abortions of which 425 (3.8%) were induced abortions. Spontaneous abortion rate (7.2%) was twice that of induced abortion rate (3.8%). Both abortion rates had an increasing trend during the course of the study period. Self-reported reasons for opting for induced abortions were bleeding per vaginum (23%), unwanted pregnancy (16%), and unviable fetus diagnosed by ultrasonography (11%). Eight percent of the induced abortions were due to the female sex of the fetus. About 11% of the abortions were performed beyond 20 weeks of gestation which was the upper legal permissible gestational age for performing induced abortions in India. About 10% of the abortions were performed by unqualified practitioners. Caste, wealth index, birth order and size of the village population were the factors that were significantly associated with induced abortion. Though the abortion rate was low, the proportionate contribution of induced abortion was more than what could be expected. Unsafe and sex selective abortion, though illegal, was prevalent. Upper caste and higher socio-economic status families were more likely to opt for induced abortion.

Diagnostic studies of abortion in Danish dairy herds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agerholm, J.S.; Willadsen, C. M.; Nielsen, Thomas Krogh

1997-01-01

Diagnostic findings in 218 aborted bovine foetuses are reported. The materials were examined in a matched case-control study of 69 Danish dairy herds with a sudden increase in the number of abortions and a corresponding 69 control herds. Foetuses aborted during the subsequent 6-month period were...... examined to identify the cause of abortion if possible. A total of 186 specimens were submitted from case herds and 32 from control herds. A likely cause of abortion was diagnosed in 73 foetuses. The most common cause was bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV: 13%) followed by Neospora caninum infection (10......%), mycosis (5%) and Bacillus licheniformis infection (4%). Foetal and/or placental lesions were found in a further 27 cases. Only BVDV infection and neosporosis were diagnosed in more than one foetus per herd and only protozoal associated abortions occurred significantly more frequently in the case, rather...

Public funding of abortions and abortion counseling for poor women.

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Edwards, R B

1997-01-01

This essay seeks to reveal the weakness in arguments against public funding of abortions and abortion counseling in the US based on economic, ethico-religious, anti-racist, and logical-consistency objections and to show that public funding of abortion is strongly supported by appeals to basic human rights, to freedom of speech, to informed consent, to protection from great harm, to justice, and to equal protection under the law. The first part of the article presents the case against public funding with detailed considerations of the economic argument, the ethico/religious argument, the argument that such funding supports racist genocide or eugenic quality control, and arguments that a logical inconsistency exists between the principles used to justify the legalization of abortions and arguments for public funding. The second part of the article presents the case for public funding by discussing the spending of public funds on morally offensive programs, arguments for public funding of abortion counseling for the poor, and arguments for public funding of abortions for the poor. It is concluded that it is morally unacceptable and rationally unjustifiable to refuse to expend public funds for abortions for low income women, because after all most money for legal abortions for the poor comes from welfare payments made to women. If conservative forces want to insure that no public funds pay for abortions, they must stop all welfare payments to pregnant women.

Characteristics of private abortion services in Mexico City after legalization.

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Schiavon, Raffaela; Collado, Maria Elena; Troncoso, Erika; Soto Sánchez, José Ezequiel; Zorrilla, Gabriela Otero; Palermo, Tia

2010-11-01

In 2007, first trimester abortion was legalized in Mexico City, and the public sector rapidly expanded its abortion services. In 2008, to obtain information on the effect of the law on private sector abortion services, we interviewed 135 physicians working in private clinics, located through an exhaustive search. A large majority of the clinics offered a range of reproductive health services, including abortions. Over 70% still used dilatation and curettage (D&C); less than a third offered vacuum aspiration or medical abortion. The average number of abortions per facility was only three per month; few reported more than 10 abortions monthly. More than 90% said they had been offering abortion services for less than 20 months. Many women are still accessing abortion services privately, despite the availability of free or low-cost services at public facilities. However, the continuing use of D&C, high fees (mean of $157-505), poor pain management practices, unnecessary use of ultrasound, general anaesthesia and overnight stays, indicate that private sector abortion services are expensive and far from optimal. Now that abortions are legal, these results highlight the need for private abortion providers to be trained in recommended abortion methods and quality of private abortion care improved. Copyright © 2010 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comment: unethical ethics investment boycotts and abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Furedi, A

1998-01-01

Ethical investment funds have traditionally boycotted the arms industry, companies known to pollute the environment, and those involved in animal research. However, recent newspaper reports suggest that some investment funds plan to also boycott hospitals and pharmaceutical companies involved in abortion-related activities. Ethical Financial, anti-abortion independent financial advisors, are encouraging a boycott of investment in private hospitals and manufacturers of equipment involved in abortions, and pharmaceutical firms which produce postcoital contraception or conduct embryo research. Ethical Financial claims that Family Assurance has agreed to invest along anti-abortion lines, Aberdeen Investment is already boycotting companies linked to abortion, and Hendersons ethical fund plans to follow suit. There is speculation that Standard Life, the largest mutual insurer in Europe, will also refuse to invest in abortion-related concerns when it launches its ethical fund in the spring. Managers of ethical funds should, however, understand that, contrary to the claims of the anti-choice lobby, there is extensive public support for legal abortion, emergency contraception, and embryo research. Individuals and institutions which contribute to the development of reproductive health care services are working to alleviate the distress of unwanted pregnancy and infertility, laudable humanitarian goals which should be encouraged. Those who try to restrict the development of abortion methods and services simply show contempt for women, treating them as people devoid of conscience who are incapable of making moral choices.

Psychological Aspects of Contraception, Unintended Pregnancy, and Abortion.

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Steinberg, Julia R; Rubin, Lisa R

2014-10-01

The knowledge of important biopsychosocial factors linking women's reproductive health and mental health is increasing. This review focuses on psychological aspects of contraception, unintended pregnancy, and abortion because these are common reproductive health experiences in U.S. women's lives. This review addresses the mental-health antecedents and consequences of these experiences, mostly focusing on depression and depressive symptoms before and after unintended pregnancy and contraception. As mental-health antecedents, depressive symptoms predict contraceptive behaviors that lead to unintended pregnancy, and mental-health disorders have been associated with having subsequent abortions. In examining the mental-health consequences, most sound research does not find abortion or contraceptive use to cause mental-health problems. Consequently, evidence does not support policies based on the notion that abortion harms women's mental health. Nevertheless, the abortion-care setting may be a place to integrate mental-health services. In contrast, women who have births resulting from unintended pregnancies may be at higher risk of postpartum depression. Social policies (e.g., paid maternity leave, subsidized child care) may protect women from mental-health problems and stress of unplanned children interrupting employment, education, and pre-existing family care responsibilities.

Abortion denied--outcome of mothers and babies.

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Del Campo, C

1984-02-15

A consistent argument favoring therapeutic abortions has been that mothers who are denied abortions will seek "illegal" help elsewhere, often in less than optimal conditions. Yet, a review of published reports on women who had been denied abortion and were followed up shows that 70.67% of the 6298 women completed their pregnancies and only 13.2% had an abortion elsewhere. Several studies have shown that the incidence of Complications of pregnancy is no greater in mothers denied abortion than in paired controls. The results of a prospective study by Laukaran and Van Den Berg showed a higher incidence of maternal accidental injury, a borderline increase of maternal accidental injury, a borderline increase in the prevalence of congenital anomalies, and a higher incidence of infection and hemorrhage during the puerperium in women who had been denied abortion. They concluded that maternal attitude and psychosocial stress had little effect on the progress of the pregnancy and labor. Published reports on the psychological effects on the children of women who had been denied abortion are few, mainly because longterm follow-up is required. In 1966 Forssman and Thuwe described the results of their study of 120 children whose mothers had been denied abortion. The children had been followed up until their 21st birthdays. The controls had been carefully paired. The proportion of children who had been placed in foster and children's homes was significantly higher among the "unwanted" children than among the controls (50% versus 18%). There was no statistically significant difference in the rates of drunken misconduct, crime, or "educational mental subnormality" between the 2 groups, but the incidence rates of delinquency and psychiatric consultation were 10% and 13% higher respectively among the unwanted children than among the controls. There have been virtually no objective studies on the psychologic and social well-being of women who have been denied abortion. The literature

Trying to prevent abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Bromham, D R; Oloto, E J

1997-06-01

It is known that, since antiquity, women confronted with an unwanted pregnancy have used abortion as a means of resolving their dilemma. Although undoubtedly widely used in all historical ages, abortion has come to be regarded as an event preferably avoided because of the impact on the women concerned as well as considerations for fetal life. Policies to reduce numbers and rates of abortion must acknowledge certain observations. Criminalization does not prevent abortion but increases maternal risks. A society's 'openness' in discussing sexual matters inversely correlates with abortion rates. Correlation between contraceptive use and abortion is also inverse but relates most closely to the efficacy of contraceptive methods used. 'Revolution' in the range of contraceptive methods used will have an equivalent impact on abortion rates. Secondary or emergency contraceptive methods have a considerable role to play in the reduction of abortion numbers. Good sex (and 'relationships') education programs may delay sexual debut, increase contraceptive usage and be associated with reduced abortion. Finally, interaction between socioeconomic factors and the choice between abortion and ongoing pregnancy are complex. Abortion is not necessarily chosen by those least able to support a child financially.

Calculus formation: nurses' decision-making in abortion-related care.

Science.gov (United States)

McLemore, Monica R; Kools, Susan; Levi, Amy J

2015-06-01

Nurses routinely provide care to patients in ethically challenging situations. To explore the continuum between conscientious objectors and designated staff in the provision of care to women seeking abortions, the aim of this study was to thickly describe decision-making, using abortion as the clinical context to elucidate how nurses approach ethically challenging work. A purposive sample of 25 nurses who worked in abortion clinics, emergency departments, intensive care units, labor, and delivery, operating rooms, and post anesthesia care units were interviewed. Qualitative description and thematic analysis were used to identify the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes in nurses' decisions to care for women needing abortions. Nurses developed and used multifaceted, real-time calculi when making decisions about their participation in emergent or routine abortion care. Nurses tacked back and forth between the personal and professional and/or held multiple contradictory positions simultaneously. Nurses weighed the role and opinion of others to determine if they know how to or know why they would provide abortion care to women, particularly in the elective abortion context. The parameters of the nurse-patient relationship were complex and specific to the experiences of both the nurse and patient. Findings from this study further develop the science of ethically challenging decision-making and expand our understanding of factors that influence how nurses develop relationships to ethically challenging work. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Young Latinas and abortion: the role of cultural factors, reproductive behavior, and alternative roles to motherhood.

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Kaplan, C P; Erickson, P I; Stewart, S L; Crane, L A

2001-01-01

Latina women have often been portrayed as holding strong traditional family values leading to a greater propensity for rejection of contraception and abortion. Increasingly, the literature has consistently shown that Latina women use contraception effectively when available; however, much less is known about the prevalence of abortion and the factors related to its use in this population. In this article we examine Latinas' use of abortion and identify factors affecting its use among 1,207 ever-pregnant Latina women age 14-24 recruited at two federally-funded family planning clinics in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Only a small proportion of the young women in our sample (7.5%) had ever had an induced abortion. In multivariate analysis the variables significantly associated with past abortion included less traditional attitudes about women's roles, higher gravidity, shorter periods of sexual activity, and a higher number of lifetime sexual partners. We conclude that use of abortion among Latinas is driven by role orientation and reproductive variables.

[Abortion].

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, J P

1998-01-01

Abortion is the interruption of a dynamic process in a final and irreversible form. The legalization of abortion is applied to human ontogenesis, that is, the development of the human being. However, the embryo that is growing in the uterus is not a human being because a human being is a complex organism with differentiated systems, its own identity and intrinsic autonomy in its process of development. There are basically four levels of the analysis of the problem of abortion: 1) fundamental emotional arguments; 2) profound ignorance of technical and scientific facts; 3) rational positions obfuscated by the dramatic intensity of everyday situations; and 4) the conjunction of deliberated position where culpability is avoided with solidarity for all subjects of the process with a socially oriented view. The phenomenon of abortion from an epidemiological point of view summons the facts with which it is associated: poverty, illiteracy, shortage or lack of community health resources, absence of centers for adolescents, degradation of the environment, and precariousness of employment.

[Use of contraception and reasons for choosing abortion among abortion applicants].

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, S K; Birkebaek, J S; Husfeldt, C; Munck, C B; Nøddebo, S M; Petersson, B H

1996-10-07

The object of this study was to describe a group of women applying for legal abortion in relation to their use of contraception and reasons for choosing an abortion. During a period of 13 months (1991-92) a questionnaire was distributed to women applying for legal abortion at Hillerød Hospital in Denmark. Three hundred and thirty-nine women participated. Fifty-nine percent of the women had become pregnant although they had used contraception. As seen in other studies, women still state demographic factors as their most important reasons for choosing an abortion. Women with two or more children do not want to have more children. Single women do not want children without being in a stable relationship. Furthermore occupation and education were frequently stated as important reasons for having an abortion. Economy and housing were not main reasons but contributory factors. Thirty percent of the women expressed ambivalence about the choice of abortion at the time when the abort was due.

Post-abortion and induced abortion services in two public hospitals in Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Darney, Blair G; Simancas-Mendoza, Willis; Edelman, Alison B; Guerra-Palacio, Camilo; Tolosa, Jorge E; Rodriguez, Maria I

2014-07-01

Until 2006, legal induced abortion was completely banned in Colombia. Few facilities are equipped or willing to offer abortion services; often adolescents experience even greater barriers of access in this context. We examined post abortion care (PAC) and legal induced abortion in two large public hospitals. We tested the association of hospital site, procedure type (manual vacuum aspiration vs. sharp curettage), and age (adolescents vs. women 20 years and over) with service type (PAC or legal induced abortion). Retrospective cohort study using 2010 billing data routinely collected for reimbursement (N=1353 procedures). We utilized descriptive statistics, multivariable logistic regression and predicted probabilities. Adolescents made up 22% of the overall sample (300/1353). Manual vacuum aspiration was used in one-third of cases (vs. sharp curettage). Adolescents had lower odds of documented PAC (vs. induced abortion) compared with women over age 20 (OR=0.42; 95% CI=0.21-0.86). The absolute difference of service type by age, however, is very small, controlling for hospital site and procedure type (.97 probability of PAC for adolescents compared with .99 for women 20 and over). Regardless of age, PAC via sharp curettage is the current standard in these two public hospitals. Both adolescents and women over 20 are in need of access to legal abortion services utilizing modern technologies in the public sector in Colombia. Documentation of abortion care is an essential first step to determining barriers to access and opportunities for quality improvement and better health outcomes for women. Following partial decriminalization of abortion in Colombia, in public hospitals nearly all abortion services are post-abortion care, not induced abortion. Sharp curettage is the dominant treatment for both adolescents and women over 20. Women seek care in the public sector for abortion, and must have access to safe, quality services. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Opinion of women about elective abortion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bülent Çakmak

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of women who presented to the hospital for elective abortion. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was designed and conducted at our university hospital between March 2013-April 2013 by the method of face-to-face interviews with 500 women who presented to the hospital as patient or relatives of patients. Poll consisted of 6 questions about demographic characteristics and 14 questions evaluating the opinions and attitudes about abortion. Results: The age of the women who participated in the study was ranging between 18 and 75 years with the mean age of 31.5±11.9 years. Twenty-six women (5.2% were illiterate, while 109 (21.8% were university graduates. 70.8% of women stated that they were against elective abortion. Among the reasons against abortion on request were: “forbidden by the religion”-53.1% of women, “against human rights”-35.3%, and “unhealthy for the mother”-7.1% of women. About the prohibition of abortion, 82.4% of women said that “it may be performed under necessary conditions”, 9.6% “it should be completely forbidden”, and 8% stated that “it should never be forbidden”. Conclusion: A large number of respondents reported that they have negative attitude towards elective abortion, however, in case of medical necessity, abortion should be performed. During the legal arrangements done about situations that may affect the public health, such as abortion regulations, we believe it would be useful to assess the perspective of the society on this issue.

[Bioethics and abortion. Debate].

Science.gov (United States)

Diniz, D; Gonzalez Velez, A C

1998-06-01

Although abortion has been the most debated of all issues analyzed in bioethics, no moral consensus has been achieved. The problem of abortion exemplifies the difficulty of establishing social dialogue in the face of distinct moral positions, and of creating an independent academic discussion based on writings that are passionately argumentative. The greatest difficulty posed by the abortion literature is to identify consistent philosophical and scientific arguments amid the rhetorical manipulation. A few illustrative texts were selected to characterize the contemporary debate. The terms used to describe abortion are full of moral meaning and must be analyzed for their underlying assumptions. Of the four main types of abortion, only 'eugenic abortion', as exemplified by the Nazis, does not consider the wishes of the woman or couple--a fundamental difference for most bioethicists. The terms 'selective abortion' and 'therapeutic abortion' are often confused, and selective abortion is often called eugenic abortion by opponents. The terms used to describe abortion practitioners, abortion opponents, and the 'product' are also of interest in determining the style of the article. The video entitled "The Silent Scream" was a classic example of violent and seductive rhetoric. Its type of discourse, freely mixing scientific arguments and moral beliefs, hinders analysis. Within writings about abortion three extreme positions may be identified: heteronomy (the belief that life is a gift that does not belong to one) versus reproductive autonomy; sanctity of life versus tangibility of life; and abortion as a crime versus abortion as morally neutral. Most individuals show an inconsistent array of beliefs, and few groups or individuals identify with the extreme positions. The principal argument of proponents of legalization is respect for the reproductive autonomy of the woman or couple based on the principle of individual liberty, while heteronomy is the main principle of

Woman-centered research on access to safe abortion services and implications for behavioral change communication interventions: a cross-sectional study of women in Bihar and Jharkhand, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Banerjee Sushanta K

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Unsafe abortion in India leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Abortion has been legal in India since 1971, and the availability of safe abortion services has increased. However, service availability has not led to a significant reduction in unsafe abortion. This study aimed to understand the gap between safe abortion availability and use of services in Bihar and Jharkhand, India by examining accessibility from the perspective of rural, Indian women. Methods Two-stage stratified random sampling was used to identify and enroll 1411 married women of reproductive age in four rural districts in Bihar and Jharkhand, India. Data were collected on women's socio-demographic characteristics; exposure to mass media and other information sources; and abortion-related knowledge, perceptions and practices. Multiple linear regression models were used to explore the association between knowledge and perceptions about abortion. Results Most women were poor, had never attended school, and had limited exposure to mass media. Instead, they relied on community health workers, family and friends for health information. Women who had knowledge about abortion, such as knowing an abortion method, were more likely to perceive that services are available (β = 0.079; p Conclusions Behavior change communication (BCC interventions, which address negative perceptions by improving community knowledge about abortion and support local availability of safe abortion services, are needed to increase enabling resources for women and improve potential access to services. Implementing BCC interventions is challenging in settings such as Bihar and Jharkhand where women may be difficult to reach directly, but interventions can target individuals in the community to transfer information to the women who need this information most. Interpersonal approaches that engage community leaders and influencers may also counteract negative social norms regarding

Abortion Before & After Roe

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Ted; Tan, Ruoding; Zhang, Yuxiu

2013-01-01

We use unique data on abortions performed in New York State from 1971–1975 to demonstrate that women travelled hundreds of miles for a legal abortion before Roe. A100- mile increase in distance for women who live approximately 183 miles from New York was associated with a decline in abortion rates of 12.2 percent whereas the same change for women who lived 830 miles from New York lowered abortion rates by 3.3 percent. The abortion rates of nonwhites were more sensitive to distance than those of whites. We found a positive and robust association between distance to the nearest abortion provider and teen birth rates but less consistent estimates for other ages. Our results suggest that even if some states lost all abortion providers due to legislative policies, the impact on population measures of birth and abortion rates would be small as most women would travel to states with abortion services. PMID:23811233

Abortion: a review of women's perception in relation to their partner's reactions in two Brazilians cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Nonnenmacher

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: to analyze women's perception in relation to their partner's reaction and behavior during the abortion process in two Brazilian capitals, associating the variables from women who suffered a spontaneous abortion with those from women who induced it. Methods: semi-structured, questionnaire-based interviews were conducted with 285 women who underwent spontaneous abortion and 31 who reported having induced it. The data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique, and, subsequently, by the IBM SPSS Statistics Standard Edition software program. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. Results: in both capitals, the women who induced an abortion referred to the partner as the person who could not find out about the abortion (p<0.01 in Natal; p = 0.02 in São Paulo-SP and, simultaneously, as the one who could have avoided it (p < 0.01 in Natal; p = 0.03 in São Paulo. In Natal-RN, induced abortion was associated with the partner's absence at the time pregnancy was confirmed (p = 0.02 and, in Sao Paulo-SP, with their negative reaction to news of the pregnancy (p = 0.04 and lack of participation in the abortion process (p < 0.01. Conclusion: despite having achieved independence, women still regard male participation in the abortion process as an important factor. The specifics of each capital denote the influence of the geographic and cultural dimension, indicating the need to take into account the particulars of each region in Brazil while considering a holistic approach to women's health.

Trends of abortion complications in a transition of abortion law revisions in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gebrehiwot, Yirgu; Liabsuetrakul, Tippawan

2009-03-01

Evidence from developed countries has shown that abortion-related mortality and morbidity has decreased with the liberalization of the abortion law. This study aimed to assess the trend of hospital-based abortion complications during the transition of legalization in Ethiopia in May 2005. Medical records of women with abortion complications from 2003 to 2007 were reviewed (n = 773). Abortion and its complications with regard to legalization were described by rates and ratios, and predictors of fatal outcomes were analyzed by logistic regression. The overall and abortion-related maternal mortality ratios (AMMRs) showed a non-statistically significant downward trend over the 5-year period. However, the case fatality rate of abortion increased from 1.1% in 2003 to 3.6% in 2007. Late gestational age, history of interference and presenting after new abortion legislation passed have been found to be significant predictors of mortality. Decreased trends of abortion ratio and the AMMR were identified, but the severity of abortion complications and the case fatality rate increased during the transition of legal revision.

[[Abortion: An Unforgivable Sin?].

Science.gov (United States)

Lalli, Chiara

Abortion has become something to hide, something you can't tell other people, something you have to expiate forever. Besides, abortion is more and more difficult to achieve because of the raising average of consciencious objection (from 70 to 90% of health care providers are conscientious objectors, 2014 data, Ministero della Salute) and illegal abortion is "coming back"from the 70s, when abortion was a crime (Italian law n. 194/1978). Abortion is often blamed as a murder, an unforgivenable sin, even as genocide. Silence against shouting "killers!" to women who are going to have an abortion: this is a common actual scenario. Why is it so difficult to discuss and even to mention abortion?

Telling stories about abortion: abortion-related plots in American film and television, 1916-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Sisson, Gretchen; Kimport, Katrina

2014-05-01

Popular discourse on abortion in film and television assumes that abortions are under- and misrepresented. Research indicates that such representations influence public perception of abortion care and may play a role in the production of social myths around abortion, with consequences for women's experience of abortion. To date, abortion plotlines in American film and television have not been systematically tracked and analyzed. A comprehensive online search was conducted to identify all representations of pregnancy decision making and abortion in American film and television through January 2013. Search results were coded for year, pregnancy decision and mortality outcome. A total of 310 plotlines were identified, with an overall upward trend over time in the number of representations of abortion decision making. Of these plotlines, 173 (55.8%) resulted in abortion, 80 (25.8%) in parenting, 13 (4.2%) in adoption and 21 (6.7%) in pregnancy loss, and 16 (5.1%) were unresolved. A total of 13.5% (n=42) of stories ended with the death of the woman who considered an abortion, whether or not she obtained one. Abortion-related plotlines occur more frequently than popular discourse assumes. Year-to-year variation in frequency suggests an interactive relationship between media representations, cultural attitudes and policies around abortion regulation, consistent with cultural theory of the relationship between media products and social beliefs. Patterns of outcomes and rates of mortality are not representative of real experience and may contribute to social myths around abortion. The narrative linking of pregnancy termination with mortality is of particular note, supporting the social myth associating abortion with death. This analysis empirically describes the number of abortion-related plotlines in American film and television. It contributes to the systematic evaluation of the portrayal of abortion in popular culture and provides abortion care professionals and

[Abortion in humans caused by Chlamydophila abortus (Chlamydia psittaci serovar 1)].

Science.gov (United States)

Pospischil, A; Thoma, R; Hilbe, M; Grest, P; Zimmermann, D; Gebbers, J O

2002-09-01

On a farm housing cattle and goats an abortion storm occurred affecting 50% of the goats during the lambing season 2000/2001. In one of three investigated caprine abortions Chlamydophila abortus could be identified as etiology. During this time a pregnant woman (pregnancy week 19/20) had contact with aborting goats. She developed a severe generalized infection and aborted. The placenta contained Chlamydophila abortus shown by immunohistochemistry and PCR. Aim of the present case report is to alert veterinarians about the potential zoonotic risk of ovine/caprine abortions.

Induced abortion among Brazilian female sex workers: a qualitative study.

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Madeiro, Alberto Pereira; Diniz, Debora

2015-02-01

Prostitutes are vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies and abortions. In Brazil, abortion is a crime and there is no data about unsafe abortions for this population. The study describes how prostitutes perform illegal abortions and the health consequences thereof. Semi-structured interviews with 39 prostitutes from three cities in Brazil with previous induced abortion experience were conducted. Sixty-six abortions, with between one and eight occurrences per woman, were recorded. The majority of the cases resulted from sexual activity with clients. The inconsistent use of condoms with regular clients and the consumption of alcohol during work were indicated as the main causes of unplanned pregnancies. The main method to perform abortion was the intravaginal and oral use of misoprostol, acquired in pharmacies or on the black market. Invasive measures were less frequently reported, however with more serious health complications. The fear of complaint to the police meant that most women do not inform the health team regarding induced abortion. The majority of prostitutes aborted with the use of illegally-acquired misoprostol, ending abortion in a public hospital with infection and hemorrhagic complications. The data indicate the need for a public policy focusing on the reproductive health of prostitutes.

Introducing medication abortion into public sector facilities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: an operations research study.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard, Kelly; Lince-Deroche, Naomi; Fetters, Tamara; Devjee, Jaymala; de Menezes, Ilundi Durão; Trueman, Karen; Sudhinaraset, May; Nkonko, Errol; Moodley, Jack

2015-10-01

Examine the feasibility of introducing mifepristone-misoprostol medication abortion into existing public sector surgical abortion services in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Cohort study of women offered medication or surgical abortion in a larger medication abortion introduction study. The sample included 1167 women seeking first-trimester abortion at four public sector facilities; 923 women at ≤9 weeks' gestation were eligible for medication abortion. Women who chose medication abortion took 200 mg of mifepristone orally at the facility and 800 mcg of misoprostol buccally (or vaginally if they anticipated or experienced problems with buccal administration) 48 h later at home, based on international research and global safe abortion guidelines. Women who chose surgical abortion received 600 mg of misoprostol sublingually or vaginally on the day of their procedure followed by manual vacuum aspiration 4 h later. Main outcome measures included proportion of eligible women who chose each method, proportion with complete abortion and proportion reporting adverse events. Ninety-four percent of eligible women chose medication abortion. No adverse events were reported by women who chose surgical abortion; 3% of women in the medication abortion group reported adverse events and 0.4% reported a serious adverse event. Seventy-six percent of women received a family planning method at the facility where their received their abortion, with no difference based on procedure type. Medication abortion patients were significantly more likely to report they would choose this method again (94% vs. 78%, ppublic sector surgical abortion services in South Africa and was chosen by a large majority of women who were eligible and offered choice of early termination method; access to medication abortion should be expanded in South Africa and other similar settings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimates of the Incidence of Induced Abortion And Consequences of Unsafe Abortion in Senegal

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Sedgh, Gilda; Sylla, Amadou Hassane; Philbin, Jesse; Keogh, Sarah; Ndiaye, Salif

2015-01-01

CONTEXT Abortion is highly restricted by law in Senegal. Although women seek care for abortion complications, no national estimate of abortion incidence exists. METHODS Data on postabortion care and abortion in Senegal were collected in 2013 using surveys of a nationally representative sample of 168 health facilities that provide postabortion care and of 110 professionals knowledgeable about abortion service provision. Indirect estimation techniques were applied to the data to estimate the incidence of induced abortion in the country. Abortion rates and ratios were calculated for the nation and separately for the Dakar region and the rest of the country. The distribution of pregnancies by planning status and by outcome was estimated. RESULTS In 2012, an estimated 51,500 induced abortions were performed in Senegal, and 16,700 (32%) resulted in complications that were treated at health facilities. The estimated abortion rate was 17 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 and the abortion ratio was 10 per 100 live births. The rate was higher in Dakar (21 per 1,000) than in the rest of the country (16 per 1,000). Poor women were far more likely to experience abortion complications, and less likely to receive treatment for complications, than nonpoor women. About 31% of pregnancies were unintended, and 24% of unintended pregnancies (8% of all pregnancies) ended in abortion. CONCLUSIONS Unsafe abortion exacts a heavy toll on women in Senegal. Reducing the barriers to effective contraceptive use and ensuring access to postabortion care without the risk of legal consequences may reduce the incidence of and complications from unsafe abortion. PMID:25856233

Estimates of the incidence of induced abortion and consequences of unsafe abortion in Senegal.

Science.gov (United States)

Sedgh, Gilda; Sylla, Amadou Hassane; Philbin, Jesse; Keogh, Sarah; Ndiaye, Salif

2015-03-01

Abortion is highly restricted by law in Senegal. Although women seek care for abortion complications, no national estimate of abortion incidence exists. Data on postabortion care and abortion in Senegal were collected in 2013 using surveys of a nationally representative sample of 168 health facilities that provide postabortion care and of 110 professionals knowledgeable about abortion service provision. Indirect estimation techniques were applied to the data to estimate the incidence of induced abortion in the country. Abortion rates and ratios were calculated for the nation and separately for the Dakar region and the rest of the country. The distribution of pregnancies by planning status and by outcome was estimated. In 2012, an estimated 51,500 induced abortions were performed in Senegal, and 16,700 (32%) resulted in complications that were treated at health facilities. The estimated abortion rate was 17 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 and the abortion ratio was 10 per 100 live births. The rate was higher in Dakar (21 per 1,000) than in the rest of the country (16 per 1,000). Poor women were far more likely to experience abortion complications, and less likely to receive treatment for complications, than nonpoor women. About 31% of pregnancies were unintended, and 24% of unintended pregnancies (8% of all pregnancies) ended in abortion. Unsafe abortion exacts a heavy toll on women in Senegal. Reducing the barriers to effective contraceptive use and ensuring access to postabortion care without the risk of legal consequences may reduce the incidence of and complications from unsafe abortion.

Framing a 'social problem': Emotion in anti-abortion activists' depiction of the abortion debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Ntontis, Evangelos; Hopkins, Nick

2018-02-27

Social psychological research on activism typically focuses on individuals' social identifications. We complement such research through exploring how activists frame an issue as a social problem. Specifically, we explore anti-abortion activists' representation of abortion and the abortion debate's protagonists so as to recruit support for the anti-abortion cause. Using interview data obtained with UK-based anti-abortion activists (N = 15), we consider how activists characterized women having abortions, pro-abortion campaigners, and anti-abortion campaigners. In particular, we consider the varied ways in which emotion featured in the representation of these social actors. Emotion featured in different ways. Sometimes, it was depicted as constituting embodied testament to the nature of reality. Sometimes, it was depicted as blocking the rational appraisal of reality. Our analysis considers how such varied meanings of emotion shaped the characterization of abortion and the abortion debate's protagonists such that anti-abortion activists were construed as speaking for women and their interests. We discuss how our analysis of the framing of issues as social problems complements and extends social psychological analyses of activism. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

The role of interpersonal communication in preventing unsafe abortion in communities: the dialogues for life project in Nepal.

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Bingham, Allison; Drake, Jennifer Kidwell; Goodyear, Lorelei; Gopinath, C Y; Kaufman, Anne; Bhattarai, Sanju

2011-03-01

Legal, procedural, and institutional restrictions on safe abortion services-such as laws forbidding the practice or policies preventing donors from supporting groups who provide legal services-remain a major access barrier for women worldwide. However, even when abortion services are legal, women face social and cultural barriers to accessing safe abortion services and preventing unwanted pregnancy. Interpersonal communication interventions play an important role in overcoming these obstacles, including as part of broad educational- and behavioral-change efforts. This article presents results from an interpersonal communication behavior change pilot intervention, Dialogues for Life, undertaken in Nepal from 2004 to 2006, after abortion was legalized in 2002. The project aimed to encourage and enable women to prevent unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions and was driven by dialogue groups and select community events. The authors' results confirm that a dialogue-based interpersonal communication intervention can help change behavior and that this method is feasible in a low-resource, low-literacy setting. Dialogue groups play a key role in addressing sensitive and stigmatizing health issues such as unsafe abortion and in empowering women to negotiate for the social support they need when making decisions about their health.

Medical Abortion: The Tunisian Experience | Hajri | African Journal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper reports the Tunisian experience of medical abortion. The project started in 1998 with a small introductory study at the obstetric and gynaecology department of a university hospital and was later extended step by step to other family planning and public health centres that provided abortion services. The study was ...

Abortion among Adolescents.

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Adler, Nancy E.; Ozer, Emily J.; Tschann, Jeanne

2003-01-01

Reviews the current status of abortion laws pertaining to adolescents worldwide, examining questions raised by parental consent laws in the United States and by the relevant psychological research (risk of harm from abortion, informed consent, consequences of parental involvement in the abortion decision, and current debate). Discusses issues…

No. 360-Induced Abortion: Surgical Abortion and Second Trimester Medical Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Costescu, Dustin; Guilbert, Édith

2018-06-01

This guideline reviews evidence relating to the provision of surgical induced abortion (IA) and second trimester medical abortion, including pre- and post-procedural care. Gynaecologists, family physicians, nurses, midwives, residents, and other health care providers who currently or intend to provide and/or teach IAs. Women with an unintended or abnormal first or second trimester pregnancy. PubMed, Medline, and the Cochrane Database were searched using the key words: first-trimester surgical abortion, second-trimester surgical abortion, second-trimester medical abortion, dilation and evacuation, induction abortion, feticide, cervical preparation, cervical dilation, abortion complications. Results were restricted to English or French systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, and observational studies published from 1979 to July 2017. National and international clinical practice guidelines were consulted for review. Grey literature was not searched. The quality of evidence in this document was rated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology framework. The summary of findings is available upon request. IA is safe and effective. The benefits of IA outweigh the potential harms or costs. No new direct harms or costs identified with these guidelines. Copyright © 2018 Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. All rights reserved.

Abortion Legalization and Childbearing in Mexico.

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Gutiérrez Vázquez, Edith Y; Parrado, Emilio A

2016-06-01

In 2007 abortion was legalized in the Federal District of Mexico, making it the largest jurisdiction in Latin America, outside of Cuba, to allow women to have abortions on request during the first trimester of pregnancy. While the implications of the law for women's health and maternal mortality have been investigated, its potential association with fertility behavior has yet to be assessed. We examine metropolitan-area differences in overall and parity-specific childbearing, as well as the age pattern of childbearing between 2000 and 2010 to identify the contribution of abortion legalization to fertility in Mexico. Our statistical specification applies difference-in-difference regression methods that control for concomitant changes in other socioeconomic predictors of fertility to assess the differential influence of the law across age groups. In addition, we account for prior fertility levels and change to better separate the effect of the law from preceding trends. Overall, the evidence suggests a systematic association between abortion legalization and fertility. The law appears to have contributed to lower fertility in Mexico City compared to other metropolitan areas and prior trends. The influence is mostly visible among women aged 20-34 in connection with the transition to first and second child, with limited impact on teenage fertility. There is some evidence that its effect might be diffusing to the Greater Mexico City Metropolitan area. © 2016 The Population Council, Inc.

Induced abortion in Taiwan.

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Wang, P D; Lin, R S

1995-04-01

Induced abortion is widely practised in Taiwan; however, it had been illegal until 1985. It was of interest to investigate induced abortion practices in Taiwan after its legalization in 1985 in order to calculate the prevalence rate and ratio of induced abortion to live births and to pregnancies in Taiwan. A study using questionnaires through personal interviews was conducted on more than seventeen thousand women who attended a family planning service in Taipei metropolitan areas between 1991 and 1992. The reproductive history and sexual behaviour of the subjects were especially focused on during the interviews. Preliminary findings showed that 46% of the women had a history of having had an induced abortion. Among them, 54.8% had had one abortion, 29.7% had had two, and 15.5% had had three or more. The abortion ratio was 379 induced abortions per 1,000 live births and 255 per 1,000 pregnancies. The abortion ratio was highest for women younger than 20 years of age, for aboriginal women and for nulliparous women. When logistic regression was used to control for confounding variables, we found that the number of previous live births is the strongest predictor relating to women seeking induced abortion. In addition, a significant positive association exists between increasing number of induced abortions and cervical dysplasia.

Histopathological and molecular study of Neospora caninum infection in bovine aborted fetuses

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Amir Kamali

2014-12-01

Conclusions: The results showed N. caninum infection was detected in high percentage of aborted fetuses. In addition, at least one fourth of abortions caused by Neospora infection. These results indicate increasing number of abortions associated with the protozoa more than reported before in Iran.

Abortion misinformation from crisis pregnancy centers in North Carolina.

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Bryant, Amy G; Levi, Erika E

2012-12-01

This study assessed the accuracy of medical information provided by crisis pregnancy centers in North Carolina. We performed a secondary data analysis of a "secret shopper survey" performed by a nonprofit organization. Reports from phone calls and visits to crisis pregnancy centers were analyzed for quality and content of medical information provided. Web sites of crisis pregnancy centers in the state were also reviewed. Thirty-two crisis pregnancy centers were contacted. Nineteen of these were visited. Fourteen centers (44%) offered that they "provide counseling on abortion and its risks." Inaccurate information provided included a link between abortion and breast cancer (16%), infertility (26%) and mental health problems (26%). Of the 36 Web sites identified, 31 (86%) provided false or misleading information, including 26 sites (72%) linking abortion to "post-abortion stress." Many crisis pregnancy centers give inaccurate medical information regarding the risks of abortion. Overstating risks stigmatizes abortion, seeks to intimidate women and is unethical. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Abortion Decision and Ambivalence: Insights via an Abortion Decision Balance Sheet

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Allanson, Susie

2007-01-01

Decision ambivalence is a key concept in abortion literature, but has been poorly operationalised. This study explored the concept of decision ambivalence via an Abortion Decision Balance Sheet (ADBS) articulating reasons both for and against terminating an unintended pregnancy. Ninety-six women undergoing an early abortion for psychosocial…

Increased risk of abortion after genetic amniocentesis in twin pregnancies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palle, C; Andersen, J W; Tabor, A

1983-01-01

Forty-seven twin pregnancies among 3676 patients who had a genetic amniocentesis between 1973 and 1979, are reported. The detection rate of twins at the time of amniocentesis was 62 per cent. Five (17 per cent) of the 29 women with detected twin pregnancy aborted spontaneously, these are compared...... in at least one sac aborted, while 3 of 20 twin pregnancies with one puncture in each sac aborted (15 per cent). One of 18 (6 per cent) twin pregnancies, where only one sac was punctured, because the twin pregnancies were undetected, aborted. Amniocentesis of both sacs in twin pregnancies seems associated...... with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion. The indications for amniocentesis in twin pregnancies should be critically evaluated....

Unusual Complication of Surgical Abortion with Pelvic Extrusion of Fetal Head: A Case Report.

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Begum, Jasmina; Samal, Sunita; Ghose, Seetesh

2015-11-01

Unsafe abortion is one of the causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in developing countries. The complications mostly results following unsafe abortion procedure done by unskilled provider with or without minimal medical knowledge in rural part of developing countries. These complications can endanger the life of mother if proper medical or surgical interventions are not offered in time. A majority of these complications remains confidential. The uterine perforation is one of the serious but preventable complications of surgical abortion. A 21-year-old woman G4P2L2A1, presented in the emergency ward with complaints of lower abdominal pain for four days after attempting twice surgical termination of pregnancy at 19 weeks of gestation for an unwanted pregnancy. Transabdominal sonography and MRI revealed uterine rent with pelvic extrusion of fetal head. Emergency laparotomy with removal of fetal head and uterine rent repair was done. This case illustrates the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion by the gynaecologist for uterine perforation in patient presenting with abdominal pain a few days after undergoing surgical abortion, also shows the complementary role of sonography and MRI in evaluation of the similar patient and this case also highlights the rampant illegal unsafe abortion procedure in rural India despite of legalization of abortion act.

Abortion in the media.

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Conti, Jennifer A; Cahill, Erica

2017-12-01

To review updates in how abortion care is depicted and analysed though various media outlets: news, television, film, and social media. A surge in recent media-related abortion research has recognized several notable and emerging themes: abortion in the news media is often inappropriately sourced and politically motivated; abortion portrayal in US film and television is frequently misrepresented; and social media has a new and significant role in abortion advocacy. The portrayal of abortion onscreen, in the news, and online through social media has a significant impact on cultural, personal, and political beliefs in the United States. This is an emerging field of research with wide spread potential impact across several arenas: medicine, policy, public health.

Induced abortion among Brazilian female sex workers: a qualitative study

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Alberto Pereira Madeiro

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Prostitutes are vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies and abortions. In Brazil, abortion is a crime and there is no data about unsafe abortions for this population. The study describes how prostitutes perform illegal abortions and the health consequences thereof. Semi-structured interviews with 39 prostitutes from three cities in Brazil with previous induced abortion experience were conducted. Sixty-six abortions, with between one and eight occurrences per woman, were recorded. The majority of the cases resulted from sexual activity with clients. The inconsistent use of condoms with regular clients and the consumption of alcohol during work were indicated as the main causes of unplanned pregnancies. The main method to perform abortion was the intravaginal and oral use of misoprostol, acquired in pharmacies or on the black market. Invasive measures were less frequently reported, however with more serious health complications. The fear of complaint to the police meant that most women do not inform the health team regarding induced abortion. The majority of prostitutes aborted with the use of illegally-acquired misoprostol, ending abortion in a public hospital with infection and hemorrhagic complications. The data indicate the need for a public policy focusing on the reproductive health of prostitutes.

Neospora caninum abortion in a Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus).

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Peters, M; Osmann, C; Wohlsein, P; Schares, G

2017-05-30

A captive 17-year old female Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) aborted a fetus with a crown rump length of 19cm in early pregnancy. The fetus showed an early state of mummification. Histologically, a multifocal mononuclear encephalitis, myocarditis and periportal hepatitis was present indicating a possible protozoal cause of abortion. Although immunohistologically, Neospora (N.) caninum antigen could not be demonstrated, N. caninum DNA was detected by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in brain, heart, liver and lung of the fetus. N. caninum DNA was extracted from the aborted fetus and the microsatellite marker MS10 was amplified by PCR and sequenced. The obtained MS10 microsatellite pattern has not been described in Germany yet. Nevertheless, the MS10 pattern was very similar to those reported for N. caninum isolated from dogs and cattle in Germany. Because of the histological pattern and extent of the lesions, neosporosis was suspected as the cause of fetal death and abortion. This case report describes for the first time transplacental transmission of N. caninum and abortion due to neosporosis in a tapir. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Women's experiences seeking informal sector abortion services in Cape Town, South Africa: a descriptive study.

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Gerdts, Caitlin; Raifman, Sarah; Daskilewicz, Kristen; Momberg, Mariette; Roberts, Sarah; Harries, Jane

2017-10-02

In settings where abortion is legally restricted, or permitted but not widely accessible, women face significant barriers to abortion access, sometimes leading them to seek services outside legal facilities. The advent of medication abortion has further increased the prevalence of informal sector abortion. This study investigates the reasons for attempting self-induction, methods used, complications, and sources of information about informal sector abortion, and tests a specific recruitment method which could lead to improved estimates of informal sector abortion prevalence among an at-risk population. We recruited women who have sought informal sector abortion services in Cape Town, South Africa using respondent driven sampling (RDS). An initial seed recruiter was responsible for initiating recruitment using a structured coupon system. Participants completed face-to-face questionnaires, which included information about demographics, informal sector abortion seeking, and safe abortion access needs. We enrolled 42 women, nearly one-third of whom reported they were sex workers. Thirty-four women (81%) reported having had one informal sector abortion within the past 5 years, 14% reported having had two, and 5% reported having had three. These women consumed home remedies, herbal mixtures from traditional healers, or tablets from an unregistered provider. Twelve sought additional care for potential warning signs of complications. Privacy and fear of mistreatment at public sector facilities were among the main reported reasons for attempting informal sector abortion. Most women (67%) cited other community members as their source of information about informal sector abortion; posted signs and fliers in public spaces also served as an important source of information. Women are attempting informal sector abortion because they seek privacy and fear mistreatment and stigma in health facilities. Some were unaware how or where to seek formal sector services, or believed the

Abortion ethics.

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Fromer, M J

1982-04-01

Nurses have opinions about abortion, but because they are health professionals and their opinions are sought as such, they are obligated to understand why they hold certain views. Nurses need to be clear about why they believe as they do, and they must arrive at a point of view in a rational and logical manner. To assist nurses in this task, the ethical issues surrounding abortion are enumerated and clarified. To do this, some of the philosophic and historic approaches to abortion and how a position can be logically argued are examined. At the outset some emotion-laden terms are defined. Abortion is defined as the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before 28 weeks' gestation, the arbitrarily established time of viability. This discussion is concerned only with induced abortion. Since the beginning of recorded history women have chosen to have abortions. Early Jews and Christians forbade abortion on practical and religious grounds. A human life was viewed as valuable, and there was also the practical consideration of the addition of another person to the population, i.e., more brute strength to do the necessary physical work, defend against enemies, and ensure the continuation of the people. These kinds of pragmatic reasons favoring or opposing abortion have little to do with the Western concept of abortion in genaeral and what is going on in the U.S. today in particular. Discussion of the ethics of abortion must rest on 1 or more of several foundations: whether or not the fetus is a human being; the rights of the pregnant woman as opposed to those of the fetus, and circumstances of horror and hardship that might surround a pregnancy. Viability is relative. Because viability is not a specific descriptive entity, value judgments become part of the determination, both of viability and the actions that might be taken based on that determination. The fetus does not become a full human being at viability. That occurs only at conception or birth, depending on one's view

The Stratified Legitimacy of Abortions.

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Kimport, Katrina; Weitz, Tracy A; Freedman, Lori

2016-12-01

Roe v. Wade was heralded as an end to unequal access to abortion care in the United States. However, today, despite being common and safe, abortion is performed only selectively in hospitals and private practices. Drawing on 61 interviews with obstetrician-gynecologists in these settings, we examine how they determine which abortions to perform. We find that they distinguish between more and less legitimate abortions, producing a narrative of stratified legitimacy that privileges abortions for intended pregnancies, when the fetus is unhealthy, and when women perform normative gendered sexuality, including distress about the abortion, guilt about failure to contracept, and desire for motherhood. This stratified legitimacy can perpetuate socially-inflected inequality of access and normative gendered sexuality. Additionally, we argue that the practice by physicians of distinguishing among abortions can legitimate legislative practices that regulate and restrict some kinds of abortion, further constraining abortion access. © American Sociological Association 2016.

Unsafe abortion: the silent scourge.

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Grimes, David A

2003-01-01

An estimated 19 million unsafe abortions occur worldwide each year, resulting in the deaths of about 70,000 women. Legalization of abortion is a necessary but insufficient step toward improving women's health. Without skilled providers, adequate facilities and easy access, the promise of safe, legal abortion will remain unfulfilled, as in India and Zambia. Both suction curettage and pharmacological abortion are safe methods in early pregnancy; sharp curettage is inferior and should be abandoned. For later abortions, either dilation and evacuation or labour induction are appropriate. Hysterotomy should not be used. Timely and appropriate management of complications can reduce morbidity and prevent mortality. Treatment delays are dangerous, regardless of their origin. Misoprostol may reduce the risks of unsafe abortion by providing a safer alternative to traditional clandestine abortion methods. While the debate over abortion will continue, the public health record is settled: safe, legal, accessible abortion improves health.

Determinants of late presentation for induced abortion care.

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Waddington, Ashley; Hahn, Philip M; Reid, Robert

2015-01-01

To determine whether demographic or patient factors contribute to later presentation (10 to 12 weeks' gestational age) for induced abortion in a Canadian abortion clinic. Women attending a hospital-based abortion clinic between April and September 2012 were asked to complete a survey. The characteristics of women who presented early (EPs; gestational age abortion" (26.45% for EPs, 32.4% for LPs; P = 0.421), LPs were more likely to report that discouragement "caused a delay in making arrangements" (45.5% vs. 16.7%; P = 0.019). Of women who had access to a primary care provider, it was more common for the primary care provider to be aware of the pregnancy among LPs than among EPs (80.6% vs. 63.1%; P = 0.015). Some women delay presenting for abortion because of discouragement from friends and family. It is unclear whether there are educational or policy interventions that can have an impact on this delay, and this warrants further study. There may be ways of addressing the delay in referral by primary care providers. Further study into the causes for delay in referral for abortion is warranted.

Abortion in woman caused by caprine Chlamydophila abortus (Chlamydia psittaci serovar 1).

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Pospischil, A; Thoma, R; Hilbe, M; Grest, P; Gebbers, J-O

2002-02-09

On a farm housing cattle and goats an abortion storm occurred affecting 50% of the goats during the lambing season 2000/2001. In one of three investigated caprine abortions Chlamydophila abortus could be identified as aetiology. During this time a pregnant woman (pregnancy week 19/20) had contact with aborting goats. She developed a severe generalized infection and aborted. The placenta contained Chlamydophila abortus shown by immunohistochemistry and PCR. The aim of the present case report is to alert medical doctors about the potential zoonotic risk of ovine/caprine abortions.

Induced abortion in China and the advances of post abortion family planning service

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Li Ying; Cheng Yi-ming; Huang Na; Guo Xin; Wang Xian-mi

2004-01-01

This is a review of current situation of induced abortion and post abortion family planning service in China. Induced abortion is an important issue in reproductive health. This article reviewed the distribution of induced abortion in various time, areas, and population in China, and explored the character, reason, and harm to reproductive health of induced abortion.Furthermore, this article introduces the concept of Quality of Care Program in Family Planning,and discusses how important and necessary it is to introduce Quality of Care Program in Family Planning to China.

Adolescent Girls with illegally Induced Abortion in Dar es Salaam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasch, V; Silberschmidt, Margrethe; Mchumvu, Y

2000-01-01

that gave them the right to seek family planning services and in practice these services are not being provided. There is a need for youth-friendly family planning services and to make abortion safe and legal, in order to reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortion-related complications and deaths among......This article reports on a study of induced abortion among adolescent girls in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who were admitted to a district hospital in Dar es Salaam because of an illegally induced abortion in 1997. In the quantitative part of the study, 197 teenage girls (aged 14-19) were asked...

Is "abortion culture" fading in the former Soviet Union? Views about abortion and contraception in Kazakhstan.

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Agadjanian, Victor

2002-09-01

The Soviet legacy of widespread reliance on induced abortion is of critical importance to reproductive trends and policies in post-Soviet nations, especially as they strive to substitute contraception for abortion. Using data from two Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 1995 and 1999, this study analyzes and compares trends in abortion and contraception, women's attitudes toward abortion, and their perceptions of problems associated with abortion and contraception in Kazakhstan. Despite an overall decline in abortion and an increase in contraceptive use since Kazakhstan's independence in 1991, abortion has remained a prominent part of the country's reproductive culture and practices. This study shows how abortion-related views reflect the long-standing ethnocultural differences between the indigenous Kazakhs and Kazakhstan's residents of European roots, as the latter continue to have significantly higher levels of abortion. The study, however, also reveals the internal diversity among Kazakhs with respect to abortion experiences and views, stemming from decades of the Soviet sociocultural influence in Kazakhstan. In addition, the analysis points to some generational differences in views concerning abortion and contraception. Finally, the study demonstrates parallels in attitudes toward abortion and toward contraception, thereby questioning straightforward assumptions about the replacement of abortion with contraception.

Association between Nutritional Status with Spontaneous Abortion

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Rahimeh Ahmadi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Spontaneous abortion is the most common adverse pregnancy outcome. We aimed to investigate a possible link between nutrient deficiencies and the risk of spontaneous abortion. Materials and Methods: This case-control study included the case group (n=331 experiencing a spontaneous abortion before 14 weeks of pregnancy and the control group (n=331 who were healthy pregnant women over 14 weeks of pregnancy. The participants filled out Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ, in which they reported their frequency of consumption for a given serving of each food item during the past three months, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The reported frequency for each food item was converted to a daily intake. Then, consumption of nutrients was compared between the two groups. Results: There are significant differences between the two groups regarding consumed servings/day of vegetables, bread and cereal, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, fats, oils and dairy products (P=0.012, P<0.001, P=0.004, P<0.001, P=0.019, respectively. There are significant differences between the two groups in all micronutrient including folic acid, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and zinc (P<0.001. Conclusion: Poor nutrientions may be correlated with increased risk of spontaneous abortion

The triviality of abortion in Greece.

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Naziri, D

1991-09-01

In Greece modern contraceptive methods are used only in a very limited manner and abortion is the primary form of birth control. There are several social and psychological issues that are considered to be responsible. A 1985 study done for the Family Planning Center of Thessaloniki found that the ratio of live births is 1.3 and the ratio of abortion is 1.8/woman. 88% of women in the study had had an abortion while practicing coitus interruptus. 90% of the women never bought condoms. In a 1989 study only 6% of women had a positive attitude about condoms. Abortion is used as the primary method of birth control regardless of a woman's socioeconomic status. Further it was found that abortion did not correlate with other modern attitudes or the emancipation of women. The decision to abort was related to difficulties and constraints inherent in bring up a child. However positive attitudes toward contraception were related to educational and occupational levels. To complicate matters the information concerning contraceptives was problematic and related to the women's own lack of initiative to find out, and a lack of correct information offered from gynecologists. A 1990 study on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices in relation to HIV infection indicated that the most favored method of contraception was condoms, but 60.8% of the men reported use versus 33.7% of the women. However these figures are not very representative because the survey was given in the context of HIV prevention and no attempt was made to distinguish between regular and irregular use patterns. Abortions is not a moral issue in Greece. It was legalized in 1986 only because it came to the attention of the government that the previous prohibition was being completely ignored. Abortion is strongly affected by social and psychological factors that are complex and result from cultural view points about fertility, maternal value, and life itself that are unique to the Greek culture.

Second trimester abortions in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalvie, Suchitra S

2008-05-01

This article gives an overview of what is known about second trimester abortions in India, including the reasons why women seek abortions in the second trimester, the influence of abortion law and policy, surgical and medical methods used, both safe and unsafe, availability of services, requirements for second trimester service delivery, and barriers women experience in accessing second trimester services. Based on personal experiences and personal communications from other doctors since 1993, when I began working as an abortion provider, the practical realities of second trimester abortion and case histories of women seeking second trimester abortion are also described. Recommendations include expanding the cadre of service providers to non-allopathic clinicians and trained nurses, introducing second trimester medical abortion into the public health system, replacing ethacridine lactate with mifepristone-misoprostol, values clarification among providers to challenge stigma and poor treatment of women seeking second trimester abortion, and raising awareness that abortion is legal in the second trimester and is mostly not requested for reasons of sex selection.

On the Wrongfulness of abortion

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Gustavo Arosemena

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Abortion is seen as an immoral and unjust act by many. Nonetheless these views are under pressure to conform to the learned opinion on abortion. A variety of prestigious in the field of applied ethics support abortion in one way or another. And it is a dogma of modern liberalism that even if one is personally opposed to abortion, one must accept the neutral solution of its public permissibility. The present article defends the thesis that abortion is immoral and unjust against these contentions. With regards to the moral status of abortion, it argues that the prohibition of abortion is off a piece with the prohibition of killing generally, which is characterized by protecting all human beings equally. With regards to the compatibility of abortion permissibility with liberalism, the article argues that such a compromise is not neutral, but heavily rigged in favor of the interests and world-views of abortion proponents.

From unwanted pregnancy to safe abortion: Sharing information about abortion in Asia through animation.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnan, Shweta; Dalvie, Suchitra

2015-05-01

Although unsafe abortion continues to be a leading cause of maternal mortality in many countries in Asia, the right to safe abortion remains highly stigmatized across the region. The Asia Safe Abortion Partnership, a regional network advocating for safe abortion, produced an animated short film entitled From Unwanted Pregnancy to Safe Abortion to show in conferences, schools and meetings in order to share knowledge about the barriers to safe abortion in Asia and to facilitate conversations on the right to safe abortion. This paper describes the making of this film, its objectives, content, dissemination and how it has been used. Our experience highlights the advantages of using animated films in addressing highly politicized and sensitive issues like abortion. Animation helped to create powerful advocacy material that does not homogenize the experiences of women across a diverse region, and at the same time emphasize the need for joint activities that express solidarity. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Doctors, pregnancy, childbirth and abortion during the Third Reich.

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Chelouche, Tessa

2007-03-01

This paper does not attempt to deal with the legitimate ethical or moral debate on abortion. Utilizing abortion as a subject I will show how science and medicine in general, and abortion in particular, were used as weapons of mass destruction by Nazi physicians in their zeal to comply with the political climate of the time. Nazi policy on abortion and childbirth was just one of the methods devised and designed to ensure the extermination of those whom the Nazis deemed had "lives not worth living." Physicians implemented these policies, not with the fate of their patients in mind, but rather in the name of the "state." When discussing pregnancy, abortion and childbirth during the Holocaust it is imperative to include an essay of how these issues affected the Jewish prisoner doctors in the ghettos and camps. Nazi policy dictated their actions too. From an extensive search of their testimonies, I conclude that for these doctors ethical discourse comprised a fundamental component of their functioning. I do not propose to judge them in any way and one should not, in my opinion, argue whether their behavior was or was not morally acceptable under such duress; nevertheless, unlike their Nazi counterparts, a key theme in their testimonies was to "keep their medical values."

[Abortion explained by a nurse].

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Bastit i Costa, M A

1983-01-01

Abortion is the termination of pregnancy prior to the 180th day, during which time the fetus is not yet viable outside the womb. Spontaneous abortion is the body's expulsion of a fetus during the 1st months of pregnancy. It is usually not very painful, does not involve much bleeding, and is rarely complicated by infection. Spontaneous abortion is much more frequent at the outset of pregnancy and may occur unnoticed. Its causes are unknown in over half of cases. The most important causes are developmental problems in the products of conception. Causes of spontaneous abortions of maternal etiology are most frequently uterine malposition or malformation. Serious illness in the mother is a less common cause of spontaneous abortion than once believed. Induced abortion is caused by the destruction of a normally implanted and healthy embryo. Its complications are related to the amount of bleeding or the introduction of germs from outside which can spread rapidly. Placental retention is a danger of all induced abortions. Induced abortion is common and in some countries it even creates demographic problems. Abortion is legal in many countries as an expression of the right to choose, but in others it is only legal on therapeutic grounds. Defenders and detractors of abortion have written extensively about it, with some works being sincere and some only tactical. The great majority of moralists are opposed to abortion, while biologists and scientists are divided on the question. The Spanish penal code punishes all persons who cause the death of a fetus or impede the process of gestation. The Catholic Church has considered abortion a homicide and against divine and natural laws. Legal or illegal, it is certain that the number of abortions increases each day. In the face of this reality, the need is for measures to avoid abortion whenever possible. Sex education in schools, full information on contraceptive methods and creation of family planning centers are some means of

Decision Rightness and Emotional Responses to Abortion in the United States: A Longitudinal Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corinne H Rocca

Full Text Available Arguments that abortion causes women emotional harm are used to regulate abortion, particularly later procedures, in the United States. However, existing research is inconclusive. We examined women's emotions and reports of whether the abortion decision was the right one for them over the three years after having an induced abortion.We recruited a cohort of women seeking abortions between 2008-2010 at 30 facilities across the United States, selected based on having the latest gestational age limit within 150 miles. Two groups of women (n=667 were followed prospectively for three years: women having first-trimester procedures and women terminating pregnancies within two weeks under facilities' gestational age limits at the same facilities. Participants completed semiannual phone surveys to assess whether they felt that having the abortion was the right decision for them; negative emotions (regret, anger, guilt, sadness about the abortion; and positive emotions (relief, happiness. Multivariable mixed-effects models were used to examine changes in each outcome over time, to compare the two groups, and to identify associated factors.The predicted probability of reporting that abortion was the right decision was over 99% at all time points over three years. Women with more planned pregnancies and who had more difficulty deciding to terminate the pregnancy had lower odds of reporting the abortion was the right decision (aOR=0.71 [0.60, 0.85] and 0.46 [0.36, 0.64], respectively. Both negative and positive emotions declined over time, with no differences between women having procedures near gestational age limits versus first-trimester abortions. Higher perceived community abortion stigma and lower social support were associated with more negative emotions (b=0.45 [0.31, 0.58] and b=-0.61 [-0.93, -0.29], respectively.Women experienced decreasing emotional intensity over time, and the overwhelming majority of women felt that termination was the right

Abortion experiences among Zanzibari women: a chain-referral sampling study.

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Norris, Alison; Harrington, Bryna J; Grossman, Daniel; Hemed, Maryam; Hindin, Michelle J

2016-03-11

In Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, induced abortion is illegal but common, and fewer than 12% of married reproductive-aged women use modern contraception. As part of a multi-method study about contraception and consequences of unwanted pregnancies, the objective of this study was to understand the experiences of Zanzibari women who terminated pregnancies. The cross-sectional study was set in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Participants were a community-based sample of women who had terminated pregnancies. We carried out semi-structured interviews with 45 women recruited via chain-referral sampling. We report the characteristics of women who have had abortions, the reasons they had abortions, and the methods used to terminate their pregnancies. Women in Zanzibar terminate pregnancies that are unwanted for a range of reasons, at various points in their reproductive lives, and using multiple methods. While clinical methods were most effective, nearly half of our participants successfully terminated a pregnancy using non-clinical methods and very few had complications requiring post abortion care (PAC). Even in settings where abortion is illegal, some women experience illegal abortions without adverse health consequences, what we might call 'safer' unsafe abortions; these kinds of abortion experiences can be missed in studies about abortion conducted among women seeking PAC in hospitals.

Experiences of women who travel to England for abortions: an exploratory pilot study.

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Gerdts, Caitlin; DeZordo, Silvia; Mishtal, Joanna; Barr-Walker, Jill; Lohr, Patricia A

2016-10-01

Restrictive policies that limit access to abortion often lead women to seek services abroad. We present results from an exploratory study aimed at documenting the socio-demographic characteristics, travel and abortion-seeking experiences of non-resident women seeking abortions in the UK. Between August 2014 and March 2015, we surveyed a convenience sample of 58 non-UK residents seeking abortions at three British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) abortion clinics in England in order to better understand the experiences of non-resident women who travel to the UK seeking abortion services. Participants travelled to England from 14 countries in Europe and the Middle East. Twenty-six percent of participants reported gestational ages between 14 and 20 weeks, and 14% (n = 8) were beyond 20 weeks since their last menstrual period (LMP). More women from Western Europe sought abortions beyond 13 weeks gestation than from any other region. Women reported seeking abortion outside of their country of residence for a variety of reasons, most commonly, that abortion was not legal (51%), followed by having passed the gestational limit for a legal abortion (31%). Women paid an average of £631 for travel expenses, and an average of £210 for accommodation. More than half of women in our study found it difficult to cover travel costs. Understanding how and why women seek abortion care far from their countries of residence is an important topic for future research and could help to inform abortion-related policy decisions in the UK and in Europe.

Social scripts and stark realities: Kenyan adolescents' abortion discourse.

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Mitchell, Ellen M H; Halpern, Carolyn Tucker; Kamathi, Eva Muthuuri; Owino, Shirley

2006-01-01

This study explores students' narratives and discourses about adolescent pregnancy and abortion elicited via internet-based open-ended questions posed in response to a cartoon vignette. We report on content analysis of recommendations and strategies for how to manage the unplanned pregnancy of a fictional young couple and in their own personal lives. The responses of 614 young people were analysed. Strategies vary widely. They include giving birth, adoption, running away, abortion, denial, and postponement until discovery. Young people were also queried about unplanned pregnancy resolution among their peers. Discourse analysis reveals competing social scripts on abortion. Florid condemnation of abortion acts in the hypothetical cases contrasts with more frank and sober description of peers' real life abortion behaviour. Students' language is compared with that found in official curricula. The rhetorical devices, moralizing social scripts and dubious health claims about abortion in students' online narratives mirror the tenor and content of their academic curricula as well as Kenyan media presentation of the issue. The need for factual information, dispassionate dialogue and improved contraceptive access is considerable.

Do depression and low self-esteem follow abortion among adolescents? Evidence from a national study.

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Warren, Jocelyn T; Harvey, S Marie; Henderson, Jillian T

2010-12-01

A 2008 report by the American Psychological Association found no evidence that an induced abortion causes mental health problems in adult women. No conclusions were drawn with respect to adolescents because of a scarcity of evidence. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to examine whether abortion in adolescence was associated with subsequent depression and low self-esteem. In all, 289 female respondents reported at least one pregnancy between Wave 1 (1994-1995) and Wave 2 (1996) of the survey. Of these, 69 reported an induced abortion. Population-averaged lagged logistic regression models were used to assess associations between abortion and depression and low self-esteem within a year of the pregnancy and approximately five years later, at Wave 3 (2001-2002). Abortion was not associated with depression or low self-esteem at either time point. Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics did not substantially modify the relationships between abortion and the outcomes. Adolescents who have an abortion do not appear to be at elevated risk for depression or low self-esteem in the short term or up to five years after the abortion. Copyright © 2010 by the Guttmacher Institute.

Fundamental discrepancies in abortion estimates and abortion-related mortality: A reevaluation of recent studies in Mexico with special reference to the International Classification of Diseases

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Koch, Elard; Aracena, Paula; Gatica, Sebastián; Bravo, Miguel; Huerta-Zepeda, Alejandra; Calhoun, Byron C

2012-01-01

In countries where induced abortion is legally restricted, as in most of Latin America, evaluation of statistics related to induced abortions and abortion-related mortality is challenging. The present article reexamines recent reports estimating the number of induced abortions and abortion-related mortality in Mexico, with special reference to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). We found significant overestimations of abortion figures in the Federal District of Mexico (up to 10-fold), where elective abortion has been legal since 2007. Significant overestimation of maternal and abortion-related mortality during the last 20 years in the entire Mexican country (up to 35%) was also found. Such overestimations are most likely due to the use of incomplete in-hospital records as well as subjective opinion surveys regarding induced abortion figures, and due to the consideration of causes of death that are unrelated to induced abortion, including flawed denominators of live births. Contrary to previous publications, we found important progress in maternal health, reflected by the decrease in overall maternal mortality (30.6%) from 1990 to 2010. The use of specific ICD codes revealed that the mortality ratio associated with induced abortion decreased 22.9% between 2002 and 2008 (from 1.48 to 1.14 deaths per 100,000 live births). Currently, approximately 98% of maternal deaths in Mexico are related to causes other than induced abortion, such as hemorrhage, hypertension and eclampsia, indirect causes, and other pathological conditions. Therefore, only marginal or null effects would be expected from changes in the legal status of abortion on overall maternal mortality rates. Rather, maternal health in Mexico would greatly benefit from increasing access to emergency and specialized obstetric care. Finally, more reliable methodologies to assess abortion-related deaths are clearly required. PMID:23271925

Catholic attitudes toward abortion.

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Smith, T W

1984-01-01

In the US attitudes toward abortion in the 1980s seem to have reached a more liberal plateau, much more favored than in the 1960s or earlier, but not longer moving in a liberal direction. Catholic attitudes basically have followed the same trend. Traditionally Catholic support has been slightly lower than Protestant, and both are less inclined to support abortion than Jews or the nonreligious. During the 1970s support among non-black Catholics averaged about 10 percentage points below non-black Protestants. Blacks tend to be anti-abortion and thereby lower support among Protestants as a whole. A comparison of Protestants and Catholics of both races shows fewer religious differences -- about 7 percentage points. There are some indications that this gap may be closing. In 1982, for the 1st time, support for abortions for social reasons, such as poverty, not wanting to marry, or not wanting more children, was as high among Catholics as among Protestants. 1 of the factors contributing to this narrowing gap has been the higher level of support for abortion among younger Catholics. Protestants show little variation on abortion attitudes, with those over age 65 being slightly less supportive. Among Catholics, support drops rapidly with age. This moderate and possibly vanishing difference between Catholics and Protestants contrasts sharply with the official positions of their respective churches. The Catholic Church takes an absolute moral position against abortion, while most Protestant churches take no doctrinaire position on abortion. Several, such as the Unitarians and Episcopalians, lean toward a pro-choice position as a matter of social policy, though fundamentalist sects take strong anti-abortion stances. Few Catholics agree with their church's absolutist anti-abortion position. The big split on abortion comes between what are sometimes termed the "hard" abortion reasons -- mother's health endangered, serious defect in fetus, rape, or incest. Support among Catholics

A comparative study of induced abortions before and after legalization of abortions.

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Malhotra, S; Devi, P K

1979-06-01

Abortion was legalized in many states in India in April 1972. This study deals with 2 groups of patients admitted to P.G.I., Chadigarh, with problems of induced septic abortion. Group 1 consisted of 88 patients admitted during the 2 1/2 year period from 1 July 1969 to 31 December 1971, before the legalization of abortion. Group 2 consists of 133 patients admitted during the 2 1/2 year period from 1 July 1973 to 31 December 1975. 1 year after the new abortion law had been in force. Not only has there been an increase in the total number of patients, there has been an increase in the severity of infection. Evidently, the liberalization of the law has encouraged more patients to seek abortions and has encouraged more doctors, lacking proper qualifications, to perform them. The morbidity and mortality with induced septic abortion can only be reduced if enough public propaganda makes the people especially in rural areas conscious of the hazards of induced abortion by "dais" and unqualified personnel, simultaneously making them aware of the provision of law and facilities available at different centers. Meanwhile, the law against unskilled and untrained personnel should be rigorously enforced.

Abortion legalization and childbearing in Mexico1

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Gutierrez Vazquez, Edith Y.; Parrado, Emilio A.

2016-01-01

In 2007 abortion was legalized in the Federal District of Mexico, making the largest jurisdiction in Latin America, outside of Cuba, to allow women to have abortions on request during the first trimester of pregnancy. While the implications of the law for women's health and maternal mortality have been investigated, its potential association with fertility behavior has yet to be assessed. In this paper, we examine metropolitan area differences in overall and parity-specific, as well as the age pattern of childbearing between 2000 and 2010 to more precisely isolate the contribution of abortion legalization to fertility in Mexico. Our statistical specification applies difference-in-difference regression methods that control for concomitant changes in other socioeconomic predictors of fertility to assess the differential influence of the law across age groups. In addition, we account for prior fertility levels and change to better separate the effect of the law from preceding trends. Overall, the evidence suggests a systematic association between abortion legalization and fertility. The law appears to have contributed to lower fertility in Mexico City compared to other metropolitan areas and prior trends, though the influence is mostly visible among women aged 20-34 in connection with the transition to first and second child with limited impact on teenage fertility. There is some evidence that its effect might be diffusing to the greater Mexico City metropolitan area. PMID:27285423

Determinants of underage induced abortion--the 1987 Finnish Birth Cohort study.

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Leppälahti, Suvi; Heikinheimo, Oskari; Paananen, Reija; Santalahti, Päivi; Merikukka, Marko; Gissler, Mika

2016-05-01

Although underage pregnancies often end in induced abortion, data on girls who undergo termination of pregnancy are lacking. Our aim was to identify determinants of underage induced abortion and compare them with those of childbirth. All girls born in 1987 in Finland surviving the perinatal period (n = 29 041) were included in the study and divided into three study groups: Girls undergoing induced abortion (n = 1041, 3.6%) or childbirth (n = 395, 1.4%) at abortion and childbirth included early onset behavioral and emotional disorders [adjusted OR 1.9 (1.4-2.5) and 2.7 (95% CI 1.8-3.9)], a history of foster care [1.5 [1.1-1.9] and 3.0 [2.3-4.1)], and socioeconomic factors, including living in a family receiving income support [1.8 (1.5-2.1) and 3.4 (2.7-4.4)], respectively. Specific risk factors of underage induced abortion were psychoactive substance use disorders [2.2 (1.3-3.5)], having a mother who smoked during pregnancy [1.5 (1.3-1.8)] or had undergone induced abortion [1.8 (1.5-2.2)]. Coping with a chronic physical illness [0.7 (0.5-0.9)], and perinatal problems [0.6 (0.4-0.7)] were inversely associated with underage induced abortion. The traditionally acknowledged determinants of underage childbirth played a less prominent role in induced abortion. Novel risk factors of underage induced abortion were found, including severe substance abuse and adverse maternal reproductive history, and should be addressed at all levels offering youth healthcare and social welfare services. © 2016 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Hospital admission following induced abortion in Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea--a descriptive study.

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Vallely, Lisa M; Homiehombo, Primrose; Kelly-Hanku, Angela; Kumbia, Antonia; Mola, Glen D L; Whittaker, Andrea

2014-01-01

In Papua New Guinea abortion is restricted under the Criminal Code Act. While safe abortions should available in certain situations, frequently they are not available to the majority of women. Sepsis from unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal mortality. Our findings form part of a wider, mixed methods study designed to identify complications requiring hospital treatment for post abortion care and to explore the circumstances surrounding unsafe abortion. Through a six month prospective study we identified all women presenting to the Eastern Highlands Provincial Hospital following spontaneous and induced abortions. We undertook semi-structured interviews with women and reviewed individual case notes, extracting demographic and clinical information. Case notes were reviewed for 56% (67/119) of women presenting for post abortion care. At least 24% (28/119) of these admissions were due to induced abortion. Women presenting following induced abortions were significantly more likely to be younger, single, in education at the time of the abortion and report that the baby was unplanned and unwanted, compared to those reporting spontaneous abortion. Obtained illegally, misoprostol was the method most frequently used to end the pregnancy. Physical and mechanical means and traditional herbs were also widely reported. In a country with a low contraceptive prevalence rate and high unmet need for family planning, all reproductive age women need access to contraceptive information and services to avoid, postpone or space pregnancies. In the absence of this, women are resorting to unsafe means to end an unwanted pregnancy, putting their lives at risk and putting an increased strain on an already struggling health system. Women in this setting need access to safe, effective means of abortion.

Late induced abortion.

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Savage, W

1990-09-01

In the UK in 1988, 13.3% of abortions were performed at 13 weeks' gestation or later. Reasons for this delay, in addition to the diagnosis through amniocentesis of a fetal abnormality, include late recognition of pregnancy, a change of mind about completing the pregnancy, a failure of primary care physicians to entertain the diagnosis of pregnancy, travel or financial problems, and referral difficulties and scheduling delays. Women with little education and very young women are most likely to present for late abortions. From 13-16 weeks, dilatation and evacuation is the safest method of pregnancy termination. The procedure can be made easier through preparation of the cervix with a prostaglandin pessary or Foley catheter. After 16 weeks, an instillation method is recommended; prostaglandin administration can be intro- or extra-amniotic. Complication rates at 13-19 weeks are 14.5/1000 for vaginal methods of abortion and 7.2/1000 for prostaglandin methods. The risk of complications is 3 times higher for women who have 2nd-trimester abortions through the National Health Service. Although it is not realistic to expect that late abortions ever can be eliminated, improved sex education and contraceptive reliability as well as reforms in the National Health Service could reduce the number substantially. To reduce delay, it is suggested that the National Health Service set up satellite day care units and 1-2 central units in each region to deal quickly with midtrimester abortions. Delays would be further reduced by legislation to allow abortion on request in at least the 1st trimester of pregnancy.

Narratives of Ghanaian abortion providers

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AJRH Managing Editor

In Ghana, despite the availability of safe, legally permissible abortion services, high rates of morbidity and mortality from unsafe abortion persist. Through interviews with Ghanaian physicians on the front lines of abortion provision, we begin to describe major barriers to widespread safe abortion. Their stories illustrate the ...

Abortion: a technique for working through grief.

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Buckles, N B

1982-02-01

Studies have shown that very few women experience significant depression in the weeks following abortion and most have strong feelings of relief and happiness; what mild feelings of guilt, regret, or remorse do exist immediately following abortion tend to diminish quickly. Traditionally attitudes were that abortion could even precipitate psychosis and cause infertility, depression, and sexual dysfunction. The findings of a 1963-65 study of 116 women who underwent abortions indicate that few women had regrets immediately. Studies done after the 1973 Supreme Court decision conclude that even psychiatrically disturbed women who undergo abortion remain stabilized or improved afterwards. Women who do have postabortion problems are usually those who were late aborters, who feel that the decision was not freely made, or that the pregnancy fulfilled certain needs. When working with these women clinicians use a variety of techniques, encouraging the women to express their feelings of loss and anger and supporting the choice that was made, while providing contraceptive and decision making education. The strategy in 3 cases described here involved the woman first saying goodbye to the fetus and her former relationship with it in a gestalt dialogue. The next part of the strategy is establishing positive remembrance of the significant meaning of the fetus to the woman. There are usually 5 sessions at the end of which the woman feels optimistic; the 6th session is a followup 6 months to 1 year later at which most women report no further symptoms.

Trump's Abortion-Promoting Aid Policy.

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Latham, Stephen R

2017-07-01

On the fourth day of his presidency, Donald Trump reinstated and greatly expanded the "Mexico City policy," which imposes antiabortion restrictions on U.S. foreign health aid. In general, the policy has prohibited U.S. funding of any family-planning groups that use even non-U.S. funds to perform abortions; prohibited aid recipients from lobbying (again, even with non-U.S. money) for liberalization of abortion laws; prohibited nongovernment organizations from creating educational materials on abortion as a family-planning method; and prohibited health workers from referring patients for legal abortions in any cases other than rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. The policy's prohibition on giving aid to any organization that performs abortions is aimed at limiting alleged indirect funding of abortions. The argument is that if U.S. money is used to fund nonabortion programs of an abortion-providing NGO, then the NGO can simply shift the money thus saved into its abortion budget. Outside the context of abortion, we do not reason this way. And the policy's remaining three prohibitions are deeply troubling. © 2017 The Hastings Center.

Spontaneous abortion and unexpected death: a critical discussion of Marquis on abortion.

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Coleman, Mary Clayton

2013-02-01

In his classic paper, 'Why abortion is immoral', Don Marquis argues that what makes killing an adult seriously immoral is that it deprives the victim of the valuable future he/she would have otherwise had. Moreover, Marquis contends, because abortion deprives a fetus of the very same thing, aborting a fetus is just as seriously wrong as killing an adult. Marquis' argument has received a great deal of critical attention in the two decades since its publication. Nonetheless, there is a potential challenge to it that seems to have gone unnoticed. A significant percentage of fetuses are lost to spontaneous abortion. Once we bring this fact to our attention, it becomes less clear whether Marquis can use his account of the wrongness of killing to show that abortion is the moral equivalent of murder. In this paper, I explore the relevance of the rate of spontaneous abortion to Marquis' classic anti-abortion argument. I introduce a case I call Unexpected Death in which someone is about to commit murder, but, just as the would-be murderer is about to strike, his would-be victim dies unexpectedly. I then ask: what does Marquis' account of killing imply about the moral status of what the would-be murderer was about to do? I consider four responses Marquis could give to this question, and I examine what implications these responses have for Marquis' strategy of using his account of the wrongness of killing an adult to show that abortion is in the same moral category.

Recruitment and retention strategies for expert nurses in abortion care provision.

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McLemore, Monica R; Levi, Amy; James, E Angel

2015-06-01

The purpose of this thematic analysis is to describe recruitment, retention and career development strategies for expert nurses in abortion care provision. Thematic analysis influenced by grounded theory methods were used to analyze interviews, which examined cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes associated with how nurses make decisions about participation in abortion care provision. The purposive sample consisted of 16 nurses, who were interviewed between November 2012 and August 2013, who work (or have worked) with women seeking abortions in abortion clinics, emergency departments, labor and delivery units and post anesthesia care units. Several themes emerged from the broad categories that contribute to successful nurse recruitment, retention, and career development in abortion care provision. All areas were significantly influenced by engagement in leadership activities and professional society membership. The most notable theme specific to recruitment was exposure to abortion through education as a student, or through an employer. Retention is most influenced by flexibility in practice, including: advocating for patients, translating one's skill set, believing that nursing is shared work, and juggling multiple roles. Lastly, providing on the job training opportunities for knowledge and skill advancement best enables career development. Clear mechanisms exist to develop expert nurses in abortion care provision. The findings from our study should encourage employers to provide exposure opportunities, develop activities to recruit and retain nurses, and to support career development in abortion care provision. Additionally, future workforce development efforts should include and engage nursing education institutions and employers to design structured support for this trajectory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Shared risk aversion in spontaneous and induced abortion.

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Catalano, Ralph; Bruckner, Tim A; Karasek, Deborah; Adler, Nancy E; Mortensen, Laust H

2016-05-01

Does the incidence of spontaneous abortion correlate positively over conception cohorts with the incidence of non-clinically indicated induced abortion as predicted by shared risk aversion? We find that the number of spontaneous and non-clinically indicated induced abortions correlates in conception cohorts, suggesting that risk aversion affects both the conscious and non-conscious mechanisms that control parturition. Much literature speculates that natural selection conserved risk aversion because the trait enhanced Darwinian fitness. Risk aversion, moreover, supposedly influences all decisions including those that individuals can and cannot report making. We argue that these circumstances, if real, would manifest in conscious and non-conscious decisions to invest in prospective offspring, and therefore affect incidence of induced and spontaneous abortion over time. Using data from Denmark, we test the hypothesis that monthly conception cohorts yielding unexpectedly many non-clinically indicated induced abortions also yield unexpectedly many spontaneous abortions. The 180 month test period (January 1995 through December 2009), yielded 1 351 800 gestations including 156 780 spontaneous as well as 233 280 induced abortions 9100 of which were clinically indicated. We use Box-Jenkins transfer functions to adjust the incidence of spontaneous and non-clinically indicated induced abortions for autocorrelation (including seasonality), cohort size, and fetal as well as gestational anomalies over the 180-month test period. We use cross-correlation to test our hypothesized association. We find a positive association between spontaneous and non-clinically indicated induced abortions. This suggests, consistent with our theory, that mothers of conception cohorts that yielded more spontaneous abortions than expected opted more frequently than expected for non-clinically indicated induced abortion. Limitations of our work include that even the world's best registration system

Abortion - Multiple Languages

Science.gov (United States)

... Simplified (Mandarin dialect)) PDF Reproductive Health Access Project Emergency Contraceptive Pill and the Abortion Pill: What's the Difference? - English PDF Emergency Contraceptive Pill and the Abortion Pill: What's the Difference? - ...

Attitude toward contraception and abortion among Curaçao women. Ineffective contraception due to limited sexual education?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meyboom-de Jong Betty

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Curaçao is a high incidence of unintended pregnancies and induced abortions. Most of the induced abortions in Curaçao are on request of the woman and performed by general practitioners. In Curaçao, induced abortion is strictly prohibited, but since 1999 there has been a policy of connivance. We present data on the relevance of economic and socio-cultural factors for the high abortion-rates and the ineffective use of contraception. Methods Structured interviews to investigate knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality, contraception and abortion and reasons for ineffective use of contraceptives among women, visiting general practitioners. Results Of 158 women, 146 (92% participated and 82% reported that their education on sexuality and about contraception was of good quality. However 'knowledge of reliable contraceptive methods' appeared to be - in almost 50% of the cases - false information, misjudgements or erroneous views on the chance of getting pregnant using coitus interruptus and about the reliability and health effects of oral contraceptive pills. Almost half of the interviewed women had incorrect or no knowledge about reliability of condom use and IUD. 42% of the respondents risked by their behavior an unplanned pregnancy. Most respondents considered abortion as an emergency procedure, not as contraception. Almost two third experienced emotional, physical or social problems after the abortion. Conclusions Respondents had a negative attitude toward reliable contraceptives due to socio-cultural determined ideas about health consequences and limited sexual education. Main economic factors were costs of contraceptive methods, because most health insurances in Curaçao do not cover contraceptives. To improve the effective use of reliable contraceptives, more adequate information should be given, targeting the wrong beliefs and false information. The government should encourage health insurance companies to reimburse

[Psychological aspects of induced abortion].

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Mouniq, C; Moron, P

1982-06-01

Results are presented of a literature review to identify social and psychological aspects of abortion. The literature does not provide a true profile of women requesting abortions, but some characteristics emerge. Reasons for requesting abortion include economic problems, difficult previous pregnancies, general medical contraindications to pregnancy, marital conflicts, feelings of loneliness, professional aspirations, problems with existing children, and feelings of insecurity about the future. However, the same feelings are found among women carrying their pregnancies to term. Unplanned pregnancies are more common during periods of depression. Most authors have found about 1/2 of women seeking abortions to be single and about 1/2 to be under 25 years old. Religion does not appear to be a determining factor. 1 study of psychological factors in abortion seekers found that a large number of single women seeking abortion had suffered traumatic experiences in childhood and were seeking security in inappropriate amorous relationships. Helene Deutsch stressed the destructive impulses latent in all pregnancies. Others have cited the ambivalence of the desire for pregnancy and feelings of loss after abortion. Studies published after legalization of abortion in the US and France however have stressed the nearly total absence of moderate or severe psychiatric symptoms after abortion. Responses immediately after the abortion may include feelings of relief, guilt, indifference, or ambivalence. Secondary affects appear minor to most authors. Psychological effects do not appear to be influenced by age, marital status, parity, intelligence, occupation, existence of a later pregnancy, or concommitant sterilization. "Premorbidity" and coercion by spouse or family were most closely associated with psychological symptoms. Numerous authors have found about twice as many negative reactions among women undergoing abortion for medical reasons. Most patients undergoing abortions for

Trends in the Pattern of Induced Abortions in Ilorin | Adeleke ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Context: Induced abortion remains a major cause of maternal mortality in developing countries. Reports from Nigeria put it's contribution to maternal death at between 15-40%. Prevention of maternal mortality project (Which trys to eliminate hospital delay in the treatment of complication of induced abortion) was introduced ...

28 CFR 551.23 - Abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Abortion. 551.23 Section 551.23 Judicial..., Pregnancy, Child Placement, and Abortion § 551.23 Abortion. (a) The inmate has the responsibility to decide either to have an abortion or to bear the child. (b) The Warden shall offer to provide each pregnant...

Key determinants of induced abortion in women seeking postabortion care in hospital facilities in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Science.gov (United States)

Ilboudo, Patrick Gc; Somda, Serge Ma; Sundby, Johanne

2014-01-01

Despite the universal recognition of unsafe abortion as a major public health problem, very little research has been conducted to document its precipitating factors in Burkina Faso. Our aim was to investigate the key determinants of induced abortion in a sample of women who sought postabortion care. A cross-sectional household survey was carried out from February to September 2012 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Data of 37 women who had had an induced abortion and 267 women who had had a spontaneous abortion were prospectively collected on sociodemographic characteristics, pregnancy and birth history, abortion experience, including previous abortion experience, and selected clinical information, including the type of abortion. A two-step regression analysis consisting of a univariate and a multivariate logistic regression was run on Stata version 11.2 in order to identify the key determinants of induced abortion. The findings indicated that 12% of all abortions were certainly induced. Three key factors were significantly and positively associated with the probability of having an induced abortion: whether the woman reported that her pregnancy was unwanted (odds ratio [OR] 10.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.59-30.41); whether the woman reported was living in a household headed by her parents (OR 6.83, 95% CI 2.42-19.24); and if the woman reported was divorced or widowed (OR 3.47, 95% CI 1.08-11.10). On the contrary, being married was protective against induced abortion, with women who reported being married having an 83% (OR 0.17, CI 0.03-0.89) lower chance of having an induced abortion, even when the pregnancy was unwanted. This study has identified three major determinants of induced abortion in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Improved targeted programs on family planning counseling, methods of contraception, and availability of contraceptives should be widely promoted.

2 TeV HEB beam abort at the SSCL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schailey, R.; Bull, J.; Clayton, T.; Kocur, P.; Mokhov, N.

1993-05-01

The High Energy Booster (HEB) of the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory (SSCL) will require a full aperture beam abort over a dynamic energy range of 200 GeV to 2 TeV. Since the HEB is a bi-polar machine, both clockwise (CW) and the counter-clockwise (CCW) beam aborts are required. Also, the stored beam energy of 6.55 MJ in the superconducting HEB imposes upon the full aperture requirement. In this report, we describe the abort channels in the HEB utility straight sections, aperture restrictions, mechanical interferences and solutions, kicker misfires, and a 1 TeV beam absorber

2 TeV HEB beam abort at the SSCL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schailey, R.; Bull, J.; Clayton, T.; Kocur, P.; Mokhov, N.V.

1993-01-01

The High Energy Booster (HEB) of the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory (SSCL) will require a full aperture beam abort over a dynamic energy range of 200 GeV to 2 TeV. Since the HEB is a bi-polar machine, both clockwise (CW) and counter-clockwise (CCW) beam aborts are required. Also, the stored beam energy of 6.55 MJ in the superconducting HEB imposes the full aperture requirement. In this report, the authors describe the abort channels in the HEB utility straight sections, aperture restrictions, mechanical interferences and solutions, kicker misfires, and a 2 TeV beam absorber

Youth often risk unsafe abortions.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, B

1993-10-01

The topic of this article is the use of unsafe abortion for unwanted pregnancies among adolescents. The significance of unsafe abortion is identified as a high risk of serious health problems, such as infection, hemorrhage, infertility, and mortality, and as a strain on emergency room services. The World Health Organization estimates that at least 33% of all women seeking hospital care for abortion complications are aged under 20 years. 50 million abortions are estimated to be induced annually, of which 33% are illegal and almost 50% are performed outside the health care system. Complications are identified as occurring due to the procedure itself (perforation of the uterus, cervical lacerations, or hemorrhage) and due to incomplete abortion or introduction of bacteria into the uterus. Long-term complications include an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic infection, and infertility. Mortality from unsafe abortion is estimated at 1000/100,000 procedures. Safe abortion mortality is estimated at 0.6/100,000. When infertility results, some cultures ascribe an outcast status or marriages are prevented or prostitution is assured. The risk of complications is considered higher for adolescents. Adolescents tend to delay seeking an abortion, lack knowledge on where to go for a safe procedure, and delay seeking help for complications. Peer advice may be limited or inadequate knowledge. Five studies are cited that illustrate the impact of unsafe abortion on individuals and health care systems. Abortions may be desired due to fear of parental disapproval of the pregnancy, abandonment by the father, financial and emotional responsibilities of child rearing, expulsion from school, or inability to marry if the child is out of wedlock. Medical, legal, and social barriers may prevent women and girls from obtaining safe abortion. Parental permission is sometimes a requirement for safe abortion. Fears of judgmental or callous health personnel may be barriers to

Abortion-care education in Japanese nurse practitioner and midwifery programs: a national survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Mizuno, Maki

2014-01-01

While various reports have been published concerning ethical dilemmas in nursing and midwifery, and while many nurses and midwives struggle with the conflict between personal feelings raised by abortion and the duties of their position, few studies investigate the extent and conditions of abortion-care education for registered nurses (RNs) and certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) in Japan. To describe Japanese abortion-care education programs and to investigate program directors' or other relevant persons' perceptions of abortion-care education. Descriptive study was used to determine the extent of abortion-care education programs and the respondents' perceptions of abortion-care education. All 228 Japanese nursing and/or midwifery schools were invited to participate in the study. The response rate was 33.8% (n=77). Response rate varied by program type: 18.4% (n=45) for nursing programs and 29.0% (n=32) for midwifery programs. A confidential survey requesting information about curricular coverage of ten reproductive health topics related to abortion was mailed to program directors. The results show that the majority of CNM and RN programs surveyed offer didactic exposure to instruction in family planning and contraception, emergency contraception, legal considerations, and possible medical complications. However, few programs offer clinical exposure to all 10 topics. Of the respondents, 36% reported that lack of time and the low priority given to abortion-care education were issues of curriculum priority. As for educational materials, few textbooks or guidebooks exist on abortion care in Japan, and most educators use general nursing textbooks to cover this topic. Regardless of interest in or intention to provide abortion services as part of their practice, all providers of abortion-care education need to be knowledgeable about the full range of reproductive health options, including family planning and abortion, and to be able to convey this information to clients

Safe abortion information hotlines: An effective strategy for increasing women's access to safe abortions in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Drovetta, Raquel Irene

2015-05-01

This paper describes the implementation of five Safe Abortion Information Hotlines (SAIH), a strategy developed by feminist collectives in a growing number of countries where abortion is legally restricted and unsafe. These hotlines have a range of goals and take different forms, but they all offer information by telephone to women about how to terminate a pregnancy using misoprostol. The paper is based on a qualitative study carried out in 2012-2014 of the structure, goals and experiences of hotlines in five Latin American countries: Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The methodology included participatory observation of activities of the SAIH, and in-depth interviews with feminist activists who offer these services and with 14 women who used information provided by these hotlines to induce their own abortions. The findings are also based on a review of materials obtained from the five hotline collectives involved: documents and reports, social media posts, and details of public demonstrations and statements. These hotlines have had a positive impact on access to safe abortions for women whom they help. Providing these services requires knowledge and information skills, but little infrastructure. They have the potential to reduce the risk to women's health and lives of unsafe abortion, and should be promoted as part of public health policy, not only in Latin America but also other countries. Additionally, they promote women's autonomy and right to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A framework for analysis of abortive colony size distributions using a model of branching processes in irradiated normal human fibroblasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakashita, Tetsuya; Hamada, Nobuyuki; Kawaguchi, Isao; Ouchi, Noriyuki B; Hara, Takamitsu; Kobayashi, Yasuhiko; Saito, Kimiaki

2013-01-01

Clonogenicity gives important information about the cellular reproductive potential following ionizing irradiation, but an abortive colony that fails to continue to grow remains poorly characterized. It was recently reported that the fraction of abortive colonies increases with increasing dose. Thus, we set out to investigate the production kinetics of abortive colonies using a model of branching processes. We firstly plotted the experimentally determined colony size distribution of abortive colonies in irradiated normal human fibroblasts, and found the linear relationship on the log-linear or log-log plot. By applying the simple model of branching processes to the linear relationship, we found the persistent reproductive cell death (RCD) over several generations following irradiation. To verify the estimated probability of RCD, abortive colony size distribution (≤ 15 cells) and the surviving fraction were simulated by the Monte Carlo computational approach for colony expansion. Parameters estimated from the log-log fit demonstrated the good performance in both simulations than those from the log-linear fit. Radiation-induced RCD, i.e. excess probability, lasted over 16 generations and mainly consisted of two components in the early (probability over 5 generations, whereas abortive colony size distribution was robust against it. These results suggest that, whereas short-term RCD is critical to the abortive colony size distribution, long-lasting RCD is important for the dose response of the surviving fraction. Our present model provides a single framework for understanding the behavior of primary cell colonies in culture following irradiation.

Balanced Chromosomal Translocation of Chromosomes 6 and 7: A Rare Male Factor of Spontaneous Abortions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sefa Resim

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Carriers of structural chromosomal rearrangements such as Robertsonian or reciprocal translocations have an increased risk of spontaneous abortion and producing offspring with genetic abnormalities. Case Report: We report a man with balanced chromosomal translocations located at 6p22, and 7q22. His wife has a history of four spontaneous abortions. Conclusion: Couples with a history of abortions should be investigated cytogenetically, after other causes of miscarriages are excluded. The possibility of spontaneous abortions can be reduced with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD before embryo transfer.

The characteristics and severity of psychological distress after abortion among university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Curley, Maureen; Johnston, Celeste

2013-07-01

Controversy over abortion inhibits recognition and treatment for women who experience psychological distress after abortion (PAD). This study identified the characteristics, severity, and treatment preferences of university students who experienced PAD. Of 151 females, 89 experienced an abortion. Psychological outcomes were compared among those who preferred or did not prefer psychological services after abortion to those who were never pregnant. All who had abortions reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and grief lasting on average 3 years. Yet, those who preferred services experienced heightened psychological trauma indicative of partial or full PTSD (Impact of Event Scale, M = 26.86 versus 16.84, p mental health problems. PAD appeared multi-factorial, associated with the abortion and overall emotional health. Thus, psychological interventions for PAD need to be developed as a public health priority.

ABORT GAP CLEANING IN RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DREES, A.; AHRENS, L.; III FLILLER, R.; GASSNER, D.; MCINTYRE, G.T.; MICHNOFF, R.; TRBOJEVIC, D.

2002-01-01

During the RHIC Au-run in 2001 the 200 MHz storage cavity system was used for the first time. The rebucketing procedure caused significant beam debunching in addition to amplifying debunching due to other mechanisms. At the end of a four hour store, debunched beam could account for approximately 30%-40% of the total beam intensity. Some of it will be in the abort gap. In order to minimize the risk of magnet quenching due to uncontrolled beam losses at the time of a beam dump, a combination of a fast transverse kicker and copper collimators were used to clean the abort gap. This report gives an overview of the gap cleaning procedure and the achieved performance

Later abortions and mental health: psychological experiences of women having later abortions--a critical review of research.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Julia R

2011-01-01

Some abortion policies in the U.S. are based on the notion that abortion harms women's mental health. The American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Abortion and Mental Health concluded that first-trimester abortions do not harm women's mental health. However, the APA task force does not make conclusions regarding later abortions (second trimester or beyond) and mental health. This paper critically evaluates studies on later abortion and mental health in order to inform both policy and practice. Using guidelines outlined by Steinberg and Russo (2009), post 1989 quantitative studies on later abortion and mental health were evaluated on the following qualities: 1) composition of comparison groups, 2) how prior mental health was assessed, and 3) whether common risk factors were controlled for in analyses if a significant relationship between abortion and mental health was found. Studies were evaluated with respect to the claim that later abortions harm women's mental health. Eleven quantitative studies that compared the mental health of women having later abortions (for reasons of fetal anomaly) with other groups were evaluated. Findings differed depending on the comparison group. No studies considered the role of prepregnancy mental health, and one study considered whether factors common among women having later abortions and mental health problems drove the association between later abortion and mental health. Policies based on the notion that later abortions (because of fetal anomaly) harm women's mental health are unwarranted. Because research suggests that most women who have later abortions do so for reasons other than fetal anomaly, future investigations should examine women's psychological experiences around later abortions. Copyright © 2011 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Abortion - surgical - aftercare

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000658.htm Abortion - surgical - aftercare To use the sharing features on ... please enable JavaScript. You have had a surgical abortion. This is a procedure that ends pregnancy by ...

Recurrent aborted sudden cardiac death with seizures and rhabdomyolysis due to bulimia-induced hypokalemia: report of one case.

Science.gov (United States)

Finsterer, Josef; Stöllberger, Claudia

2014-06-01

Recurrent vomiting due to bulimia associated with abuse of furosemide and laxatives causing severe hypokalemia may result in recurrent aborted sudden cardiac death (SCD) and seizures. We report a 25-year-old female with a history of bulimia associated with abuse of furosemide and laxatives since the age of 15 years, migraine since puberty, renal abscesses at age 20 y, and rhabdomyolysis of unknown cause at age 24 y. She experienced aborted SCD due to severe hypokalemia with symptomatic seizures at 21 and 25 years of age. Bulimia patients additionally taking laxatives or furosemide are at particular risk of SCD and rhabdomyolysis and require periodic determination of electrolytes, potassium substitution, and adequate psychiatric therapy and surveillance.

Constructing abortion as a social problem: "Sex selection" and the British abortion debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ellie

2017-02-01

Between February 2012 and March 2015, the claim that sex selection abortion was taking place in Britain and that action needed to be taken to stop it dominated debate in Britain about abortion. Situating an analysis in sociological and social psychological approaches to the construction of social problems, particularly those considering "feminised" re-framings of anti-abortion arguments, this paper presents an account of this debate. Based on analysis of media coverage, Parliamentary debate and official documents, we focus on claims about grounds (evidence) made to sustain the case that sex selection abortion is a British social problem and highlight how abortion was problematised in new ways. Perhaps most notable, we argue, was the level of largely unchallenged vilification of abortion doctors and providers, on the grounds that they are both law violators and participants in acts of discrimination and violence against women, especially those of Asian heritage. We draw attention to the role of claims made by feminists in the media and in Parliament about "gendercide" as part of this process and argue that those supportive of access to abortion need to critically assess both this aspect of the events and also consider arguments about the problems of "medical power" in the light of what took place.

Abort Region Determinator (ARD) module feasibility report. Mission planning, mission analysis and software formulation

Science.gov (United States)

Draeger, B. G.; Joyner, J. A.

1976-01-01

A detailed performance evaluation of the Abort Region Determinator (ARD) module design was provided in support of OFT-1 ascent and OFT-1 intact launch aborts. The evaluation method used compared ARD results against results obtained using the full-up Space Vehicle Dynamic Simulations program under the same conditions. Results were presented for each of the three major ARD math models: (1) the ascent numerical integrator; (2) the mass model, and (3) the second stage predictor as well as the total ARD module. These results demonstrate that the baselined ARD module meets all design objectives for mission control center orbital flight test launch/abort support.

Medical abortion practices : a survey of National Abortion Federation members in the United States

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wiegerinck, Melanie M. J.; Jones, Heidi E.; O'Connell, Katharine; Lichtenberg, E. Steve; Paul, Maureen; Westhoff, Carolyn L.

2008-01-01

Background: Little is known about clinical implementation of medical abortion in the United States following approval of mifepristone as an abortifacient by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. We collected information regarding medical abortion practices of National Abortion Federation

The prevalence of posttraumatic stress among women requesting induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallin Lundell, Inger; Sundström Poromaa, Inger; Frans, Orjan; Helström, Lotti; Högberg, Ulf; Moby, Lena; Nyberg, Sigrid; Sydsjö, Gunilla; Georgsson Öhman, Susanne; Östlund, Ingrid; Skoog Svanberg, Agneta

2013-12-01

To describe the prevalence and pattern of traumatic experiences, to assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), to identify risk factors for PTSD and PTSS, and to analyse the association of PTSD and PTSS with concomitant anxiety and depressive symptoms in women requesting induced abortion. A Swedish multi-centre study of women requesting an induced abortion. The Screen Questionnaire - Posttraumatic Stress Disorder was used for research diagnoses of PTSD and PTSS. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Of the 1514 respondents, almost half reported traumatic experiences. Lifetime- and point prevalence of PTSD were 7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.8-8.5) and 4% (95% CI: 3.1-5.2), respectively. The prevalence of PTSS was 23% (95% CI: 21.1-25.4). Women who reported symptoms of anxiety or depression when requesting abortion were more likely to have ongoing PTSD or PTSS. Also single-living women and smokers displayed higher rates of ongoing PTSD. Although PTSD is rare among women who request an induced abortion, a relatively high proportion suffers from PTSS. Abortion seeking women with trauma experiences and existing or preexisting mental disorders need more consideration and alertness when counselled for termination.

Unconstitutionality of abortion laws affirmed.

Science.gov (United States)

1979-08-01

A federal appeals court has affirmed lower court rulings that substantial portions of the Illinois' 1975 Abortion Act and 1977 Abortion Parental Consent Act are unconstitutional. The 7th Court adopted an April 12, 1978 district court opinion that invalidated several sections of the Illinois 1975 abortion statute, including parental and spousal consent requirements and provisions requiring that a woman be informed of the "physical competency" of the fetus at the time the abortion was to be performed. The appeals court specifically addressed the statute's provision making a liveborn fetus resulting from an abortion a ward of the state, unless the abortion was performed to save the woman's life. Regarding the 1977 Parental Consent Act, the 7th Circuit reaffirmed its August 1978 ruling that it is unconstitutional to require an unmarried minor to have the consent of both parents or, if they refused consent, a circuit court judge before undergoing an abortion. The appeals court also agreed with the lower court's November 2nd ruling that the Act's requirement of a 48-hour delay between the time the minor gives her consent and the performance of an abortion violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.

Abortion Stigma: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanschmidt, Franz; Linde, Katja; Hilbert, Anja; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Kersting, Anette

2016-12-01

Although stigma has been identified as a potential risk factor for the well-being of women who have had abortions, little attention has been paid to the study of abortion-related stigma. A systematic search of the databases Medline, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, PubMed and Web of Science was conducted; the search terms were "(abortion OR pregnancy termination) AND stigma * ." Articles were eligible for inclusion if the main research question addressed experiences of individuals subjected to abortion stigma, public attitudes that stigmatize women who have had abortions or interventions aimed at managing abortion stigma. To provide a comprehensive overview of this issue, any study published by February 2015 was considered. The search was restricted to English- and German-language studies. Seven quantitative and seven qualitative studies were eligible for inclusion. All but two dated from 2009 or later; the earliest was from 1984. Studies were based mainly on U.S. samples; some included participants from Ghana, Great Britain, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Zambia. The majority of studies showed that women who have had abortions experience fear of social judgment, self-judgment and a need for secrecy. Secrecy was associated with increased psychological distress and social isolation. Some studies found stigmatizing attitudes in the public. Stigma appeared to be salient in abortion providers' lives. Evidence of interventions to reduce abortion stigma was scarce. Most studies had limitations regarding generalizability and validity. More research, using validated measures, is needed to enhance understanding of abortion stigma and thereby reduce its impact on affected individuals. Copyright © 2016 by the Guttmacher Institute.

Medical abortion practices: a survey of National Abortion Federation members in the United States

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wiegerinck, Melanie M. J.; Jones, Heidi E.; O'Connell, Katharine; Lichtenberg, E. Steve; Paul, Maureen; Westhoff, Carolyn L.

2008-01-01

Little is known about clinical implementation of medical abortion in the United States following approval of mifepristone as an abortifacient by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. We collected information regarding medical abortion practices of National Abortion Federation (NAF) members

Tackling unsafe abortion in Mauritius.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyong'o, D; Oodit, G

1996-01-01

Despite a contraceptive prevalence rate of 75% Mauritius has a high incidence of unsafe abortions because of unprotected intercourse experienced by many young women in a rapidly industrializing environment. The Mauritius Family Planning Association (MFPA) tackled the issue of unsafe abortion in 1993. Abortion is illegal in the country, and the Catholic Church also strongly opposes modern family planning methods, thus the use of withdrawal and/or calendar methods have been increasing. The MFPA organized an advocacy symposium in 1993 on unsafe abortion with the result of revealing the pressure the Church was exerting relative to abortion and contraceptives. The advocacy campaign of the MFPA consists of having abortion legalized on health grounds and improving family planning services, especially for young unmarried women and men. The full support of the media was secured on the abortion issue: articles appeared, meetings were attended by the press, and public relations support was also received from them. The MFPA worked closely with parliamentarians. A motion was tabled in 1994 in the National Assembly which called for legalization of abortion on health grounds, but the Church squelched its debate. In March 1994 MFPA hosted the IPPF African Regional Conference on Unsafe Abortion in Mauritius with the participation of over 100 representatives from 20 countries, and subsequently a second motion was tabled without parliamentary debate. The deliberations were covered by the media and the Ministry of Women's Rights recognized abortion as an urgent issue as outlined in a white paper prepared for the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. The campaign changed the policy climate favorably making the public more conscious of unsafe abortion. The Ministry of Health decided to collect more data and the newly elected government seems to be more open about this issue.

Two neutral alleles of improving male gamete abortion in indica-japonica hybrid rice

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2000-01-01

@@It was difficult to use the pronounced heterosis of indica-japonica hybrids rice due to the panicle sterility caused by male and female gamete abortion. The female gamete abortion in most of subspecific hybrids could be solved by using an abortion-neutral gene S5-n, a wide compatibility gene. The problem of male gamete abortion indicated by distorted segregation of marker genes remained to be studied. Segregation distortion via male gamete had been reported on chromosomes 3, 7, 8, 11, and 12.

Induced abortion and contraception in Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Spinelli, A; Grandolfo, M E

1991-09-01

This article discusses the legal and epidemiologic status of abortion in Italy, and its relationship to fertility and contraception. Enacted in May 1978, Italy's abortion law allows the operation to be performed during the 1st 90 days of gestation for a broad range of health, social, and psychological reasons. Women under 18 must receive written permission from a parent, guardian, or judge in order to undergo an abortion. The operation is free of charge. Health workers who object to abortion because of religious or moral reasons are exempt from participating. Regional differences exist concerning the availability of abortion, easy to procure in some places and difficult to obtain in others. After an initial increase following legalization, the abortion rate was 13.5/1000 women aged 15-44 and the abortion ratio was 309/1000 live births -- an intermediate rate and ratio compared to other countries. By the time the Abortion Act of 1978 was adopted, Italy already had one of the lowest fertility levels in Europe. Thus, the legalization of abortion has had no impact on fertility trends. Contrary to initial fears that the legalization of abortion would make abortion a method of family planning, 80% of the women who sought an abortion in 1983-88 were using birth control at the time (withdrawal being the most common method used by this group). In fact, most women who undergo abortions are married, between the ages of 25-34, and with at least one child. Evidence indicates widespread ignorance concerning reproduction. In a 1989 survey, only 65% of women could identify the fertile period of the menstrual cycle. Italy has no sex education in schools or national family planning programs. Compared to most of Europe, Italy still has low levels of reliable contraceptive usage. This points to the need to guarantee the availability of abortion.

Abortion Incidence and Unintended Pregnancy in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Puri, Mahesh; Singh, Susheela; Sundaram, Aparna; Hussain, Rubina; Tamang, Anand; Crowell, Marjorie

2016-12-01

Although abortion has been legal under broad criteria in Nepal since 2002, a significant proportion of women continue to obtain illegal, unsafe abortions, and no national estimates exist of the incidence of safe and unsafe abortions. Data were collected in 2014 from a nationally representative sample of 386 facilities that provide legal abortions or postabortion care and a survey of 134 health professionals knowledgeable about abortion service provision. Facility caseloads and indirect estimation techniques were used to calculate the national and regional incidence of legal and illegal abortion. National and regional levels of abortion complications and unintended pregnancy were also estimated. In 2014, women in Nepal had 323,100 abortions, of which 137,000 were legal, and 63,200 women were treated for abortion complications. The abortion rate was 42 per 1,000 women aged 15-49, and the abortion ratio was 56 per 100 live births. The abortion rate in the Central region (59 per 1,000) was substantially higher than the national average. Overall, 50% of pregnancies were unintended, and the unintended pregnancy rate was 68 per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Despite legalization of abortion and expansion of services in Nepal, unsafe abortion is still common and exacts a heavy toll on women. Programs and policies to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion, increase access to high-quality contraceptive care and expand safe abortion services are warranted.

Intended and unintended consequences of abortion law reform: perspectives of abortion experts in Victoria, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Keogh, L A; Newton, D; Bayly, C; McNamee, K; Hardiman, A; Webster, A; Bismark, M

2017-01-01

In Victoria, Australia, abortion was decriminalised in October 2008, bringing the law in line with clinical practice and community attitudes. We describe how experts in abortion service provision perceived the intent and subsequent impact of the 2008 Victorian abortion law reform. Experts in abortion provision in Victoria were recruited for a qualitative semi-structured interview about the 2008 law reform and its perceived impact, until saturation was reached. Nineteen experts from a range of health care settings and geographic locations were interviewed in 2014/2015. Thematic analysis was conducted to summarise participants' views. Abortion law reform, while a positive event, was perceived to have changed little about the provision of abortion. The views of participants can be categorised into: (1) goals that law reform was intended to address and that have been achieved; (2) intent or hopes of law reform that have not been achieved; (3) unintended consequences; (4) coincidences; and (5) unfinished business. All agreed that law reform had repositioned abortion as a health rather than legal issue, had shifted the power in decision making from doctors to women, and had increased clarity and safety for doctors. However, all described outstanding concerns; limited public provision of surgical abortion; reduced access to abortion after 20 weeks; ongoing stigma; lack of a state-wide strategy for equitable abortion provision; and an unsustainable workforce. Law reform, while positive, has failed to address a number of significant issues in abortion service provision, and may have even resulted in a 'lull' in action. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Quantitative and qualitative assessment of the bovine abortion surveillance system in France.

Science.gov (United States)

Bronner, Anne; Gay, Emilie; Fortané, Nicolas; Palussière, Mathilde; Hendrikx, Pascal; Hénaux, Viviane; Calavas, Didier

2015-06-01

Bovine abortion is the main clinical sign of bovine brucellosis, a disease of which France has been declared officially free since 2005. To ensure the early detection of any brucellosis outbreak, event-driven surveillance relies on the mandatory notification of bovine abortions and the brucellosis testing of aborting cows. However, the under-reporting of abortions appears frequent. Our objectives were to assess the aptitude of the bovine abortion surveillance system to detect each and every bovine abortion and to identify factors influencing the system's effectiveness. We evaluated five attributes defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control with a method suited to each attribute: (1) data quality was studied quantitatively and qualitatively, as this factor considerably influences data analysis and results; (2) sensitivity and representativeness were estimated using a unilist capture-recapture approach to quantify the surveillance system's effectiveness; (3) acceptability and simplicity were studied through qualitative interviews of actors in the field, given that the surveillance system relies heavily on abortion notifications by farmers and veterinarians. Our analysis showed that (1) data quality was generally satisfactory even though some errors might be due to actors' lack of awareness of the need to collect accurate data; (2) from 2006 to 2011, the mean annual sensitivity - i.e. the proportion of farmers who reported at least one abortion out of all those who detected such events - was around 34%, but was significantly higher in dairy than beef cattle herds (highlighting a lack of representativeness); (3) overall, the system's low sensitivity was related to its low acceptability and lack of simplicity. This study showed that, in contrast to policy-makers, most farmers and veterinarians perceived the risk of a brucellosis outbreak as negligible. They did not consider sporadic abortions as a suspected case of brucellosis and usually reported abortions only to

Outcome of pregnancy following induced abortion. Report from the joint study of the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, P I; Kay, C R; Lewis, T L; Parish, S

1985-04-01

A total of 1590 general practitioners and 795 gynaecologists in England, Scotland and Wales are participating in a long-term, prospective study concerning the sequelae of induced abortion. In the present report a comparison is made between the outcome of the first post-index pregnancy in 745 women whose index pregnancy ended in an induced abortion (cases) and that in 1339 women who had an unplanned index pregnancy but were not referred for induced abortion (controls). There were no statistically significant differences between cases and controls. The increased relative risk which was found amongst the induced abortion group of non-viable outcome, low birthweight and shortened gestation, could have arisen by chance. Further analysis of a larger number of pregnancies is required to permit confident interpretation of these observations. The present data provide no reason for alterations in the current management of induced abortion, or the subsequent pregnancy.

Spontaneous abortion and physical strain around implantation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjøllund, Niels Henrik Ingvar; Jensen, T.K.; Bonde, J.P.

2000-01-01

Existing studies of physical strain and spontaneous abortion are mainly retrospective or based only on pregnancies that have survived the first trimester. Furthermore, almost all studies have relied on averaged measures of physical strain, which tend to blur an effect if peak values during short...... pregnancy the women recorded physical strain prospectively in a structured diary. Physical strain around the time of implantation was associated with later spontaneous abortion. The adjusted risk ratio for women who reported physical strain higher than average at day 6 to 9 after the estimated date...

Estimating the efficacy of medical abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Trussell, J; Ellertson, C

1999-09-01

Comparisons of the efficacy of different regimens of medical abortion are difficult because of the widely varying protocols (even for testing identical regimens), divergent definitions of success and failure, and lack of a standard method of analysis. In this article we review the current efficacy literature on medical abortion, highlighting some of the most important differences in the way that efficacy has been analyzed. We then propose a standard conceptual approach and the accompanying statistical methods for analyzing clinical trials of medical abortion and to explain how clinical investigators can implement this approach. Our review reveals that research on the efficacy of medical abortion has closely followed the conceptual model used for analysis of surgical abortion. The problem, however, is that, whereas surgical abortion is a discrete event occurring in the space of a few minutes or less, medical abortion is a process typically lasting from several days to several weeks. In this process, two events may occur that are not possible with surgical abortion. First, the woman can opt out of the process before a fair determination of efficacy can be made. Second, the process of medical abortion allows time for surgical interventions that may be convenient for the clinician but not strictly necessary from a medical perspective. Another difference from surgical abortions is that, for medical abortions, different medical abortion protocols specify different waiting periods, giving the drugs less time to work in some studies than in others before a determination of efficacy is made. We argue that, when analyzing efficacy of medical abortion, researchers should abandon their close reliance on the analogy to surgical abortion. In fact, medical abortion is more appropriately analyzed by life table procedures developed for the study of another fertility regulation technology; contraception. As with medical abortion, a woman initiating use of a contraceptive method can

Abortion in Croatia and Slovenia.

Science.gov (United States)

1992-01-01

In Slovenia abortion will continue to be available during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy as it has been since 1978. The Slovenian Constitutional Court passed this decision in December, 1991 calling the right to abortion a basic human right. T he ruling was a setback both for the government's conservative parties and the Catholic church. In Croatia, where the Catholic church is campaigning against abortion, the situation is quite different. Zagreb is full of stickers and posters with anti-abortion messages branding abortion murder and spreading inaccurate information in announcements. In 1990, there were 56,000 abortions. For every child that was born, one was aborted. The largest Croatian newspaper publicizes the Catholic view. They want pro-choice women of the volunteer group Tresnjevka to stop their struggle. The church and conservative women's groups press for inclusion of abortion in the Constitution. They are very powerful, and the fear is that might soon succeed in restricting or outlawing abortion. Tresnjevka is making efforts to organize a coordination and information center for women in Zagreb where there are 350,000 women and children refugees. Informative brochures are printed on natural healing methods in gynecology, as drugs are very scarce, and addresses for gynecological emergency care are also provided. Abortion has been legally available on demand during the 1st 10 weeks of pregnancy since 1978. Fore year Tresnjevka has worked for women, trying to raise funds from personal donations and from the government for their activities. Funds from foreign countries have never been received. At present many of the group's activities are on hold because of lack of funds, nevertheless the determination to continue fighting is alive.

Psychosocial aspects of induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Stotland, N L

1997-09-01

US anti-abortion groups have used misinformation on the long-term psychological impact of induced abortion to advance their position. This article reviews the available research evidence on the definition, history, cultural context, and emotional and psychiatric sequelae of induced abortion. Notable has been a confusion of normative, transient reactions to unintended pregnancy and abortion (e.g., guilt, depression, anxiety) with serious mental disorders. Studies of the psychiatric aspects of abortion have been limited by methodological problems such as the impossibility of randomly assigning women to study and control groups, resistance to follow-up, and confounding variables. Among the factors that may impact on an unintended pregnancy and the decision to abort are ongoing or past psychiatric illness, poverty, social chaos, youth and immaturity, abandonment issues, ongoing domestic responsibilities, rape and incest, domestic violence, religion, and contraceptive failure. Among the risk factors for postabortion psychosocial difficulties are previous or concurrent psychiatric illness, coercion to abort, genetic or medical indications, lack of social supports, ambivalence, and increasing length of gestation. Overall, the literature indicates that serious psychiatric illness is at least 8 times more common among postpartum than among postabortion women. Abortion center staff should acknowledge that the termination of a pregnancy may be experienced as a loss even when it is a voluntary choice. Referrals should be offered to women who show great emotional distress, have had several previous abortions, or request psychiatric consultation.

Husbands' involvement in abortion in Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansson, A; Nga, N T; Huy, T Q; Dat, D D; Holmgren, K

1998-12-01

This study analyzes the involvement of men in abortion in Vietnam, where induced abortion is legal and abortion rates are among the highest in the world. Twenty men were interviewed in 1996 about the role they played in their wives' abortions and about their feelings and ethical views concerning the procedure. The results showed that both husbands and wives considered the husband to be the main decisionmaker regarding family size, which included the decision to have an abortion, but that, in fact, some women had undergone an abortion without consulting their husbands in advance. Parents and in-laws were usually not consulted; the couples thought they might object to the decision on moral grounds. Respondents' ethical perspectives on abortion are discussed. When faced with an unwanted pregnancy, the husbands adopted an ethics of care and responsibility toward family and children, although some felt that abortion was immoral. The study highlights the importance of understanding husbands' perspectives on their responsibilities and rights in reproductive decisionmaking and their ethical and other concerns related to abortion.

Hospital Admission following Induced Abortion in Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea – A Descriptive Study

Science.gov (United States)

Vallely, Lisa M.; Homiehombo, Primrose; Kelly-Hanku, Angela; Kumbia, Antonia; Mola, Glen D. L.; Whittaker, Andrea

2014-01-01

Background In Papua New Guinea abortion is restricted under the Criminal Code Act. While safe abortions should available in certain situations, frequently they are not available to the majority of women. Sepsis from unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal mortality. Our findings form part of a wider, mixed methods study designed to identify complications requiring hospital treatment for post abortion care and to explore the circumstances surrounding unsafe abortion. Methods Through a six month prospective study we identified all women presenting to the Eastern Highlands Provincial Hospital following spontaneous and induced abortions. We undertook semi-structured interviews with women and reviewed individual case notes, extracting demographic and clinical information. Findings Case notes were reviewed for 56% (67/119) of women presenting for post abortion care. At least 24% (28/119) of these admissions were due to induced abortion. Women presenting following induced abortions were significantly more likely to be younger, single, in education at the time of the abortion and report that the baby was unplanned and unwanted, compared to those reporting spontaneous abortion. Obtained illegally, misoprostol was the method most frequently used to end the pregnancy. Physical and mechanical means and traditional herbs were also widely reported. Conclusion In a country with a low contraceptive prevalence rate and high unmet need for family planning, all reproductive age women need access to contraceptive information and services to avoid, postpone or space pregnancies. In the absence of this, women are resorting to unsafe means to end an unwanted pregnancy, putting their lives at risk and putting an increased strain on an already struggling health system. Women in this setting need access to safe, effective means of abortion. PMID:25329982

State-Mandated (Mis)Information and Women's Endorsement of Common Abortion Myths.

Science.gov (United States)

Berglas, Nancy F; Gould, Heather; Turok, David K; Sanders, Jessica N; Perrucci, Alissa C; Roberts, Sarah C M

The extent that state-mandated informed consent scripts affect women's knowledge about abortion is unknown. We examine women's endorsement of common abortion myths before and after receiving state-mandated information that included accurate and inaccurate statements about abortion. In Utah, women presenting for an abortion information visit completed baseline surveys (n = 494) and follow-up interviews 3 weeks later (n = 309). Women answered five items about abortion risks, indicating which of two statements was closer to the truth (as established by prior research) or responding "don't know." We developed a continuous myth endorsement scale (range, 0-1) and, using multivariable regression models, examined predictors of myth endorsement at baseline and change in myth endorsement from baseline to follow-up. At baseline, many women reported not knowing about abortion risks (range, 36%-70% across myths). Women who were younger, non-White, and had previously given birth but not had a prior abortion reported higher myth endorsement at baseline. Overall, myth endorsement decreased after the information visit (0.37-0.31; p < .001). However, endorsement of the myth that was included in the state script-describing inaccurate risks of depression and anxiety-increased at follow-up (0.47-0.52; p < .05). Lack of knowledge about the effects of abortion is common. Knowledge of information that was accurately presented or not referenced in state-mandated scripts increased. In contrast, inaccurate information was associated with decreases in women's knowledge about abortion, violating accepted principles of informed consent. State policies that require or result in the provision of inaccurate information should be reconsidered. Copyright © 2016 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Portugal takes step back on abortion legalization.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-07-01

According to international press reports, a law that would have allowed Portuguese women abortions through the 10th week of pregnancy and into the 16th week if their physical or mental health was at risk has been rescinded after a referendum to determine the statute's future was voided because of low voter turnout. Passed in February, the law was a liberalization of Portugal's strict anti-abortion laws, which ban all abortions except for narrowly defined medical reasons or in the case of rape (and those are permitted only until the 12th week of pregnancy). Because the issue is such a controversial one, politicians had turned to a national referendum asking Portuguese voters to overturn or ratify the new law. The referendum was the first in the country since the end of its right-wing dictatorship in 1974, and 50% participation was required. Only 31.5% of the country's 8.5 million eligible voters went to the polls on June 28. Of those voting, 50.9% voted against the liberalized new legislation. Sunny weather and World Cup soccer matches were both pointed to as reasons for the low turnout. Officials estimate there are some 20,000 illegal abortions annually in Portugal. Abortion-rights activists in the mostly Roman-Catholic country say hospitals see roughly 10,000 women a year suffering from complications from illegal abortions, and that at least 800 women die each year from the procedure. In the next day's Diario de Noticias, a daily paper in Portugal, the entire front page was filled with a giant question mark. "What now, lawmakers?" the headline read. full text

Did Legalized Abortion Lower Crime?

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Ted

2004-01-01

Changes in homicide and arrest rates were compared among cohorts born before and after legalization of abortion and those who were unexposed to legalized abortion. It was found that legalized abortion improved the lives of many women as they could avoid unwanted births.

Abortion — facts and consequences

OpenAIRE

Perinčić, Robert

1990-01-01

The author sets forth some of the most recent demographic data, important directions of legal documents as regards abortion, tackling medical and ethical problems of abortion. Some essentials particulars are also given as to the embryonic and foetal development. The whole paper concerns the problems of legal abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. The second part of the paper relates to the consequences of abortion affecting the physical and mental health of a woman as show...

Outbreak of caprine abortion by Toxoplasma gondii in Midwest Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flávio Henrique Bravim Caldeira

2011-11-01

Full Text Available An outbreak of abortion by Toxoplasma gondii in goats on a farm in the Brazilian Midwest is reported. Gross lesions were not observed in seven aborted fetuses submitted to the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Mato Grosso, for necropsy investigation. The main histologic lesions were mononuclear cell pneumonia and necrotizing encephalitis in varying degrees of intensity. PCR for Brucella abortus and Neospora caninum and aerobic cultures were negative in all cases. Antibody titles against T. gondii varying from 1:1024 to 1:32.768 were detected in serum samples from four aborted goats. Nested-PCR assay for T. gondii were positive in brain samples of all cases submitted. These findings indicate that T. gondii infection should be considered in the diagnosis of abortion in goats in Midwest Brazil.

Visualising abortion: emotion discourse and fetal imagery in a contemporary abortion debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Nick; Zeedyk, Suzanne; Raitt, Fiona

2005-07-01

This paper presents an analysis of a recent UK anti-abortion campaign in which the use of fetal imagery--especially images of fetal remains--was a prominent issue. A striking feature of the texts produced by the group behind the campaign was the emphasis given to the emotions of those viewing such imagery. Traditionally, social scientific analyses of mass communication have problematised references to emotion and viewed them as being of significance because of their power to subvert the rational appraisal of message content. However, we argue that emotion discourse may be analysed from a different perspective. As the categorisation of the fetus is a social choice and contested, it follows that all protagonists in the abortion debate (whether pro- or anti-abortion) are faced with the task of constructing the fetus as a particular entity rather than another, and that they must seek to portray their preferred categorisation as objective and driven by an 'out-there' reality. Following this logic, we show how the emotional experience of viewing fetal imagery was represented so as to ground an anti-abortion construction of the fetus as objective. We also show how the arguments of the (pro-abortion) opposition were construed as totally discrepant with such emotions and so were invalidated as deceitful distortions of reality. The wider significance of this analysis for social scientific analyses of the abortion debate is discussed.

Indberetning af provokerede aborter i 1994. En sammenligning mellem data i Registeret over Legalt Provokerede Aborter og Landspatientregistere

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krebs, L; Johansen, A M; Helweg-Larsen, K

1997-01-01

Up to 31st December 1994 all cases of legally induced abortions were notified by the physician responsible for the operation to the National Board of Health and recorded in the Register of Induced Abortions. Following this data, abortion statistics will rely on data concerning induced abortions...... in the Danish National Patient Register, which includes information based upon the unique personal number of all patients admitted to hospitals. The completeness of the Register of Induced Abortions and the National Patient Register as to induced abortions in 1994 was assessed to evaluate the impact...... of the change in method of monitoring on trends in the national and regional abortion rate. The complete number of induced abortions was estimated to be the sum of the number recorded in both registers, cases recorded only in the Register of Induced Abortions, cases recorded only in the National Patient...

Medical abortion reversal: science and politics meet.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatti, Khadijah Z; Nguyen, Antoinette T; Stuart, Gretchen S

2018-03-01

Medical abortion is a safe, effective, and acceptable option for patients seeking an early nonsurgical abortion. In 2014, medical abortion accounted for nearly one third (31%) of all abortions performed in the United States. State-level attempts to restrict reproductive and sexual health have recently included bills that require physicians to inform women that a medical abortion is reversible. In this commentary, we will review the history, current evidence-based regimen, and regulation of medical abortion. We will then examine current proposed and existing abortion reversal legislation. The objective of this commentary is to ensure physicians are armed with rigorous evidence to inform patients, communities, and policy makers about the safety of medical abortion. Furthermore, given the current paucity of evidence for medical abortion reversal, physicians and policy makers can dispel bad science and misinformation and advocate against medical abortion reversal legislation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Constructing abortion as a social problem: “Sex selection” and the British abortion debate

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Between February 2012 and March 2015, the claim that sex selection abortion was taking place in Britain and that action needed to be taken to stop it dominated debate in Britain about abortion. Situating an analysis in sociological and social psychological approaches to the construction of social problems, particularly those considering “feminised” re-framings of anti-abortion arguments, this paper presents an account of this debate. Based on analysis of media coverage, Parliamentary debate and official documents, we focus on claims about grounds (evidence) made to sustain the case that sex selection abortion is a British social problem and highlight how abortion was problematised in new ways. Perhaps most notable, we argue, was the level of largely unchallenged vilification of abortion doctors and providers, on the grounds that they are both law violators and participants in acts of discrimination and violence against women, especially those of Asian heritage. We draw attention to the role of claims made by feminists in the media and in Parliament about “gendercide” as part of this process and argue that those supportive of access to abortion need to critically assess both this aspect of the events and also consider arguments about the problems of “medical power” in the light of what took place. PMID:28367000

Stewardship challenges abortion: A proposed means to mitigate abortion's social divisiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Tardiff, Robert G

2015-08-01

Since 1973 the legislated constitutional right to abortion has produced a political dichotomy (anti-abortion versus pro-abortion) within the United States, even while witnessing a gradual decline in the rate of abortions. A third paradigm, moral stewardship, is advanced as an effective means to ameliorate this social divisiveness. Incorporating the concept of stewardship into deliberations of pregnancy termination would require recognition, through fact-based education programs, of the life circumstances that prompt the consideration to terminate a pregnancy. Based on collective responsibility, policies, and programs are needed to foster social justice for parents and for the offspring brought to term, without creating excessive burdens on women faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Moral stewardship is perceived as humanitarian to family and community and advantageous to society overall. It also offers a serious opportunity to reshape our society from divisiveness to inclusiveness, and to guide science policy judgment that enhances and strengthens social justice. Lay summary: Differing opinions over the ethics of human abortion have been legion since Roe v. Wade (1973). The disputes between pro- and anti-abortion factions have segregated society with few improvements in social justice. This study offers an alternative approach, one capable of social assimilation and justice for unwanted offspring and pregnant mothers bearing them. It promotes moral stewardship toward the unborn whose humanity and personhood are recognized genetically and supported philosophically by long-standing ethical principles. Stewardship incorporates all people at all levels of society based on collective responsibility, supported by government policies, yet not restricting a mother's choices for the future of her unborn offspring.

Attitudes toward abortion in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Geary, Cynthia Waszak; Gebreselassie, Hailemichael; Awah, Paschal; Pearson, Erin

2012-09-01

Despite Zambia's relatively progressive abortion law, women continue to seek unsafe, illegal abortions. Four domains of abortion attitudes - support for legalization, immorality, rights, and access to services - were measured in 4 communities. A total of 668 people were interviewed. Associations among the 4 domains were inconsistent with expectations. The belief that abortion is immoral was widespread, but was not associated with lack of support for legalization. Instead, it was associated with belief that women need access to safe services. These findings suggest that increasing awareness about abortion law in Zambia may be important for encouraging more favorable attitudes. Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sociocultural determinants of induced abortion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korejo, R.; Noorani, K.J.; Bhutta, S.

2003-01-01

Objective: To determine the frequency of induced abortion and identity the role of sociocultural factors contributing to termination of pregnancy and associated morbidity and mortality in hospital setting. Subjects and Methods: The patients who were admitted for induced abortion were interviewed in privacy. On condition of anonymity they were asked about the age, parity, family setup and relationships, with particular emphasis on sociocultural reasons and factors contributing to induction of abortion. Details of status of abortionist and methods used for termination of pregnancy, the resulting complications and their severity were recorded. Results: Out of total admissions, 57(2.35%) gave history of induced abortion. All women belonged to low socioeconomic class and 59.6% of them were illiterate. Forty-three (75.5%) of these women had never practiced concentration. Twenty-four (42%) were grandmultiparae and did not want more children. In 29 women (50.9%) the decision for abortion had been supported by the husband. In 25 (43.8%) abortion was carried out by Daiyan (traditional midwives). Serious complications like uterine perforation with or without bowel injury were encouraged in 25 (43.8%) of these women. During the study period illegally induced abortion accounted for 6 (10.5%) maternal deaths. Conclusion: Prevalence of poverty, illiteracy, grand multiparity and non-practice of contraception are strong determinants of induced abortion. (author)

Criminal Aspects of Artificial Abortion

OpenAIRE

Hartmanová, Leona

2016-01-01

Criminal Aspects of Artificial Abortion This diploma thesis deals with the issue of artificial abortion, especially its criminal aspects. Legal aspects are not the most important aspects of artificial abortion. Social, ethical or ideological aspects are of the same importance but this diploma thesis cannot analyse all of them. The main issue with artificial abortion is whether it is possible to force a pregnant woman to carry a child and give birth to a child when she cannot or does not want ...

Is Induced Abortion Really Declining in Armenia?

Science.gov (United States)

Jilozian, Ann; Agadjanian, Victor

2016-06-01

As in other post-Soviet settings, induced abortion has been widely used in Armenia. However, recent national survey data point to a substantial drop in abortion rates with no commensurate increase in modern contraceptive prevalence and no change in fertility levels. We use data from in-depth interviews with women of reproductive age and health providers in rural Armenia to explore possible underreporting of both contraceptive use and abortion. While we find no evidence that women understate their use of modern contraception, the analysis suggests that induced abortion might indeed be underreported. The potential for underreporting is particularly high for sex-selective abortions, for which there is growing public backlash, and medical abortion, a practice that is typically self-administered outside any professional supervision. Possible underreporting of induced abortion calls for refinement of both abortion registration and relevant survey instruments. Better measurement of abortion dynamics is necessary for successful promotion of effective modern contraceptive methods and reduction of unsafe abortion practices. © 2016 The Population Council, Inc.

Fundamental discrepancies in abortion estimates and abortion-related mortality: A reevaluation of recent studies in Mexico with special reference to the International Classification of Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koch E

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Elard Koch,1,2 Paula Aracena,1 Sebastián Gatica,1 Miguel Bravo,1 Alejandra Huerta-Zepeda,3 Byron C Calhoun41Institute of Molecular Epidemiology (MELISA, Center of Embryonic Medicine and Maternal Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile; 2Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile; 3Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla UPAEP, Puebla, México; 4Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West Virginia University, Charleston, WV, USAAbstract: In countries where induced abortion is legally restricted, as in most of Latin America, evaluation of statistics related to induced abortions and abortion-related mortality is challenging. The present article reexamines recent reports estimating the number of induced abortions and abortion-related mortality in Mexico, with special reference to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD. We found significant overestimations of abortion figures in the Federal District of Mexico (up to 10-fold, where elective abortion has been legal since 2007. Significant overestimation of maternal and abortion-related mortality during the last 20 years in the entire Mexican country (up to 35% was also found. Such overestimations are most likely due to the use of incomplete in-hospital records as well as subjective opinion surveys regarding induced abortion figures, and due to the consideration of causes of death that are unrelated to induced abortion, including flawed denominators of live births. Contrary to previous publications, we found important progress in maternal health, reflected by the decrease in overall maternal mortality (30.6% from 1990 to 2010. The use of specific ICD codes revealed that the mortality ratio associated with induced abortion decreased 22.9% between 2002 and 2008 (from 1.48 to 1.14 deaths per 100,000 live births. Currently, approximately 98% of maternal deaths in Mexico are related to causes other than

[Man, problems of values and a discussion of abortion].

Science.gov (United States)

Straass, G

1981-04-15

This is a discussion on pregnancy interruption as it was carried out in the last years in the German Federal Republic, as well as in the German Democratic Republic. Ethical and moral problems and concepts concerning abortion and abortion legislation are discussed from the viewpoint of various ideas and philosophies, especially from the marxist point of view. Moral and ethical concepts result from an evaluation process of human behavior and social relationships. From the marxist insight of people it is known that this is historically concrete and not eternally existing in the nature of man. It is based on concrete people within concrete social situations. Moral values are dependent on social concepts and include human motivations. There is a close relationship between human needs and interests on the one hand and ethical values on the other hand. In abortion too, the single decision of the person does not constitute an ethical value. Abortion cannot be considered independent from the woman, nor from social reality. Reasons for legal abortion have changed through the years according to social needs; before and after World War II poverty, hardship, malnutrition; today it mainly is a question of woman's need for equality in education, profession, and family. Population policies play a role: "soldiers for Hitler" during World War II; preservation of the German race; influx of foreign people with large families. Ethical naturalism "survival of the fittest" is rejected. "Human life" cannot be separated from "developing human life"; zygote, embryo, fetus and newborn are all inseparable stages in human life. A newborn child is not purely biological, like an animal; social aspects are involved. Human nature is a product of history. The developing embryo has no significance as a primary basis for induced abortion but secondarily serves only to determine the optimal time period for abortion. To base abortion on the nature of prenatal human life means nothing more than to

Cytological evidences of pollen abortion in Ornithogalum caudatum Ait

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

2011-10-19

Oct 19, 2011 ... Ornithogalum caudatum Ait exhibits strong physiological adaptability; however, it suffers a serious menace of pollen abortion, as almost no seed is formed in the plants. In the current study, chromosome karyotype of root-tip cells (RTC) during mitosis, and chromosome behavior of pollen mother cells.

[Legal and illegal abortion in Switzerland].

Science.gov (United States)

Stamm, H

1970-01-01

Aspects of legal and illegal abortion in Switzerland are discussed. About 110,000 births, 25,000 therapeutic abortions (75% for psychiatric indications) and an estimated 50,000 illegal abortions occur annually in Switzerland. Although the mortality and morbidity of therapeutic aborti on are similar to those of normal births (1.4 per 1000 and 11%, respectively) the mortality and morbidity of criminal abortions are far greater (3 per 1000 and 73%, respectively). In the author's view, too strict an interpretatiok of Swiss abortion law (which permits abortion to avoid serious harm to the mother's health) does not take into account the severe and lasting emotional and psychological damage which may be caused by unwanted pregnancy, birth, and childraising. In the present social situation, the social and psychological support required by these women is not available; until it is, abortion is to be preferred.

Clandestine abortions are not necessarily illegal.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, R J

1991-01-01

It is common to find the term illegal abortion misused. Often times this misuse is perpetrated by antiabortion advocates who wish to reinforce negative stereotypes and thus apply pressure on doctors to refrain from performing abortions. Until a practitioner is prosecuted and convicted of performing an abortion contrary to the law, the procedure should not be referred to as illegal. Instead the legally neutral term, abortion, should be used instead. This would better serve the interests of women's reproductive health. There is no legal system that makes abortion illegal in all circumstances. For example, abortion is often legal if the life of the mother in danger. This includes a perception on behalf of the practitioner that the women may be suicidal or attempt to terminate the pregnancy by herself. A practitioner performing an abortion in such circumstances is not doing so illegally. The use of the term illegal abortion ignores the fact that in criminal law one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A prosecutor must prove 1st that an intervention was performed and 2nd that a criminal intent accompanied the intervention. It is this 2nd criterion that is often the hardest to prove, since the practitioner must only testify that the intervention was indicated by legally allowed circumstances to be innocent. The prosecutor must show bad faith in order to gain a justified conviction. Even abortion by unqualified practitioners may not be illegal if doctors refuse to perform the intervention because it is still indicated. Accurate description of abortions would clarify situations in which abortion can be legally provided.

Acceptance of family planning methods by induced abortion seekers: An observational study over five years.

Science.gov (United States)

Kathpalia, S K

2016-01-01

Prior to legalization of abortion, induced abortions were performed in an illegal manner and that resulted in many complications hence abortion was legalized in India in 1971 and the number of induced abortions has been gradually increasing since then. One way of preventing abortions is to provide family planning services to these abortion seekers so that same is not repeated. The study was performed to find out the acceptance of contraception after abortion. A prospective study was performed over a period of five years from 2010 to 2014. The study group included all the cases reporting for abortion. A proforma was filled in detail to find out the type of contraception being used before pregnancy and acceptance of contraception after abortion. The existing facilities were also evaluated. 1228 abortions were performed over a period of five years. 94.5% of abortions were during the first trimester. 39.9% had not used any contraceptive before, contraceptives used were natural and barrier which had high failure. The main indication for seeking abortion was failure of contraception and completion of family. 39.6% of patients accepted sterilization as a method of contraception. The existing post abortion family planning services are inadequate. Post abortion period is one which is important to prevent subsequent abortions and family planning services after abortion need to be strengthened.

Unsafe abortion and postabortion care-An overview

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasch, Vibeke

2011-01-01

countries where women do not have legal access to abortion. Postabortion care focuses on treatment of incomplete abortion and provision of postabortion contraceptive services. To enhance women's access to postabortion care, focus is increasingly being placed on upgrading midlevel providers to provide......Forty percent of the world's women are living in countries with restrictive abortion laws, which prohibit abortion or only allow abortion to protect a woman's life or her physical or mental health. In countries where abortion is restricted, women have to resort to clandestine interventions to have...... an unwanted pregnancy terminated. As a consequence, high rates of unsafe abortion are seen, such as in sub-Saharan Africa where unsafe abortion occurs at rates of 18-39/1 000 women. The circumstances under which women obtain unsafe abortion vary and depend on traditional methods known and type of providers...

Abortion and depression: a population-based longitudinal study of young women.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Willy

2008-06-01

Induced abortion is an experience shared by a large number of women in Norway, but we know little about the likely social or mental health-related implications of undergoing induced abortion. International studies suggest an increased risk of adverse outcomes such as depression, but many studies are weakened by poor design. One particular problem is the lack of control for confounding factors likely to increase the risk of both abortion and depression. The aim of the study was to investigate whether induced abortion was a risk factor for subsequent depression. A representative sample of women from the normal population (n=768) was monitored between the ages of 15 and 27 years. Questions covered depression, induced abortion and childbirth, as well as sociodemographic variables, family relationships and a number of individual characteristics, such as schooling and occupational history and conduct problems. Young women who reported having had an abortion in their twenties were more likely to score above the cut-off point for depression (odds ratio (OR) 3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0-6.1). Controlling for third variables reduced the association, but it remained significant (OR 2.9; 95% CI 1.7-5.6). There was no association between teenage abortion and subsequent depression. Young adult women who undergo induced abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression.

Scandinavian women's experiences in connection with "abortion on request": a systematic review protocol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Mille Nyboe; Fandt Hansen, Christl

2014-01-01

The objective of this review is to investigate Scandinavian women’s experiences in connection with "abortion on request”. Types of participants: This review will consider studies that include adult women from age 18 living in (but not necessarily legal citizens of) Scandinavia, defined as Denmark...... and after the intervention - an abortion on request and in investigating possible and self-reported psychosocial or psychological health consequences following the abortion. Types of context: This review will focus on Scandinavian women who have had a legal abortion on request in a Scandinavian hospital......, Sweden and Norway, who have experienced an induced (medical or surgical) abortion without a medical reason, described here as an “abortion on request”. Phenomena of interest: The objective of this review is to investigate Scandinavian women’s experiences in connection with – meaning before, during...

Sociocultural determinants of induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Korejo, Razia; Noorani, Khurshid Jehan; Bhutta, Shereen

2003-05-01

To determine the frequency of induced abortion and identify the role of sociocultural factors contributing to termination of pregnancy and associated morbidity and mortality in hospital setting. Prospective observational study. The study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi from January 1999 to June 2001. The patients who were admitted for induced abortion were interviewed in privacy. On condition of anonymity they were asked about the age, parity, family setup and relationships, with particular emphasis on sociocultural reasons and factors contributing to induction of abortion. Details of status of abortionist and methods used for termination of pregnancy, the resulting complications and their severity were recorded. Out of total admissions, 57(2.35%) gave history of induced abortion. All women belonged to low socioeconomic class and 59.6% of them were illiterate. Forty-three (75.5%) of these women had never practiced contraception. Twenty-four (42%) were grandmultiparae and did not want more children. In 29 women (50.9%) the decision for abortion had been supported by the husband. In 25 women (43.8%) abortion was carried out by Daiyan (traditional midwives). Serious complications like uterine perforation with or without bowel injury were encountered in 25 (43.8%) of these women. During the study period illegally induced abortion accounted for 6 (10.5%) maternal deaths. Prevalence of poverty, illiteracy, grand multiparity and non-practice of contraception are strong determinants of induced abortion.

Induced Abortion Practices in an Urban Indian Slum: Exploring Reasons, Pathways and Experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Behera, Deepanjali; Bharat, Shalini; Chandrakant Gawde, Nilesh

2015-09-01

To explore the context, experiences and pathways of seeking abortion care among married women in a minority dominated urban slum community in Mumbai city of India. A mixed-method study was conducted using a systematic random sampling method to select 282 respondents from the slum community. One fifth of these womenreported undergoing at least one induced abortion over past five years. A quantitative survey was conducted among these women (n = 57) using structured face-to-face interviews. Additionally, in-depths interviews involving 11 respondents, 2 community health workers and 2 key informants from the community were conducted for further exploration of qualitative data. The rate of induced abortion was 115.6 per 1000 pregnancies in the study area with an abortion ratio of 162.79 per 1000 live births. Frequent pregnancies with low birth spacing and abortions were reported among the women due to restricted contraception use based on religious beliefs. Limited supportfrom husband and family compelled the women to seek abortion services, mostly secretly, from private, unskilled providers and unregistered health facilities. Friends and neighbors were main sources of advice and link to abortion services. Lack of safe abortion facilities within accessible distance furtherintensifies the risk of unsafe abortions. Low contraception usage based on rigid cultural beliefs and scarcely accessible abortion services were the root causes of extensive unsafe abortions.Contraception awareness and counseling with involvement of influential community leaders as well as safe abortion services need to be strengthened to protect these deprived women from risks of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

Induced Abortion Practices in an Urban Indian Slum: Exploring Reasons, Pathways and Experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deepanjali Behera

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Objective:To explore the context, experiences and pathways of seeking abortion care among married women in a minority dominated urban slum community in Mumbai city of India.Materials and methods:A mixed-method study was conducted using a systematic random sampling method to select 282 respondents from the slum community. One fifth of these womenreported undergoing at least one induced abortion over past five years. A quantitative survey was conducted among these women (n=57 using structured face-to-face interviews. Additionally, in-depths interviews involving 11 respondents, 2 community health workers and 2 key informants from the community were conducted for further exploration of qualitative data.Results:The rate of induced abortion was 115.6 per 1000 pregnancies in the study area with an abortion ratio of 162.79 per 1000 live births. Frequent pregnancies with low birth spacing and abortions were reported among the women due to restricted contraception use based on religious beliefs. Limited supportfrom husband and family compelled the women to seek abortion services, mostly secretly, from private, unskilled providers and unregistered health facilities. Friends and neighbors were main sources of advice and link to abortion services. Lack of safe abortion facilities within accessible distance furtherintensifies the risk of unsafe abortions.Conclusion:Low contraception usage based on rigid cultural beliefs and scarcely accessible abortion services were the root causes of extensive unsafe abortions.Contraception awareness and counseling with involvement of influential community leaders as well as safe abortion services need to be strengthened to protect these deprived women from risks of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

Abortion: Still Unfinished Agenda in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Shrestha, Dirgha Raj; Regmi, Shibesh Chandra; Dangal, Ganesh

2018-03-13

Unsafe abortion is affecting a lot, in health, socio-economic and health care cost of many countries. Despite invention of simple technology and scientifically approved safe abortion methods, women and girls are still using unsafe abortion practices. Since 2002, Nepal has achieved remarkable progress in developing policies, guidelines, task shifting, training human resources and increasing access to services. However, more than half of abortion in Nepal are performed clandestinely by untrained or unapproved providers or induced by pregnant woman herself. Knowledge on legalization and availability of safe abortion service among women is still very poor. Stigma on abortion still persists among community people, service providers, managers, and policy makers. Access to safe abortion, especially in remote and rural areas, is still far behind as compared to their peers from urban areas. The existing law is not revised in the spirit of current Constitution of Nepal and rights-based approach. The existence of abortion stigma and the shifting of the government structure from unitary system to federalism in absence of a complete clarity on how the safe abortion service gets integrated into the local government structure might create challenge to sustain existing developments. There is, therefore, a need for all stakeholders to make a lot of efforts and allocate adequate resources to sustain current achievements and ensure improvements in creating a supportive social environment for women and girls so that they will be able to make informed decisions and access to safe abortion service in any circumstances.

Cytological evidences of pollen abortion in Ornithogalum caudatum Ait

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ornithogalum caudatum Ait exhibits strong physiological adaptability; however, it suffers a serious menace of pollen abortion, as almost no seed is formed in the plants. In the current study, chromosome karyotype of root-tip cells (RTC) during mitosis, and chromosome behavior of pollen mother cells (PMC) during meiosis in ...

Beam abort detection of SSRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Chenxia; Zhou Weimin; Leng Yongbin

2010-01-01

Beam abort signal is a timing signal of the SSRF (Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility) storage ring. It is used to synchronize BPM processor Libera logging beam position data to identify beam abort source and improve the stability of accelerator. The concept design and engineering design of beam abort trigger module are introduced in this paper, and lab test results of this module using RF signal source also presented. Online beam test results show that this module has achieved design goal, could be used to log beam position data before beam abort. (authors)

[Maltreatment and discrimination in induced abortion care: perception of women in Teresina, State of Piauí, Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Madeiro, Alberto Pereira; Rufino, Andréa Cronemberger

2017-08-01

Treatment of complications resulting from induced abortion may be hampered by discriminatory attitudes manifested by healthcare professionals in hospitals and abortion services. This article retrieved stories of institutional abuse directed at women who had an induced abortion in illegal and unsafe conditions. Seventy-eight women admitted to a public hospital in Teresina for complications after an induced abortion were interviewed. A semi-structured script was used with questions about practices and itineraries of abortion and institutional violence during hospitalization. Discriminatory practices and maltreatment during care were reported by 26 women, especially among those who confessed to induction of the abortion. Moral judgement, threat of filing a complaint to the police, negligence in the control of pain, long wait for uterine curettage, and hospitalization with mothers who have recently given birth were the main types of institutional violence reported by women. Cases of institutional violence in the care of induced abortion violates the duty of the healthcare service and prevents women from receiving the necessary health care.

Stigma and abortion complications in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Lisa H

2012-12-01

Abortion is highly stigmatized in the United States and elsewhere. As a result, many women who seek or undergo abortion keep their decision a secret. In many regions of the world, stigma is a recognized contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality from unsafe abortion, even when abortion is legal. Women may self-induce abortion in ways that are dangerous, or seek unsafe clandestine abortion from inadequately trained health care providers out of fear that their sexual activity, pregnancy, or abortion will be exposed if they present to a safe, licensed facility. However, unsafe abortion rarely occurs in the United States, and accordingly, stigma as a cause of unsafe abortion in the United States context has not been described. I consider the relationship of stigma to two serious abortion complications experienced by U.S. patients. Both patients wished to keep their abortion decision a secret from family and friends, and in both cases, their inability to disclose their abortion contributed to life-threatening complications. The experiences of these patients suggest that availability of legal abortion services in the United States may not be enough to keep all women safe. The cases also challenge the rhetoric that "abortion hurts women," suggesting instead that abortion stigma hurts women.

Attitudes of Scottish abortion care providers towards provision of abortion after 16 weeks' gestation within Scotland.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Rosemary A; Cameron, Sharon T

2013-06-01

In Scotland, in contrast to the rest of Great Britain, abortion at gestations over 20 weeks is not provided, and provision of procedures above 16 weeks varies considerably between regions. Women at varying gestations above 16 weeks must travel outside Scotland, usually to England, for the procedure. To determine the views of professionals working within Scottish abortion care about a Scottish late abortion service. Delegates at a meeting for abortion providers in Scotland completed a questionnaire about their views on abortion provision over 16 weeks and their perceived barriers to service provision. Of 95 distributed questionnaires, 70 (76%) were analysed. Fifty-six respondents (80%) supported a Scottish late abortion service, ten (14%) would maintain current service arrangements, and five (7%) were undecided. Forty (57%) of the supporters of a Scottish service would prefer a single national service, and 16 (22%) several regional services. Perceived barriers included lack of trained staff (n = 39; 56%), accommodation for the service (n = 34; 48%), and perception of lack of support among senior management (n = 28; 40%). The majority of health professionals surveyed who work in Scottish abortion services support provision of abortion beyond 16 weeks within Scotland, and most favour a single national service. Further work on the feasibility of providing this service is required.

The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime

OpenAIRE

John Donohue; Steven Levitt

2000-01-01

We offer evidence that legalized abortion has contributed significantly to recent crime reductions. Crime began to fall roughly 18 years after abortion legalization. The 5 states that allowed abortion in 1970 experienced declines earlier than the rest of the nation, which legalized in 1973 with Roe v. Wade. States with high abortion rates in the 1970s and 1980s experienced greater crime reductions in the 1990s. In high abortion states, only arrests of those born after abortion legaliz...

Evidence supporting broader access to safe legal abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Faúndes, Anibal; Shah, Iqbal H

2015-10-01

Unsafe abortion continues to be a major cause of maternal death; it accounts for 14.5% of all maternal deaths globally and almost all of these deaths occur in countries with restrictive abortion laws. A strong body of accumulated evidence shows that the simple means to drastically reduce unsafe abortion-related maternal deaths and morbidity is to make abortion legal and institutional termination of pregnancy broadly accessible. Despite this evidence, abortion is denied even when the legal condition for abortion is met. The present article aims to contribute to a better understanding that one can be in favor of greater access to safe abortion services, while at the same time not be "in favor of abortion," by reviewing the evidence that indicates that criminalization of abortion only increases mortality and morbidity without decreasing the incidence of induced abortion, and that decriminalization rapidly reduces abortion-related mortality and does not increase abortion rates. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

New German abortion law agreed.

Science.gov (United States)

Karcher, H L

1995-07-15

The German Bundestag has passed a compromise abortion law that makes an abortion performed within the first three months of pregnancy an unlawful but unpunishable act if the woman has sought independent counseling first. Article 218 of the German penal code, which was established in 1871 under Otto von Bismarck, had allowed abortions for certain medical or ethical reasons. After the end of the first world war, the Social Democrats tried to legalize all abortions performed in the first three months of pregnancy, but failed. In 1974, abortion on demand during the first 12 weeks was declared legal and unpunishable under the social liberal coalition government of chancellor Willy Brandt; however, the same year, the German Federal Constitution Court in Karlsruhe ruled the bill was incompatible with article 2 of the constitution, which guarantees the right to life and freedom from bodily harm to everyone, including the unborn. The highest German court also ruled that a pregnant woman had to seek a second opinion from an independent doctor before undergoing an abortion. A new, extended article 218, which included a clause giving social indications, was passed by the Bundestag. When Germany was unified, East Germans agreed to be governed by all West German laws, except article 218. The Bundestag was given 2 years to revise the article; however, in 1993, the Federal Constitution Court rejected a version legalizing abortion in the first 3 months of the pregnancy if the woman sought counsel from an independent physician, and suggested the recent compromise passed by the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament. The upper house, the Bundesrat, where the Social Democrats are in the majority, still has to pass it. Under the bill passed by the Bundestag, national health insurance will pay for an abortion if the monthly income of the woman seeking the abortion falls under a certain limit.

[Abortion. Spain: the keys to the controversy].

Science.gov (United States)

1983-01-01

For many years, illegal abortion has been denounced in Spain. The estimate of 300,000 abortions annually is widely quoted but poorly founded in fact. Weekend "charters" to London and Amsterdam for women seeking abortions have been commented upon, denounced, and caricatured. The evidence indicates that abortions occur in Spain despite their illegality, just as they occur in every other country and have always occurred. Poor women abort in a poor way, with traditional healers, while rich women abort in a rich way, with physicians. "Charters" are the solution of the middle class. Proposed legislation in Spain would permit abortion on 3 grounds: rape, fetal malformation, and risk to the woman's life if the pregnancy continued. Excesses have been committed both by those opposing abortion and by those struggling for liberalization of laws. Defenders of abortion, such as radical feminists, appear to forget that abortion is a medical procedure with possible dangerous psychophysical consequences, and that preventive measures such as sex education and diffusion of contraception or social measures such as assistance for unwed mothers and their children would be preferrable to abortion. There is the question of whether medical personnel should be excused from assisting in abortions on grounds of conscience and whether those who do assist in abortions automatically become "progressive" by doing so. The staunchest defenders of fetal life are not moved to contribute anything beyond words to improvement of the plight of the many millions of already born who live in miserable conditions of hunger and want. Abortion is a violent act against the fetus and the pregnant woman. Its criminalization is a violent act against the woman and a social intrusion into matters better left to personal ethics. The government which proposes abortion on a few grounds fails to initiate a program to promote life through social protection of single mothers and their children or of families in general

Abortion law reform in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Upreti, Melissa

2014-08-01

Across four decades of political and social action, Nepal changed from a country strongly enforcing oppressive abortion restrictions, causing many poor women's long imprisonment and high rates of abortion-related maternal mortality, into a modern democracy with a liberal abortion law. The medical and public health communities supported women's rights activists in invoking legal principles of equality and non-discrimination as a basis for change. Legislative reform of the criminal ban in 2002 and the adoption of an Interim Constitution recognizing women's reproductive rights as fundamental rights in 2007 inspired the Supreme Court in 2009 to rule that denial of women's access to abortion services because of poverty violated their constitutional rights. The government must now provide services under criteria for access without charge, and services must be decentralized to promote equitable access. A strong legal foundation now exists for progress in social justice to broaden abortion access and reduce abortion stigma. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Family and Significant Others on Women's Decisions to Obtain an Abortion: A Study of a Northwest Louisiana Abortion Clinic

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Bertina Loutrice

2011-01-01

This study researched whether family members and significant others influence a woman's decision to obtain an abortion. Influence is defined by Merriam-Webster (2011) as the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways; power exerted over the minds or behaviors of others. The theoretical framework that will be used in…

Comparison of the Window-Frame RHIC-abort kicker with C-type Kicker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsoupas, N.; McMahan, Brandon

2014-01-01

The high intensity proton bunches (~2.5x10 11 p/bunch ) circulating in RHIC increase the temperature of the ferrite-made RHIC-abort-kickers above the Curie point; as a result, the kickers cannot provide the required field to abort the beam at the beam dump. A team of experts in the CAD department worked on modifying the design of the window-frame RHIC-abort kicker to minimize the hysteresis losses responsible for the increase of the ferrite's temperature. In this technical note we report some results from the study of two possible modifications of the window-frame RHIC-abort kicker, and we compare these results with those of a propose C-type RHIC-abort kicker. We also include an Appendix where we describe a method which may further reduce the hysteresis losses of the window-frame kicker.

The Roman Catholic position on abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Barry, R

1997-01-01

This article presents the history and grounds of the official position of the Roman Catholic Church that abortion under any circumstances, including abortion to save the life of the mother, should be prohibited. After an introduction that deplores the lack of mercy shown to killers of abortionists while Catholic priests threatened by pro-abortion forces are not offered protection, the article traces the historic development of the Catholic abortion policy and rebuts arguments that abortion was permitted in the early Christian Church. The next section explains Catholic views on the personhood of a conceptus and refutes the contentions of Joseph Donceel that early abortion should be permitted because of uncertainty about the nature of the conceptus and the possibility of delayed animation. The fourth section of the paper debates the points raised by Susan Teft Nicholson who maintains that the Catholic position regarding abortion rests on the Church's animosity towards sexual pleasure. The paper goes on to criticize Nicholson's claims that the Roman Catholic position on abortion is inconsistent with the Church's own understanding of the Principle of Double Effect because the Church fails to allow abortion in many cases where it would be permissible under the Principle. Section 6 describes the underlying motive of the Roman Catholic Church's abortion position as an attempt to protect the innocent fetus from deliberate death and to justify the Church's application of protection from deliberate killing to those who are innocent of aggressive action. This discussion is followed by a justification of the Church's prohibition of abortion in cases of aggression, such as the aggression ascribed to a fetus when a pregnancy imperials the life of a mother. It is concluded that the US will likely legalize suicide and mercy killing as it has the killing of innocent fetuses who are probably ensouled with personhood and are not formal aggressors.

Routine training is not enough: structured training in family planning and abortion improves residents' competency scores and intentions to provide abortion after graduation more than ad hoc training.

Science.gov (United States)

Macisaac, Laura; Vickery, Zevidah

2012-03-01

Abortion provision remains threatened by the paucity of physicians trained to provide them. Lack of training during residency has been cited by obstetrician and gynecologist (ob-gyn) physicians as a reason for not including abortion in their practice. We administered surveys on interest, competency and intention to provide abortions to two groups of ob-gyn residents: one experiencing a new comprehensive and structured family planning rotation, and another group at our affiliate hospital's residency program receiving "ad hoc" training during their routine gynecology rotations. Surveys were anonymous and blinded to investigator. The structured family planning rotation group compared to the ad hoc group reported significantly increased competency score using a Likert scale in manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) (4.5 vs. 1; p=.003) and had a higher proportion reporting intent to provide office MVA postresidency (100% vs. 39%; p=.01) and being trained to 22.5 weeks' vs. 12 weeks' gestation (p=.005). In bivariate analysis, competency in MVA was associated with higher intentions to provide MVA after residency (p=.007). A structured rotation in family planning and abortion for obstetrics/gynecology residents results in increases in competency and intentions to provide abortion, and an association between the two. In-hospital structured training proved to be superior to ad hoc training in our affiliate institution in improving competency and intention to provide abortion after residency. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the mandatory bovine abortion notification system in France using unilist capture-recapture approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Bronner

Full Text Available The mandatory bovine abortion notification system in France aims to detect as soon as possible any resurgence of bovine brucellosis. However, under-reporting seems to be a major limitation of this system. We used a unilist capture-recapture approach to assess the sensitivity, i.e. the proportion of farmers who reported at least one abortion among those who detected such events, and representativeness of the system during 2006-2011. We implemented a zero-inflated Poisson model to estimate the proportion of farmers who detected at least one abortion, and among them, the proportion of farmers not reporting. We also applied a hurdle model to evaluate the effect of factors influencing the notification process. We found that the overall surveillance sensitivity was about 34%, and was higher in beef than dairy cattle farms. The observed increase in the proportion of notifying farmers from 2007 to 2009 resulted from an increase in the surveillance sensitivity in 2007/2008 and an increase in the proportion of farmers who detected at least one abortion in 2008/2009. These patterns suggest a raise in farmers' awareness in 2007/2008 when the Bluetongue Virus (BTV was detected in France, followed by an increase in the number of abortions in 2008/2009 as BTV spread across the country. Our study indicated a lack of sensitivity of the mandatory bovine abortion notification system, raising concerns about the ability to detect brucellosis outbreaks early. With the increasing need to survey the zoonotic Rift Valley Fever and Q fever diseases that may also cause bovine abortions, our approach is of primary interest for animal health stakeholders to develop information programs to increase abortion notifications. Our framework combining hurdle and ZIP models may also be applied to estimate the completeness of other clinical surveillance systems.

Assessing the mandatory bovine abortion notification system in France using unilist capture-recapture approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Bronner, Anne; Hénaux, Viviane; Vergne, Timothée; Vinard, Jean-Luc; Morignat, Eric; Hendrikx, Pascal; Calavas, Didier; Gay, Emilie

2013-01-01

The mandatory bovine abortion notification system in France aims to detect as soon as possible any resurgence of bovine brucellosis. However, under-reporting seems to be a major limitation of this system. We used a unilist capture-recapture approach to assess the sensitivity, i.e. the proportion of farmers who reported at least one abortion among those who detected such events, and representativeness of the system during 2006-2011. We implemented a zero-inflated Poisson model to estimate the proportion of farmers who detected at least one abortion, and among them, the proportion of farmers not reporting. We also applied a hurdle model to evaluate the effect of factors influencing the notification process. We found that the overall surveillance sensitivity was about 34%, and was higher in beef than dairy cattle farms. The observed increase in the proportion of notifying farmers from 2007 to 2009 resulted from an increase in the surveillance sensitivity in 2007/2008 and an increase in the proportion of farmers who detected at least one abortion in 2008/2009. These patterns suggest a raise in farmers' awareness in 2007/2008 when the Bluetongue Virus (BTV) was detected in France, followed by an increase in the number of abortions in 2008/2009 as BTV spread across the country. Our study indicated a lack of sensitivity of the mandatory bovine abortion notification system, raising concerns about the ability to detect brucellosis outbreaks early. With the increasing need to survey the zoonotic Rift Valley Fever and Q fever diseases that may also cause bovine abortions, our approach is of primary interest for animal health stakeholders to develop information programs to increase abortion notifications. Our framework combining hurdle and ZIP models may also be applied to estimate the completeness of other clinical surveillance systems.

Risk factors and the choice of long-acting reversible contraception following medical abortion: effect on subsequent induced abortion and unwanted pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Korjamo, Riina; Heikinheimo, Oskari; Mentula, Maarit

2018-04-01

To analyse the post-abortion effect of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) plans and initiation on the risk of subsequent unwanted pregnancy and abortion. retrospective cohort study of 666 women who underwent medical abortion between January-May 2013 at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Altogether 159 (23.8%) women planning post-abortion use of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) participated in a randomized study and had an opportunity to receive the LNG-IUS free-of-charge from the hospital. The other 507 (76.2%) women planned and obtained their contraception according to clinical routine. Demographics, planned contraception, and LARC initiation at the time of the index abortion were collected. Data on subsequent abortions were retrieved from the Finnish Abortion Register and electronic patient files until the end of 2014. During the 21 months ([median], IQR 20-22) follow-up, 54(8.1%) women requested subsequent abortions. When adjusted for age, previous pregnancies, deliveries, induced abortions and gestational-age, planning LARC for post-abortion contraception failed to prevent subsequent abortion (33 abortions/360 women, 9.2%) compared to other contraceptive plans (21/306, 6.9%) (HR 1.22, 95% CI 0.68-2.17). However, verified LARC initiation decreased the abortion rate (4 abortions/177 women, 2.3%) compared to women with uncertain LARC initiation status (50/489, 10.2%) (HR 0.17, 95% CI 0.06-0.48). When adjusted for LARC initiation status, age abortion (27 abortions/283 women, 9.5%) compared to women ≥25 years (27/383, 7.0%, HR1.95, 95% CI 1.04-3.67). Initiation of LARC as part of abortion service at the time of medical abortion is an important means to prevent subsequent abortion, especially among young women.

Backstreet abortion: Women’s experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Makorah

1997-05-01

Full Text Available This was a descriptive study aimed at exploring the personal experiences of women who induce abortion and the circumstances surrounding induced abortion. The study was conducted in six public hospitals in four different provinces: Baragwanath (Gauteng, Groote Schuur and Tygerberg (Western Cape, King Edward and R.K. Khan (Kwa-Zulu/Natal and Livingstone (Eastern Cape. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 African, Indian and Coloured women admitted to the hospitals following backstreet abortions. The study gave women the opportunity to "speak for themselves" about "why" and "how" and the context in which the unscfe induced abortions occurred

Executive Summary of Propulsion on the Orion Abort Flight-Test Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Daniel S.; Brooks, Syri J.; Barnes, Marvin W.; McCauley, Rachel J.; Wall, Terry M.; Reed, Brian D.; Duncan, C. Miguel

2012-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Orion Flight Test Office was tasked with conducting a series of flight tests in several launch abort scenarios to certify that the Orion Launch Abort System is capable of delivering astronauts aboard the Orion Crew Module to a safe environment, away from a failed booster. The first of this series was the Orion Pad Abort 1 Flight-Test Vehicle, which was successfully flown on May 6, 2010 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This report provides a brief overview of the three propulsive subsystems used on the Pad Abort 1 Flight-Test Vehicle. An overview of the propulsive systems originally planned for future flight-test vehicles is also provided, which also includes the cold gas Reaction Control System within the Crew Module, and the Peacekeeper first stage rocket motor encased within the Abort Test Booster aeroshell. Although the Constellation program has been cancelled and the operational role of the Orion spacecraft has significantly evolved, lessons learned from Pad Abort 1 and the other flight-test vehicles could certainly contribute to the vehicle architecture of many future human-rated space launch vehicles

Enablers of and barriers to abortion training.

Science.gov (United States)

Guiahi, Maryam; Lim, Sahnah; Westover, Corey; Gold, Marji; Westhoff, Carolyn L

2013-06-01

Since the legalization of abortion services in the United States, provision of abortions has remained a controversial issue of high political interest. Routine abortion training is not offered at all obstetrics and gynecology (Ob-Gyn) training programs, despite a specific training requirement by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Previous studies that described Ob-Gyn programs with routine abortion training either examined associations by using national surveys of program directors or described the experience of a single program. We set out to identify enablers of and barriers to Ob-Gyn abortion training in the context of a New York City political initiative, in order to better understand how to improve abortion training at other sites. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 22 stakeholders from 7 New York City public hospitals and focus group interviews with 62 current residents at 6 sites. Enablers of abortion training included program location, high-capacity services, faculty commitment to abortion training, external programmatic support, and resident interest. Barriers to abortion training included lack of leadership continuity, leadership conflict, lack of second-trimester abortion services, difficulty obtaining mifepristone, optional rather than routine training, and antiabortion values of hospital personnel. Supportive leadership, faculty commitment, and external programmatic support appear to be key elements for establishing routine abortion training at Ob-Gyn residency training programs.

Attitudes of medical students to induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Buga, G A B

2002-05-01

Unsafe abortion causes 13% of maternal deaths worldwide. Safe abortion can only be offered under conditions where legislation has been passed for legal termination of unwanted pregnancy. Where such legislation exists, accessibility of safe abortion depends on the attitudes of doctors and other healthcare workers to induced abortion. Medical students as future doctors may have attitudes to abortion that will affect the provision of safe abortion. Little is known about the attitudes of South African medical students to abortion. To assess sexual practices and attitudes of medical students to induced abortion and to determine some of the factors that may influence these attitudes. A cross-sectional analytic study involving the self-administration of an anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to medical students at a small, but growing, medical school situated in rural South Africa. Demographic data, sexual practices and attitudes to induced abortion. Two hundred and forty seven out of 300 (82.3%) medical students responded. Their mean age was 21.81 +/- 3.36 (SD) years, and 78.8% were Christians, 17.1% Hindus and 2.6% Muslims. Although 95% of the respondents were single, 68.6% were already sexually experienced, and their mean age at coitarche was 17.24+/-3.14 (SD) years. Although overall 61.2% of the respondents felt abortion is murder either at conception or later, the majority (87.2%) would perform or refer a woman for abortion under certain circumstances. These circumstances, in descending order of frequency, include: threat to mother's life (74.1%), in case of rape (62.3%), the baby is severely malformed (59.5%), threat to mother's mental health (53.8%) and parental incompetence (21.0%). Only 12.5% of respondents would perform or refer for abortion on demand, 12.8% would neither perform nor refer for abortion under any circumstances. Religious affiliation and service attendance significantly influenced some of these attitudes and beliefs

Magnitude and risk factors of abortion among regular female students in Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Induced abortion is one of the greatest human rights dilemmas of our time. Yet, abortion is a very common experience in every culture and society. According to the World Health Organization, Ethiopia had the fifth largest number of maternal deaths in 2005 and unsafe abortion was estimated to account for 32% of all maternal deaths in Ethiopia. Youth are disproportionately affected by the consequences of unsafe abortion. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine the magnitude and identify factors associated with abortion among female Wolaita Sodo University students. Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Wolaita Sodo University between May and June 2011. Data were collected from 493 randomly selected female students using structured and pre-tested questionnaires. Results The rate of abortion among students was found to be 65 per 1000 women, making it three fold the national rate of abortion for Ethiopia (23/1000 women aged 15–44). Virtually all of the abortions (96.9%) were induced and only half (16) were reported to be safe. Students with history of alcohol use, who are first-year and those enrolled in faculties with no post-Grade 10 Natural Science background had higher risk of abortion than their counterparts. About 23.7% reported sexual experience. Less than half of the respondents (44%) ever heard of emergency contraception and only 35.9% of those who are sexually experienced ever used condom. Conclusions High rate of abortion was detected among female Wolaita Sodo University students and half of the abortions took place/initiated under unsafe circumstances. Knowledge of students on legal and safe abortion services was found to be considerably poor. It is imperative that improved sexual health education, with focus on safe and legal abortion services is rendered and wider availability of Youth Friendly family planning services are realized in Universities and other places where young men and women congregate

Th·erapeutic Abortion

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1971-08-14

Aug 14, 1971 ... abortion on the demand of any pregnant woman. Although .... Of these abortions 55% were in single, widowed, divorced or separated women and the ... gists found reluctance in nursing staff for the performance of therapeutic ...

[Abortion: towards worldwide legalization].

Science.gov (United States)

1998-09-01

A table showing the current status of abortion in the world based on two recent and detailed studies is presented. Countries are categorized according to whether they totally prohibit abortion, permit it to save the mother's life, permit it to preserve her physical health or mental health, permit it for maternal socioeconomic reasons, or provide it at the mother's request. The countries are grouped into 5 geographic areas: America and the Caribbean; Central Asia, Middle East, and North Africa; East and South Asia and the Pacific; Europe; sub-Saharan Africa. The trend toward liberalization of laws is clear. The development of abortion laws is moving in the direction of complete legalization, that is, the creation of health norms that facilitate abortion for all women, with guarantees of medical safety. There are still countries that move to restrict access to abortion, and in a few cases, such as Colombia and Poland, legalization and prohibition have alternated depending on the social and political circumstances of the moment. In the past 12 years, 28 countries liberalized their laws in some way, while 4 countries with close ties to the Vatican restricted or prohibited access.

Mental health and abortion: review and analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ney, P G; Wickett, A R

1989-11-01

This survey of studies which relate to the emotional sequelae of induced abortion, draws attention to the need for more long-term, in-depth prospective studies. The literature to this point finds no psychiatric indications for abortion, and no satisfactory evidence that abortion improves the psychological state of those not mentally ill; abortion is contra-indicated when psychiatric disease is present, as mental ill-health has been shown to be worsened by abortion. Recent studies are turning up an alarming rate of post-abortion complications such as P.I.D., and subsequent infertility. The emotional impact of these complications needs to be studied. Other considerations looked at are the long-term demographic implications of abortion on demand and the effect on the medical professions.

A measured response: Koop on abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Koop, C E

1989-01-01

The available scientific literature on the health effects of abortion on women in the US neither supports nor refutes the premise that abortion contributes to psychological problems. The 250 studies that have considered the psychological aspects of abortion are all flawed methodologically. Needed to resolve this issue is a prospective study of a cohort of US women of childbearing age focused on the psychological effects of failure to conceive, as well as the physical and mental sequelae of pregnancy whether carried to delivery, miscarried, or terminated by abortion. The most desirable such study could be conducted for about US$100 million over a 5-year period; a less expensive yet satisfactory study could be conducted for $10 million over the same time frame. Before such a study can be undertaken, a survey instrument must be designed to eliminate the discrepancy between the number of abortions on record and the number of women who admit to having an abortion on survey. Another issue is that the health effects of abortion cannot easily be separated from the controversial social issues surrounding pregnancy termination.

Abortion studies in Iranian dairy herds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keshavarzi, Hamideh; Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi, Ali; Kristensen, Anders Ringgaard

2017-01-01

Abortions, especially those occurring during late pregnancy, lead to considerable economic losses. To estimate the financial losses related to pregnancy loss, at first the influencing factors on abortion need to be identified. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine and quantify the risk...... factors and their interactions for abortion in Iranian dairy herds. Based on data from 6 commercial herds, logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors for abortion. The basic time unit used in the study was a 3-week period corresponding to an estrus cycle. Thus, stage of lactation...... factors were herd effect, pregnancy stage, previous abortion, calving month, cumulative fat corrected milk (FCM) yield level, mastitis in current 3-weeks in milk, accumulated number of mastitis and all 2-way interactions. Pregnancy tests were performed between 35 and 50 days after insemination. Abortion...

RHIC BEAM ABORT KICKER POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM COMMISSIONING EXPERIENCE AND REMAINING ISSUES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ZHANG, W.; AHRENS, L.A.; MI, J.; OERTER, B.; SANDERS, R.; SANDBERG, J.

2001-01-01

The RHIC Beam Abort Kicker Power Supply Systems commissioning experience and the remaining issues will be reported in this paper. The RHIC Blue Ring Beam Abort Kicker Power Supply System initial commissioning took place in June 1999. Its identical system in Yellow Ring was brought on line during Spring 2000. Each of the RHIC Beam Abort Kicker Power Supply Systems consists of five high voltage modulators and subsystems. These systems are critical devices for RHIC machine protection and environmental protection. They are required to be effective, reliable and operating with sufficient redundancy to safely abort the beam to its beam dump at the end of accumulation or at any time when they are commanded. To deflect 66 GeV ion beam to the beam absorbers, the RHIC Beam Abort Kicker Power Supply Systems were operated at 22 kV level. The RHIC 2000 commissioning run was very successful

Barriers to Rural Induced Abortion Services in Canada: Findings of the British Columbia Abortion Providers Survey (BCAPS)

OpenAIRE

Norman, Wendy V.; Soon, Judith A.; Maughn, Nanamma; Dressler, Jennifer

2013-01-01

Background Rural induced abortion service has declined in Canada. Factors influencing abortion provision by rural physicians are unknown. This study assessed distribution, practice, and experiences among rural compared to urban abortion providers in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). Methods We used mixed methods to assess physicians on the BC registry of abortion providers. In 2011 we distributed a previously-published questionnaire and conducted semi-structured interviews. Resu...

Outcome of pregnancy complicated by threatened abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Dongol, A; Mool, S; Tiwari, P

2011-01-01

Threatened abortion is the most common complication in the first half of pregnancy. Most of these pregnancies continue to term with or without treatment. Spontaneous abortion occurs in less than 30% of these women. Threatened abortion had been shown to be associated with increased incidence of antepartum haemorrhage, preterm labour and intra uterine growth retardation. This study was to asses the outcome of threatened abortion following treatment. This prospective study was carried out in Dhulikhel Hospital - Kathmandu University Hospital from January 2009 till May 2010. Total 70 cases of threatened abortion were selected, managed with complete bed rest till 48 hrs of cessation of bleeding, folic acid supplementation, uterine sedative, and hormonal treatment till 28 weeks of gestation. Ultrasonogram was performed for diagnosis and to detect the presence of subchorionic hematoma. Patients were followed up until spontaneous abortion or up to delivery of the fetus. The measures used for the analysis were maternal age, parity, gestational age at the time of presentation, previous abortions, presence of subchorionic hematoma, complete abortion, continuation of pregnancy, antepartum hemorrhage, intrauterine growth retardation and intrauterine death of fetus. Out of 70 cases subchorionic haematoma was found in 30 (42.9%) cases. There were 12 (17.1%) patients who spontaneously aborted after diagnosis of threatened abortion during hospital stay, 5 (7.1%) aborted on subsequent visits while 53 (75.8%) continued pregnancy till term. Among those who continued pregnancy intrauterine growth retardation was seen in 7 (13.2%), antepartum hemorrhage in 4 (7.5%), preterm premature rupture of membrane in 3 (5.66%) and IUD in 3 (5.66%). Spontaneous abortion was found more in cases with subchorionic hematoma of size more than 20 cm2. In cases of threatened abortion with or without the presence of subchorionic hematoma, prognostic outcome is better following treatment with bed rest

Dangertalk: Voices of abortion providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Lisa A; Hassinger, Jane A; Debbink, Michelle; Harris, Lisa H

2017-07-01

Researchers have described the difficulties of doing abortion work, including the psychosocial costs to individual providers. Some have discussed the self-censorship in which providers engage in to protect themselves and the pro-choice movement. However, few have examined the costs of this self-censorship to public discourse and social movements in the US. Using qualitative data collected during abortion providers' discussions of their work, we explore the tensions between their narratives and pro-choice discourse, and examine the types of stories that are routinely silenced - narratives we name "dangertalk". Using these data, we theorize about the ways in which giving voice to these tensions might transform current abortion discourse by disrupting false dichotomies and better reflecting the complex realities of abortion. We present a conceptual model for dangertalk in abortion discourse, connecting it to functions of dangertalk in social movements more broadly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abortion and the pregnant teenager

Science.gov (United States)

Lipper, Irene; Cvejic, Helen; Benjamin, Peter; Kinch, Robert A.

1973-01-01

A study was carried out at the Adolescent Unit of The Montreal Children's Hospital from September 1970 to December 1972, the focus of which evolved from the pregnant teenager in general to the short- and long-term effects of her abortion. Answers to a questionnaire administered to 65 pregnant girls to determine the psychosocial characteristics of the pregnant teenager indicated that these girls are not socially or emotionally abnormal. A follow-up study of 50 girls who had an abortion determined that the girls do not change their life styles or become emotionally unstable up to one year post-abortion, although most have a mild, normal reaction to the crisis. During the study period the clinic services evolved from mainly prenatal care to mainly abortion counselling, and then to providing the abortion with less counselling, placing emphasis on those cases which require other than medical services. PMID:4750298

Abortion and compelled physician speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Orentlicher, David

2015-01-01

Informed consent mandates for abortion providers may infringe the First Amendment's freedom of speech. On the other hand, they may reinforce the physician's duty to obtain informed consent. Courts can promote both doctrines by ensuring that compelled physician speech pertains to medical facts about abortion rather than abortion ideology and that compelled speech is truthful and not misleading. © 2015 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Unintended Pregnancy, Induced Abortion, and Mental Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, Sarah; Schreiber, Courtney A

2017-09-14

The early medical literature on mental health outcomes following abortion is fraught with methodological flaws that can improperly influence clinical practice. Our goal is to review the current medical literature on depression and other mental health outcomes for women obtaining abortions. The Turnaway Study prospectively enrolled 956 women seeking abortion in the USA and followed their mental health outcomes for 5 years. The control group was comprised of women denied abortions based on gestational age limits, thereby circumventing the major methodological flaw that had plagued earlier studies on the topic. Rates of depression are not significantly different between women obtaining abortion and those denied abortion. Rates of anxiety are initially higher in women denied abortion care. Counseling on decision-making for women with unintended pregnancies should reflect these findings.

Patient education and emotional support practices in abortion care facilities in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Heather; Perrucci, Alissa; Barar, Rana; Sinkford, Danielle; Foster, Diana Greene

2012-01-01

Little is known about how patient education and emotional support is provided at abortion facilities. This pilot study documents 27 facilities' practices in this aspect of abortion care. We conducted confidential telephone interviews with staff from 27 abortion facilities about their practices. The majority of facilities reported they rely primarily on trained nonclinician staff to educate patients and provide emotional support. As part of their informed consent and counseling processes, facilities reported that staff always provide patients with information about the procedure (96%), assess the certainty of their abortion decisions (92%), assess their feelings and provide emotional support (74%), and provide contraceptive health education (92%). Time spent providing these components of care varied across facilities and patients. When describing their facility's care philosophy, many respondents expressed support for "patient-centered," "supportive," "nonjudgmental" care. Eighty-two percent agreed that it is the facility's role to provide counseling for emotional issues related to abortion. All facilities valued informed consent, patient education, and emotional support. Although the majority of facilities considered counseling for emotional issues to be a part of their role, some did not. Future research should examine patients' preferences regarding abortion care and counseling and how different approaches to care affect women's emotional well-being after having an abortion. This information is important in light of current, widespread legislative efforts that aim to regulate abortion counseling, which are being proposed without an understanding of patient needs or facility practices. Copyright © 2012 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spontaneous abortion: a prospective cohort study of younger women from the general population in Denmark. Validation, occurrence and risk determinants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buss, L; Tolstrup, J; Munk, C

2006-01-01

-based prospective cohort study comprising 11,088 women and data from a linkage of the cohort with the Hospital Discharge Register to compare spontaneous abortions as reported in the interview with those identified in the register. Based on interview data, we estimated the rate of spontaneous abortion during the two......-year follow-up. Finally, risk determinants for incident spontaneous abortion were analyzed by means of logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 654 spontaneous abortions before enrolment in the study were reported by the women compared to 531 abortions found in the register. More than 80% of the spontaneous...... abortions identified from both sources were recorded in the same year. During follow-up a total of 20.9% of pregnancies intended to be carried to term ended as a spontaneous abortion. In the risk factor analysis, we found that previous spontaneous abortion, being single, never having used oral...

Post legalisation challenge: minimizing complications of abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Ojha, N; Sharma, S; Paudel, J

2004-01-01

Abortion has been legalized in Nepal since September 2002 by 11th amendment to the Muluki Ain. The present study was conducted in Paropakar Shree Panch Indra Rajya Laxmi Devi Maternity Hospital to assess the magnitude of induced abortion, its causes and the types of complications, in the post legalization phase. Prospective descriptive analyses of the patients who were admitted with history of induced abortion from 16th Dec 2003 to 13th March 2004 was carried out. A total of 305 cases of abortion complications were admitted during the three-month study period, which is 39.7% of the total gynaecological admissions (768). Of these 31 (10.25%) patients had history of induced abortion. Half of the induced abortion cases (52%) were of age group 21-29 yrs and 42% had three or more children. 39% of the cases had history of induced abortion at more than 12 weeks and almost half of the cases (48%) had history of family planning. The most common reason for seeking abortion was too many children (59%) followed by illegitimate pregnancy (16%). Twenty-one patients gave history of abortion being performed by doctors and the most common method used was D and C (75%). 77% of cases presented as incomplete abortion and one case presented with uterine perforation, bowel injury and peritonitis. Twenty patients had evacuation under sedation while five had manual vacuum aspiration (MVA); one patient required laparatomy. In two third of the patients intravenous fluid and antibiotics were used. Four patients required blood transfusion. Abortion complications constitute almost 40% of the total gynaecological admissions. Ten percent of the abortion cases had history of induced abortion. Medical persons, mainly doctors, performed most of the cases of induced abortion and D and C was the most commonly used method. However the patients had faced various types of complications. Untrained provider, resulting in serious life threatening injuries, performed more than a third of the cases of

CONTINUOUS ABORT GAP CLEANING AT RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DREES, A.; FLILLER, R.III.; FU, W.; MICHNOFF, R.

2004-01-01

Since the RHIC Au-Au run in the year 2001 the 200 MHz cavity system was used at storage and a 28 MHz system during injection and acceleration. The rebucketing procedure potentially causes a higher debunching rate of heavy ion beams in addition to amplifying debunching due to other mechanisms. At the end of a four hour store, debunched beam can easily account for more than 50% of the total beam intensity. This effect is even stronger with the achieved high intensities of the RHIC Au-Au run in 2004. A beam abort at the presence of a lot of debunched beam bears the risk of magnet quenching and experimental detector damage due to uncontrolled beam losses. Thus it is desirable to avoid any accumulation of debunched beam from the beginning of each store, in particular to anticipate cases of unscheduled beam aborts due to a system failure. A combination of a fast transverse kickers and the new 2-stage copper collimator system are used to clean the abort gap continuously throughout the store with a repetition rate of 1 Hz. This report gives. an overview of the new gap cleaning procedure and the achieved performance

THE EXPERIENCE OF ‘ENTRAPPED GRIEF’ FOLLOWING TRAUMATIC ABORTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Finlay

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Some abortions can result in prolonged, complex grief reactions where the effects endure in problematic ways. Research findings suggest that such women suffer a turbulent spiral of often contradictory emotions and, if insufficiently acknowledged at the time of the abortion by self or other, this emotional turmoil can become pushed down and disenfranchised. This paper discusses the nature of this entrapped grief by reviewing the literature and reporting on some phenomenological case study research. A final section discusses integrative psychotherapy approaches to working in this area. Better understanding of the experience of traumatic abortion may enable therapists to be more present to this phenomenon, in particular the voicelessness some clients may experience, rendering them unable to process their feelings about the event and associated loss.

Women's existential experiences within Swedish abortion care.

Science.gov (United States)

Stålhandske, Maria L; Ekstrand, Maria; Tydén, Tanja

2011-03-01

To explore Swedish women's experiences of clinical abortion care in relation to their need for existential support. Individual in-depth interviews with 24 women with previous experience of unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Participants were recruited between 2006 and 2009. Interviews were analysed by latent content analysis. Although the women had similar experiences of the abortion care offered, the needs they expressed differed. Swedish abortion care was described as rational and neutral, with physical issues dominating over existential ones. For some women, the medical procedures triggered existential experiences of life, meaning, and morality. While some women abstained from any form of existential support, others expressed a need to reflect upon the existential aspects and/or to reconcile their decision emotionally. As women's needs for existential support in relation to abortion vary, women can be disappointed with the personnel's ability to respond to their thoughts and feelings related to the abortion. To ensure abortion care personnel meet the physical, psychological and existential needs of each patient, better resources and new lines of education are needed to ensure abortion personnel are equipped to deal with the existential aspects of abortion care.

Bilateral oblique facial clefts, rudimentary eyes and hydrocephalus in an aborted equine foetus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agerholm, Jørgen Steen; Pedersen, Hanne Gervi; McEvoy, Fintan

2017-01-01

and hydrocephalus is reported in an equine foetus spontaneously aborted at gestation day 224. The cause of abortion was considered to be intrauterine death caused by umbilical cord torsions and subsequent compromised blood flow, but the aetiology of the malformation could not be determined. A detailed history...

Abortion and the Nigerian woman: a select bibliography ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abortion is a common and widespread form of fertility regulation the world over. Legal and illegal abortion is very common throughout the developing countries. Since abortions are often not legal in the developing countries, unsafe abortions are an important cause of female mortality. The widespread incidence of abortions ...

Towards safe abortion access: an exploratory study of medical abortion in Cambodia.

Science.gov (United States)

Petitet, Pascale Hancart; Ith, Leakhena; Cockroft, Melissa; Delvaux, Thérèse

2015-02-01

In 2010, following its approval by the Ministry of Health, the medical abortion combination pack Medabon (containing mifepristone and misoprostol) was made available at pharmacies and in a restricted number of health facilities in Cambodia. The qualitative study presented in this paper was conducted in 2012 as a follow-up to longer-term ethnographical research related to reproductive health and fertility regulation between 2008 and 2012. Observations were carried out at several clinic and pharmacy sites and in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 20 women who attended two MSI Cambodia centres and 10 women identified through social networks; six men (women's male partners); eight health care providers at the two MSI centres and four pill sellers at private or informal pharmacies (who also provided health care services in private clinics). Although the level of training among the drug sellers and providers varied, their knowledge about medical abortion regimens, correct usage and common side effects was good. Overall, women were satisfied with the services provided. Medical abortion was not always a women-only process in this study as some male partners were also involved in the care process. The study illustrates positive steps forward being taken in making abortion safe and preventing and reducing unsafe abortion practices in Cambodia. Copyright © 2015 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Induced abortion and psychological sequelae.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Sharon

2010-10-01

The decision to seek an abortion is never easy. Women have different reasons for choosing an abortion and their social, economic and religious background may influence how they cope. Furthermore, once pregnant, the alternatives of childbirth and adoption or keeping the baby may not be psychologically neutral. Research studies in this area have been hampered by methodological problems, but most of the better-quality studies have shown no increased risk of mental health problems in women having an abortion. A consistent finding has been that of pre-existing mental illness and subsequent mental health problems after either abortion or childbirth. Furthermore, studies have shown that only a minority of women experience any lasting sadness or regret. Risk factors for this include ambivalence about the decision, level of social support and whether or not the pregnancy was originally intended. More robust, definitive research studies are required on mental health after abortion and alternative outcomes such as childbirth. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Key determinants of induced abortion in women seeking postabortion care in hospital facilities in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilboudo PGC

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Patrick GC Ilboudo,1–3 Serge MA Somda,4 Johanne Sundby3 1Département de Santé Publique, Unité de Recherche sur les Politiques et Systèmes de Santé, Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; 2Agence de Formation, de Recherche et d'Expertise en Santé pour l'Afrique (AFRICSanté, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; 3Department of Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; 4Département des Maladies Non Transmissibles, Unité de Formation et d'Appui Méthodologique, Centre Muraz, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso Introduction: Despite the universal recognition of unsafe abortion as a major public health problem, very little research has been conducted to document its precipitating factors in Burkina Faso. Our aim was to investigate the key determinants of induced abortion in a sample of women who sought postabortion care. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional household survey was carried out from February to September 2012 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Data of 37 women who had had an induced abortion and 267 women who had had a spontaneous abortion were prospectively collected on sociodemographic characteristics, pregnancy and birth history, abortion experience, including previous abortion experience, and selected clinical information, including the type of abortion. A two-step regression analysis consisting of a univariate and a multivariate logistic regression was run on Stata version 11.2 in order to identify the key determinants of induced abortion. Results: The findings indicated that 12% of all abortions were certainly induced. Three key factors were significantly and positively associated with the probability of having an induced abortion: whether the woman reported that her pregnancy was unwanted (odds ratio [OR] 10.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.59–30.41; whether the woman reported was living in a household headed by her parents (OR 6.83, 95% CI 2.42–19.24; and if the woman reported was divorced or widowed (OR 3.47, 95

First trimester medication abortion practice in the United States and Canada.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heidi E Jones

Full Text Available We conducted a cross-sectional survey of abortion facilities from professional networks in the United States (US, n = 703 and Canada (n = 94 to estimate the prevalence of medication abortion practices in these settings and to look at regional differences. Administrators responded to questions on gestational limits, while up to five clinicians per facility reported on 2012 medication abortion practice. At the time of fielding, mifepristone was not approved in Canada. 383 (54.5% US and 78 (83.0% Canadian facilities participated. In the US, 95.3% offered first trimester medication abortion compared to 25.6% in Canada. While 100% of providers were physicians in Canada, just under half (49.4% were advanced practice clinicians in the US, which was more common in Eastern and Western states. All Canadian providers used misoprostol; 85.3% with methotrexate. 91.4% of US providers used 200 mg of mifepristone and 800 mcg of misoprostol, with 96.7% reporting home misoprostol administration. More than three-quarters of providers in both countries required an in-person follow-up visit, generally with ultrasound. 87.7% of US providers routinely prescribed antibiotics compared to 26.2% in Canada. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were the most commonly reported analgesic, with regional variation in opioid narcotic prescription. In conclusion, medication abortion practice follows evidence-based guidelines in the US and Canada. Efforts to update practice based on the latest evidence for reducing in-person visits and increasing provision by advanced practice clinicians could strengthen these services and reduce barriers to access. Research is needed on optimal antibiotic and analgesic use.

Jewish views on abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakobovits, I

1968-01-01

In Jewish law right and wrong, good and evil, are absolute values which transcend time, place, and environment. They defy definition by human intuition or expediency. Jewish law derives from the Divine revelation at Mount Sinai as expounded by sages faithful to, and authorized by, its writ. The Talmud rules that if a woman is in hard travail, and her life must be saved, the child must be aborted and extracted. The mother's life comes first. The fetus is not a human life until it is born. But 19th century Rabbinical works state that it is immoral to destroy a monster child. Modern rabbis are unanimous in condemning abortion, feticide, or infanticide as an unconscionable attack on human life. However, Jewish law allows abortion if the pregnancy will cause severe psychological damage to the mother. No civilized society could survive without laws which occasionally cause some suffering or personal anguish. One human life is worth a million lives, because each life is infinite in value. In cases of rape or incest Jewish law still does not sanction abortion. Man's procreative responsibilities are serious and carry rights and obligations which would be upset by liberalized abortion laws. If a person kills a person who is mortally wounded, the killer is guilty of a moral offense.

Defining minors' abortion rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhodes, A M

1988-01-01

The right to abortion is confirmed in the Roe versus Wade case, by the US Supreme Court. It is a fundamental right of privacy but not an absolute right, and must consider state interests. During the first trimester of pregnancy abortion is a decision of the woman and her doctor. During the second trimester of pregnancy the state may control the abortion practice to protect the mothers health, and in the last trimester, it may prohibit abortion, except in cases where the mother's life or health are in danger. The states enacted laws, including one that required parents to give written consent for a unmarried minor's abortion. This law was struck down by the US Court, but laws on notification were upheld as long as there was alternative procedures where the minor's interests are upheld. Many of these law have been challenged successfully, where the minor was judged mature and where it served her best interests. The state must enact laws on parental notification that take into consideration basic rights of the minor woman. Health professionals and workers should be aware of these laws and should encourage the minor to let parents in on the decision making process where possible.

Theorizing Time in Abortion Law and Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Erdman, Joanna N

2017-06-01

The legal regulation of abortion by gestational age, or length of pregnancy, is a relatively undertheorized dimension of abortion and human rights. Yet struggles over time in abortion law, and its competing representations and meanings, are ultimately struggles over ethical and political values, authority and power, the very stakes that human rights on abortion engage. This article focuses on three struggles over time in abortion and human rights law: those related to morality, health, and justice. With respect to morality, the article concludes that collective faith and trust should be placed in the moral judgment of those most affected by the passage of time in pregnancy and by later abortion-pregnant women. With respect to health, abortion law as health regulation should be evidence-based to counter the stigma of later abortion, which leads to overregulation and access barriers. With respect to justice, in recognizing that there will always be a need for abortion services later in pregnancy, such services should be safe, legal, and accessible without hardship or risk. At the same time, justice must address the structural conditions of women's capacity to make timely decisions about abortion, and to access abortion services early in pregnancy.

Examining the association between motivations for induced abortion and method safety among women in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Biney, Adriana A E; Atiglo, D Yaw

2017-10-01

This article draws on data from 552 women interviewed in the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey to examine the association between motivations for women's pregnancy terminations and the safety of methods used. Women's reasons for induced abortions represented their vulnerability types at the critical time of decision making. Different motivations can result in taking various forms of action with the most vulnerable potentially resorting to the most harmful behaviors. Analysis of survey data pointed to spacing/delaying births as the main reason for abortion. Furthermore, women were more likely to terminate pregnancies unsafely if their main motivation for abortion was financial constraints. Especially among rural women, abortions for any reason were more likely associated with safe methods than if for financial reasons. These findings suggest a theme of vulnerability, resulting from poverty, as the motivations for women to resort to harmful abortion methods. Therefore, interventions formulated to reduce instances of unsafe pregnancy terminations should target reducing poverty and capacity building with the aim of economic advancement, in addition to curbing the root of the problem: unintended pregnancy.

Opposition to legal abortion: challenges and questions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kissling, F

1993-01-01

An analysis of the Roman Catholic Church's arguments against abortion rights suggests that its opposition is grounded more in outmoded views regarding women's roles than in concern for protecting fetal life. The 1st argument raised by Catholics and other anti-abortion forces is that abortion represents the unjustifiable destruction of a human life. A 2nd argument focuses on the status of the fetus as a person from the moment of conception, making abortion murder. A 3rd equates the fetus's potential for personhood with the pregnant woman's actual personhood. Despite the vehement sentiments expressed by Catholic leaders against abortion, the majority of Catholics support legal abortion. The assignment of personhood status to the fetus is contraindicated by actual practice in the Church, where aborted or miscarried products of early pregnancy are not baptized. Also, the Church does not forbid the taking of human life in war or to preserve political freedom. Finally, in countries such as Poland where abortion has been made illegal through religious pressure, there have been drastic cuts in health care and child care programs.

Early pregnancy angiogenic markers and spontaneous abortion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Louise B; Dechend, Ralf; Karumanchi, S Ananth

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous abortion is the most commonly observed adverse pregnancy outcome. The angiogenic factors soluble Fms-like kinase 1 and placental growth factor are critical for normal pregnancy and may be associated to spontaneous abortion. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association between...... maternal serum concentrations of soluble Fms-like kinase 1 and placental growth factor, and subsequent spontaneous abortion. STUDY DESIGN: In the prospective observational Odense Child Cohort, 1676 pregnant women donated serum in early pregnancy, gestational week ..., interquartile range 71-103). Concentrations of soluble Fms-like kinase 1 and placental growth factor were determined with novel automated assays. Spontaneous abortion was defined as complete or incomplete spontaneous abortion, missed abortion, or blighted ovum

Abortion services in a high-needs district: a community-based model of care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Snook S

2013-06-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: In 2009, a high-deprivation district health board in New Zealand set up a community-based abortion clinic in order to provide a local service and to avoid out-of-region referrals. The service offers medical abortions for women with pregnancies of up to 63 days' gestation, and surgical abortion with local anaesthetic for women with pregnancies of up to 14 weeks' gestation. AIM: To describe the services developed and assess safety and timeliness for the first year of community-based services. METHODS: An audit of clinical records for patients seen in 2010 was performed in order to obtain data on location of services, timeliness, safety and complications. RESULTS: Eighty-two percent of locally provided abortions in 2010 were medical abortions, completed on average less than two days after referral to the service. One percent of patients experienced haemorrhaging post abortion, and 4% had retained products. These rates are within accepted standards for an abortion service. DISCUSSION: This report illustrates that a community-based model of care can be both clinically and culturally safe, while providing a much-needed service to a high-needs population.

Legal, Social and Psycho-Medical Effects of Abortion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bisera Mavrić

2012-10-01

Full Text Available This work deals with the relationship between induced abortion and mental health with a special focus on the area of political controversy. This article explores the historical background of the abortion and its legislative implications in Europe with special reference to Bosnia and Herzegovina. This work is based on etnographich, analitical and historical aproaches. It explains abortion in medical terms and analyzes the psychological effects of the abortion. This is a significant and challanging topic for those who find themselves facing the moral dilemma of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. Problems of controversy are numerous. Is abortion a murder or not? Is fetus a person or not? When it becomes the one if ever till the birth? If abortion is not morally wrong, that doesn't mean that it's right to have an abortion. If abortion is morally wrong, that doesn't mean that it is always impermissible to have an abortion. The comon dilema is whether having an abortion is less wrong than the alternatives. These are some of the questions this paper deals with.

Abortions bring economic pressure to bear on hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Taravella, S

1989-08-25

The current abortion controversy has serious potential economic consequences for U.S. hospitals, from boycotts and other political actions, but also because of lack of reimbursement for procedures performed on indigent women. An example was given of a threatened boycott of a private hospital in Washington state by evangelical residents and their physicians. Another example of boycott of hospital blood donations was cited. 1078, or 28.7%, of 3752 U.S. hospitals that are equipped to perform abortions do so. 90% of abortions are done by 31% of U.S. hospitals. 90% of these are 1st trimester abortions, costing $200-300. Many employer-sponsored health insurance plans pay for abortions, but Medicaid programs pay for limited numbers of abortions: all abortions for poor women in 13 states, but only those need to save the woman's life in most states. The federal government paid $62,235 for 84 abortions in 13 states in 1988. California and New York have extensive abortion programs for the poor. Hospitals keep a low profile about abortion services, declining to advertise their activity.

Contraceptive Use among Women Seeking Repeat Abortion in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AJRH Managing Editor

Compared with women seeking their first abortion, significantly more repeat abortion clients had ever used contraceptives ... findings, the level of repeat abortions in Europe, .... and contraceptive history, and post-abortion ..... working women.

Parent-daughter communication about abortion among nonpregnant African-American adolescent females.

Science.gov (United States)

Sisco, Katherine M; Martins, Summer L; Kavanagh, Erin K; Gilliam, Melissa L

2014-12-01

To identify correlates of parent-daughter communication about abortion among nonpregnant adolescents. Nonpregnant African-American females aged 14-17 years attending one of three charter schools on Chicago's South Side were recruited and surveyed regarding parental relationship quality, attitudes toward sexual health, and communication about sexual health. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) for ever discussing abortion using multivariable logistic regression. Of the 265 adolescents, 43.0% had ever discussed abortion with a parent. While 72.3% would voluntarily tell a parent about an abortion plan, 19.2% feared a parent would physically hurt her, punish her, or evict her. Ever communicating about abortion was significantly associated with having a mother who had a teen pregnancy (OR, 1.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-3.78); having a prochoice abortion attitude (OR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.29-8.25); having discussed sexually transmitted infections (OR, 2.97; 95% CI, 1.13-7.77) or birth control (OR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.35-6.47) with a parent; and perceived parental approval of adolescent sexual activity (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.20-7.88). Ever communicating about abortion was inversely related to being sexually experienced (OR, .48; 95% CI, .23-.99) or anticipating supportive parental reactions to an abortion decision (OR, .31; 95% CI, .13-.75). Although almost half of our sample was sexually active, the majority had never talked to their parents about abortion. Some reported fears of harm should the situation arise. Public policy should focus on promoting parent-daughter communication before an unwanted pregnancy rather than forcing communication after it occurs. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Why do women have abortions?

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, A; Forrest, J D

1988-01-01

Most respondents to a survey of abortion patients in 1987 said that more than one factor had contributed to their decision to have an abortion; the mean number of reasons was nearly four. Three-quarters said that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities, about two-thirds said they could not afford to have a child and half said they did not want to be a single parent or had relationship problems. A multivariate analysis showed young teenagers to be 32 percent more likely than women 18 or over to say they were not mature enough to raise a child and 19 percent more likely to say their parents wanted them to have an abortion. Unmarried women were 17 percent more likely than currently married women to choose abortion to prevent others from knowing they had had sex or became pregnant. Of women who had an abortion at 16 or more weeks' gestation, 71 percent attributed their delay to not having realized they were pregnant or not having known soon enough the actual gestation of their pregnancy. Almost half were delayed because of trouble in arranging the abortion, usually because they needed time to raise money. One-third did not have an abortion earlier because they were afraid to tell their partner or parents that they were pregnant. A multivariate analysis revealed that respondents under age 18 were 39 percent more likely than older women to have delayed because they were afraid to tell their parents or partner.

Rewriting abortion: deploying medical records in jurisdictional negotiation over a forbidden practice in Senegal

Science.gov (United States)

Suh, Siri

2014-01-01

Boundary work refers to the strategies deployed by professionals in the arenas of the public, the law and the workplace to define and defend jurisdictional authority. Little attention has been directed to the role of documents in negotiating professional claims. While boundary work over induced abortion has been extensively documented, few studies have examined jurisdictional disputes over the treatment of abortion complications, or post-abortion care (PAC). This study explores how medical providers deploy medical records in boundary work over the treatment of complications of spontaneous and induced abortion in Senegal, where induced abortion is prohibited under any circumstance. Findings are based on an institutional ethnography of Senegal’s national PAC program over a period of 13 months between 2010 and 2011. Data collection methods included in-depth interviews with 36 health care professionals, observation of PAC services at three hospitals, a review of abortion records at each hospital, and a case review of illegal abortions prosecuted by the state. Findings show that health providers produce a particular account of the type of abortion treated through a series of practices such as the patient interview and the clinical exam. Providers obscure induced abortion in medical documents in three ways: the use of terminology that does not differentiate between induced and spontaneous abortion in PAC registers, the omission of data on the type of abortion altogether in PAC registers, and reporting the total number but not the type of abortions treated in hospital data transmitted to state health authorities. The obscuration of suspected induced abortion in the record permits providers to circumvent police inquiry at the hospital. PAC has been implemented in nearly 50 countries worldwide. This study demonstrates the need for additional research on how medical professionals negotiate conflicting medical and legal obligations in the daily practice of treating abortion

RHIC ABORT KICKER WITH REDUCED COUPLING IMPEDANCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HAHN, H.; DAVINO, D.

2002-01-01

Kicker magnets typically represent the most important contributors to the transverse impedance budget of accelerators and storage rings. Methods of reducing the impedance value of the SNS extraction kicker presently under construction and, in view of a future performance upgrade, that of the RHIC abort kicker have been thoroughly studied at this laboratory. In this paper, the investigation of a potential improvement from using ferrite different from the BNL standard CMD5005 is reported. Permeability measurements of several ferrite types have been performed. Measurements on two kicker magnets using CMD5005 and C2050 suggest that the impedance of a magnet without external resistive damping, such as the RHIC abort kicker, would benefit

Did abortion legalization reduce the number of unwanted children? Evidence from adoptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bitler, Marianne; Madeline, Zavodny

2002-01-01

The legalization of abortion in the United States led to well-known changes in reproductive behavior, but its effect on adoptions has not been investigated. Variation across states in the timing and extent of abortion legalization is used to identify the effects of changes in the legal status of abortion on adoption rates from 1961 to 1975. These effects are estimated in regression analyses that control for states' economic, demographic and political characteristics, as well as for health care availability within states. The rate of adoptions of children born to white women declined by 34-37% in states that repealed restrictive abortion laws before Roe v. Wade. The effect was concentrated among adoptions by petitioners not related to the child. Legal reforms resulting in small increases in access, such as in cases of rape and incest, were associated with a 15-18% decline in adoptions of children born to nonwhite women; however, this decline may have been due to other changes in the policy environment for such adoptions. Rates of adoption of children born to white women appear to have declined after Roe v. Wade, but this association is not statistically significant. The estimated effect of abortion legalization on adoption rates is sizable and can account for much of the decline in adoptions, particularly of children born to white women, during the early 1970s. These findings support previous studies' conclusions that abortion legalization led to a reduction in the number of "unwanted" children; such a reduction may have improved average infant health and children's living conditions.

[The gynecologist and the problem of therapeutic abortion].

Science.gov (United States)

Pundel, J P

1972-01-01

Most of this essay on the abortion problem in French-speaking western Europe concerns the Sermon of Hippocrates forbidding abortion; the discussion ends with an ethical discussion on abortion codes in a pluralist society. 1st, scholars question whether Hippocrates himself actually wrote the text of the Sermon, or whether his Pythagorean followers did. 2nd, probably abortion in Hippocrates' time was relegated to midwives and lithotomists. The meaning of the quotation "I do not give any abortive remedy" is obscure since in other contexts Hippocrates distinguished between abortive and contraceptive drugs and also abortive instruments. Finally, Hipoocrates specifically recommended abortion, e.g., to avoid pregnancy for prostitutes. Persons in authority, then, should not invoke Hippocrates or any other moral code to deprive a woman of medical abortion, especially in cases of rape, age, and failure of contraception. Divorce, for example, has been legalized in most countries, without forcing anyone to take advantage of it.

Integrating Doulas Into First-Trimester Abortion Care: Physician, Clinic Staff, and Doula Experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Chor, Julie; Lyman, Phoebe; Ruth, Jean; Patel, Ashlesha; Gilliam, Melissa

2018-01-01

Balancing the need to provide individual support for patients and the need for an efficient clinic can be challenging in the abortion setting. This study explores physician, staff, and specially trained abortion doula perspectives on doula support, one approach to patient support. We conducted separate focus groups with physicians, staff members, and doulas from a high-volume, first-trimester aspiration abortion clinic with a newly established volunteer abortion doula program. Focus groups explored 1) abortion doula training, 2) program implementation, 3) program benefits, and 4) opportunities for improvement. Interviews were transcribed and computer-assisted content analysis was performed; salient findings are presented. Five physicians, 5 staff members, and 4 abortion doulas participated in separate focus group discussions. Doulas drew on both their prior personal skills and experiences in addition to their abortion doula training to provide women with support at the time of abortion. Having doulas in the clinic to assist with women's emotional needs allowed physicians and staff to focus on technical aspects of the procedure. In turn, both physicians and staff believed that introducing doulas resulted in more patient-centered care. Although staff did not experience challenges to integrating doulas, physicians and doulas experienced initial challenges in incorporating doula support into the clinical flow. Staff and doulas reported exchanging skills and techniques that they subsequently used in their interactions with patients. Physicians, clinic staff, and doulas perceive abortion doula support as an approach to provide more patient-centered care in a high-volume aspiration abortion clinic. © 2018 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Incidental Laparoscopic Discovery of an Intraperitoneal Plastic Catheter 16 Years after an Unsafe Abortion: A Case Report from the Gynecologic, Obstetric, and Pediatric Hospital of Yaoundé (Cameroon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ngandji Andre

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In many developing countries like Cameroon, unsafe abortion is a major public health problem. It can be responsible for severe complications including damage to the digestive and/or urinary tract, sepsis, and uterine perforation. Uterine perforation could be caused by most of the instruments that are used to evacuate the uterus. We report a case of apparent uterine perforation and subsequent migration of the plastic or rubber catheter into the peritoneal cavity during an abortion procedure performed in a setting that may have been unsafe. The discovery was made during a diagnostic laparoscopy indicated for secondary infertility of tubal origin 16 years after the abortion procedure. This is a rare clinical finding which is of therapeutic and diagnostic importance. To the best of our knowledge, a single similar case has been reported so far in the literature.

An economic approach to abortion demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothstein, D S

1992-01-01

"This paper uses econometric multiple regression techniques in order to analyze the socioeconomic factors affecting the demand for abortion for the year 1985. A cross-section of the 50 [U.S.] states and Washington D.C. is examined and a household choice theoretical framework is utilized. The results suggest that average price of abortion, disposable personal per capita income, percentage of single women, whether abortions are state funded, unemployment rate, divorce rate, and if the state is located in the far West, are statistically significant factors in the determination of the demand for abortion." excerpt

LHC Abort Gap Monitoring and Cleaning

CERN Document Server

Meddahi, M; Boccardi, A; Butterworth, A; Fisher, A S; Gianfelice-Wendt, E; Goddard, B; Hemelsoet, G H; Höfle, W; Jacquet, D; Jaussi, M; Kain, V; Lefevre, T; Shaposhnikova, E; Uythoven, J; Valuch, D

2010-01-01

Unbunched beam is a potentially serious issue in the LHC as it may quench the superconducting magnets during a beam abort. Unbunched particles, either not captured by the RF system at injection or leaking out of the RF bucket, will be removed by using the existing damper kickers to excite resonantly the particles in the abort gap. Following beam simulations, a strategy for cleaning the abort gap at different energies was proposed. The plans for the commissioning of the beam abort gap cleaning are described and first results from the beam commissioning are presented.

Provision of intrauterine contraception in association with first trimester induced abortion reduces the need of repeat abortion: first-year results of a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Pohjoranta, Elina; Mentula, Maarit; Gissler, Mika; Suhonen, Satu; Heikinheimo, Oskari

2015-11-01

-up visit and further contraceptive services according to national guidelines. The women were followed-up to 28 February 2014 by using the Finnish National Abortion Registry, Helsinki University Hospital electronic database and clinical follow-up visit at 1 year. The median age of the whole study group was 27 years and 44% had a history of induced abortion(s). During the follow-up year the number of women requesting subsequent abortion was significantly lower in the intervention than in the control group (9/375 [2.4%] versus 20/373 [5.4%], difference -3.0 [95% CI -6.0 to -0.2] percentage points, P = 0.038, according to intention-to-treat analysis and 5/346 [1.4%] versus 20/357 [5.6%], difference -4.2(-7.2 to -1.4) percentage points, P = 0.003, according to per-protocol analysis, respectively). Provision of intrauterine contraception was safe with rate of infection and expulsion similar to those reported previously. The power calculation was calculated for a 5-year follow-up. However, significant differences between the two groups were already seen after 1 year. The present study was performed in a single clinic, where, ∼15% of all abortions in Finland are performed. In order to decrease the need of subsequent abortions, IUDs should be provided at the time of abortion. The study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01223521). 18 October 2010. 18 October 2010. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An epidemiologic study of late-term abortions in dairy cattle in Denmark, July 2000 August 2003

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carpenter, Tim E.; Chriél, Mariann; Andersen, Mette M.

2006-01-01

Abortion in dairy cows in well-managed dairies is not common but differences have been reported probably due to variation in animal health, nutrition and management, as well as difficulties in observing the aborted material. A 38-month study of 507 large Danish dairy herds revealed 3354 late...... of abortions in a month on a dairy was significantly (P ... correlation (r = 0.47-0.51) after lagging abortions on insemination by 6-8 months. No indication of spatial clustering was detected for either specific-abortogenic pathogens or high aborting dairies using either Cuzick-Edwards' (P > 0.17) or spatial scan tests (P > 0.23). Ederer-Myers-Mantel test was applied...

Unintended pregnancy and induced abortion among unmarried women in China: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garner Paul

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Until recently, premarital examination for both men and women was a legal requirement before marriage in China. Researchers have carried out surveys of attendees' sexual activity, pregnancy and abortion before their marriages, trying to map out reproductive health needs in China, according to this unique population-based data. To systematically identify, appraise and summarise all available studies documenting pregnancy and induced abortion among unmarried Chinese women attending premarital examinations. Methods We searched the Chinese Biomedical Literature Index from 1978 to 2002; PUBMED; and EMBASE. Trials were assessed and data extracted by two people independently. Results Nine studies, of which seven were conducted in the urban areas, one in the rural areas, and one in both urban and rural areas, met the inclusion criteria. In the seven studies in urban areas, the majority of unmarried women had experienced sexual intercourse, with estimates ranging from 54% to 82% in five studies. Estimates of a previous pregnancy ranged from 12% to 32%. Abortion rates were high, ranging between 11 to 55% in 8 studies reporting this, which exclude the one rural study. In the three studies reporting both pregnancy and abortion, most women who had become pregnant had an induced abortion (range 86% to 96%. One large rural study documented a lower low pregnancy rate (20% and induced abortion rate (0.8%. Conclusions There is a large unmet need for temporary methods of contraception in urban areas of China.

The abortion issue in the 1980 elections.

Science.gov (United States)

Granberg, D; Burlison, J

1983-01-01

The political opponents of legal abortion achieved considerable gains in the 1980 American elections. A president who was committed to a strong antiabortion position was elected, and antiabortion candidates prevailed in six out of seven Senate races that pitted supporters against opponents of legal abortion and in seven out of nine similar confrontations in the House races. However, it is not clear that abortion was an overriding or decisive factor in determining those outcomes. Democrats and Republicans, Carter voters and Reagan voters did not differ significantly in their attitudes toward abortion. The presidential voter groups were divided on several other issues, and along income and racial lines, to a far greater extent than they were on abortion. Voters were not likely to name abortion as one of the more important problems facing the nation. Carter supporters rated abortion as more important than did Reagan supporters. Although the party platforms and the presidential candidates were clearly differentiated in their abortion stands, these differences were not well communicated to the citizenry. When voters attempted to describe the position of each candidate on abortion, they displayed a great deal of uncertainty, error and confusion. In the key Senate races, those who voted for the prochoice candidates held more liberal abortion attitudes than those who voted for the right-to-life candidates. This difference, although statistically significant, was not great, and was smaller than the differences related to several other issues--such as attitudes toward the role of government, women's rights and economic policies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Irish women who seek abortions in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Francome, C

1992-01-01

In 1991, 4158 women from Ireland and 1766 from Northern Ireland traveled to England for abortions. This situation has been ignored by Irish authorities. The 1992 case of the 14-year old seeking an abortion in England finally caught legal attention. This study attempts to help define who these abortion seekers are. Questionnaires from 200 Irish abortion seeking women attending private Marie Stopes clinics in London and the British Pregnancy Advisory Services clinic in Liverpool between September 1988 and December 1990 were analyzed. Findings pertain to demographic characteristics, characteristics of first intercourse, family discussion of sexual activity, and contraceptive use. From this limited sample, it appears that Irish women are sexually reserved and without access to modern methods of birth control and abortion. Sex is associated with shame and guilt. 23% had intercourse before the age of 18 years and 42% after the age of 20. 76% were single and 16% were currently married. 95% were Catholic; 33% had been to church the preceding Sunday and 68% within the past month. Basic information about menstruation is also limited and procedures such as dilatation and curettage may be performed selectively. 28% of married women were uninformed about menstruation prior to its onset. Only 24% had been using birth control around the time of pregnancy. The reason for nonuse was frequently the unexpectedness of intercourse. 62% of adults and 66% of women believe in legalizing abortion in Ireland. British groups have tried to break through the abortion information ban by sending telephone numbers of abortion clinics to Irish firms for distribution to employees. On November 25, 1992, in the general election, there was approval of constitutional amendments guaranteeing the right to travel for abortions and to receive information on abortion access. The amendment to allow abortion to save the life of the mother was not accepted.

Effects of price and availability on abortion demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Gohmann, S F; Ohsfeldt, R L

1993-10-01

This study explained the variation in US state abortion demand due to the price of services, the net of insurance cost of birth services, the ability to pay, contraceptive use, individual attitudes regarding abortion, and government policy affecting cost of benefits of terminating an unintended pregnancy or of carrying to birth. The empirical model uses pooled data from 48 states for 1982, 1984, 1985, and 1987. Prices are deflated to 1977 dollars. Another two-staged least squares model is based on cross-sectional state level data for 1985. The dependent variable is the log of abortion per 1000 pregnancies. Other variables pertain to income, education, labor force, family planning, tax, aid to families with dependent children, religion, and abortion-related measures. The results of the cross-sectional analysis are consistent with Medoff's and Garbacz's findings. The estimated coefficient of per capita income is positive with a point elasticity ranging from 0.62 to 1.0. The model with the most complete specifications has an abortion price elasticity range from -0.75 to -1.3 and is statistically significant when religion measures are excluded. The Hausman test shows the pro-choice variable significantly correlated with the error term. The net price of birth services is not statistically significant. Catholic religion and no religion are only significant when the abortion provider variable is excluded. The suggestion is that the effect of Catholicism is ambiguous. In the pooled analysis, the fixed effects model is used to control for abortion attitudes and other unobserved factors. Abortion demand includes abortion per 1000 pregnancies, the ratio of abortions to pregnancies, and the logarithm of abortions per 1000 pregnancies. Higher income is associated with a higher abortion rate and elasticities of 0.76 and 0.35 and is associated with a higher pregnancy rate. The abortion ratio is found to be elastic with respect to price, and price elasticities are sensitive to

Divergent trends in abortion and birth control practices in belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boris P Denisov

Full Text Available CONTEXT: The last decade witnessed growing differences in abortion dynamics in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine despite demographic, social, and historical similarities of these nations. This paper investigates changes in birth control practices in the three countries and searches for an explanation of the diverging trends in abortion. METHODS: Official abortion and contraceptive use statistics, provided by national statistical agencies, were analysed. Respective laws and other legal documents were examined and compared between the three countries. To disclose inter-country differences in prevalence of the modern methods of contraception and its association with major demographic and social factors, an analysis of data from national sample surveys was performed, including binary logistic regression. RESULTS: The growing gap in abortion rate in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine is a genuine phenomenon, not a statistical artefact. The examination of abortion and prevalence of contraception based on official statistics and three national sample surveys did not reveal any unambiguous factors that could explain differences in abortion dynamics in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. However, it is very likely that the cause of the inter-country discrepancies lies in contraceptive behavior itself, in adequacies of contraceptive knowledge and practices. Additionally, large differences in government policies, which are very important in shaping contraceptive practices of the population, were detected. CONCLUSION: Since the end of the 1990s, the Russian government switched to archaic ideology in the area of reproductive health and family planning and neglects evidence-based arguments. Such an extreme turn in the governmental position is not observed in Belarus or Ukraine. This is an important factor contributing to the slowdown in the decrease of abortion rates in Russia.

Divergent Trends in Abortion and Birth Control Practices in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine

Science.gov (United States)

Denisov, Boris P.; Sakevich, Victoria I.; Jasilioniene, Aiva

2012-01-01

Context The last decade witnessed growing differences in abortion dynamics in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine despite demographic, social, and historical similarities of these nations. This paper investigates changes in birth control practices in the three countries and searches for an explanation of the diverging trends in abortion. Methods Official abortion and contraceptive use statistics, provided by national statistical agencies, were analysed. Respective laws and other legal documents were examined and compared between the three countries. To disclose inter-country differences in prevalence of the modern methods of contraception and its association with major demographic and social factors, an analysis of data from national sample surveys was performed, including binary logistic regression. Results The growing gap in abortion rate in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine is a genuine phenomenon, not a statistical artefact. The examination of abortion and prevalence of contraception based on official statistics and three national sample surveys did not reveal any unambiguous factors that could explain differences in abortion dynamics in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. However, it is very likely that the cause of the inter-country discrepancies lies in contraceptive behavior itself, in adequacies of contraceptive knowledge and practices. Additionally, large differences in government policies, which are very important in shaping contraceptive practices of the population, were detected. Conclusion Since the end of the 1990s, the Russian government switched to archaic ideology in the area of reproductive health and family planning and neglects evidence-based arguments. Such an extreme turn in the governmental position is not observed in Belarus or Ukraine. This is an important factor contributing to the slowdown in the decrease of abortion rates in Russia. PMID:23349656

Myths and misconceptions about abortion among marginalized underserved community.

Science.gov (United States)

Thapa, K; Karki, Y; Bista, K P

2009-01-01

Unsafe abortion remains a huge problem in Nepal even after legalization of abortion. Various myths and misconceptions persist which prompt women towards unsafe abortive practices. A qualitative study was conducted among different groups of women using focus group discussions and in depth interviews. Perception and understanding of the participants on abortion, methods and place of abortion were evaluated. A number of misconceptions were prevalent like drinking vegetable and herbal juices, and applying hot pot over the abdomen could abort pregnancy. However, many participants also believed that health care providers should be consulted for abortion. Although majority of the women knew that they should seek medical aid for abortion, they were still possessed with various misconceptions. Merely legalizing abortion services is not enough to reduce the burden of unsafe abortion. Focus has to be given on creating awareness and proper advocacy in this issue.

Spontaneous abortion and physical strain around implantation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjollund, N H; Jensen, Tina Kold; Bonde, Jens Peter

2000-01-01

pregnancy the women recorded physical strain prospectively in a structured diary. Physical strain around the time of implantation was associated with later spontaneous abortion. The adjusted risk ratio for women who reported physical strain higher than average at day 6 to 9 after the estimated date...

Family planning policy in the United States: the converging politics of abortion and contraception.

Science.gov (United States)

Aiken, Abigail R A; Scott, James G

2016-05-01

Following decades of mainstream bipartisan support, contraception has reemerged as a controversial political issue in the United States. At the same time, opposition to abortion has intensified. State legislatures across the country have enacted highly visible policies limiting access to family planning. Perhaps the most striking example occurred in 2011 in Texas, when legislators instituted unprecedented requirements on abortion providers and cut public funding for contraception by two thirds. Yet, despite popular interpretations of this phenomenon as a simple byproduct of increasing partisan divisions, little is understood about the factors underlying such policy shifts. We fit Bayesian ideal-point models to analyze correlation patterns in record-vote data in the Texas House of Representatives in the 2003 and 2011 Legislatures. Both sessions had large Republican majorities and saw the passage of restrictive abortion bills, but they differed markedly with respect to public funding for contraception. We demonstrate that variation in voting on family-planning issues cannot be fully attributed to partisanship in either session. However, the politics of abortion and contraception have converged over time, and - at least for Democrats - the correlation between constituency characteristics and voting behavior on family-planning legislation is markedly higher in 2011 than in 2003. These shifts have been partly driven by legislators from high-poverty, majority Latino districts near the US-Mexico border. Recent dramatic shifts in family-planning policy go beyond simple partisan divisions. As the politics of abortion and contraception have converged, policies that are increasingly hostile to reproductive health and that disproportionately affect low-income minority women have emerged. Recent shifts in family-planning policy restrict women's access to contraception and abortion, yet little research has examined why such shifts are occurring. This paper analyzes factors

Expression of AIF-1 and RANTES in Unexplained Spontaneous Abortion and Possible Association with Alloimmune Abortion

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yong-hong LI; Hai-lin WANG; Ya-juan ZHANG

2007-01-01

Objective To investigate the effects of allograft inflammatory factor-1(AIF-1)and (RANTES) in sera and deciduas on unexplained early spontaneous abortion.Methods AIF-1 and RANTES were examined in sera and deciduas/endometria of 43 unexplained early spontaneous abortion women (group A),40 healthy women with early pregnancy(group B)and 20 healthy women with no pregnancy (group C). Immunohistochemistry and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used in this study. Results AIF-1 protein was expressed both in deciduas of group A and in endometria of group C.In group A, H scores in the recurrent abortion deciduas specimens were significantly greater than those in the first abortion;in endometrium,expression of AIF-1 was greater in the secretory than in proliferative phase of group C.In group B,concentrations of RANTES in sera were higher in 7th-8th week of pregnancy than in 6th-7th and ＞8th week of pregnancy;expression of AIF-1 protein showed a negative correlation with RASNTES concentration;a significant increase of the RANTES levels in sera and tissue was observed in group B. Conclusion These results demonstrate, for the first time,that AIF-1 are expressed in deciduas of unexplained spontaneous abortion suggesting that AIF-1 involve in alloimmune abortion; RANTES might act as a novel blocking antibody;AIF-1 and RANTES might act as reliable markers for diagnosis of early alloimmune abortion.

Study recommends measures to reduce induced abortion among young women in the Republic of Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

A study supported by the Program in the Republic of Korea involved 500 unmarried female adolescents and young adults selected from three categories: (a) factory workers living in industry-affiliated housing who participated in the project's special information program; (b) entertainers and sex workers working in bars and similar enterprises; and (c) women who sought an induced abortion in hospitals or private clinics. The average age of the women in each group was 22 years, 23 years, and 24 years, respectively. Most of the women had 12 years of schooling or more, and reported that their ideal age to enter marriage was 25 years. Korean society is generally very traditional, but among the factory workers cohabitation by unmarried couples is quite common and is gaining social acceptance. Among the women who reported a previous unwanted pregnancy, 85% said that they had not used a contraceptive before. Among the sex workers, contraceptive use was 53%, but still 66% had had an unwanted pregnancy. Among the factory workers contraceptive prevalence was 21%, and 36% reported having had an unwanted pregnancy. Among those seeking an abortion, only 20% had been using a method at the time of conception with 15% reporting contraceptive failure. Previous abortion experience was highest among abortion seekers (76%), followed by sex workers (45%), and the factory workers (11%). An argument is made for legalization of abortion in the country given that most abortions take place under unsafe conditions. Sex education is also recommended in schools and making family planning services available to adolescents, particularly to single women working in the industrial sector. The results have been discussed with labor unions and workers' organizations.

[Abortion and crime].

Science.gov (United States)

Citoni, Guido

2011-01-01

In this article we address the issue, with a tentative empirical application to the Italian data, of the relationship, very debated mainly in north America, between abortion legalization and reduction of crime rates of youth. The rationale of this relationship is that there is a causal factor at work: the more unwanted pregnancies aborted, the less unwanted children breeding their criminal attitude in an hostile/deprived family environment. Many methodological and empirical criticisms have been raised against the proof of the existence of such a relationship: our attempt to test if this link is valid for Italy cannot endorse its existence. The data we used made necessary some assumptions and the reliability of official estimates of crime rates was debatable (probably downward biased). We conclude that, at least for Italy, the suggested relationship is unproven: other reasons for the need of legal abortion have been and should be put forward.

Safety of Medical Abortion Provided Through Telemedicine Compared With In Person.

Science.gov (United States)

Grossman, Daniel; Grindlay, Kate

2017-10-01

To compare the proportion of medical abortions with a clinically significant adverse event among telemedicine and in-person patients at a clinic system in Iowa during the first 7 years of the service. We conducted a retrospective cohort study. We analyzed data on clinically significant adverse events (hospital admission, surgery, blood transfusion, emergency department treatment, and death) for all medical abortions performed by telemedicine or in person at a clinic system in Iowa between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2015. Data on adverse events came from required reporting forms submitted to the mifepristone distributor. We calculated the prevalence of adverse events and 95% CIs comparing telemedicine with in-person patients. The analysis was designed as a noninferiority study. Assuming the prevalence of adverse events to be 0.3%, telemedicine provision was considered to be inferior to in-person provision if the prevalence were 0.6% or higher. The required sample size was 6,984 in each group (one-sided α=0.025, power 90%). To explore whether patients with adverse events presented to emergency departments and were not reported, we conducted a survey of the 119 emergency departments in Iowa, asking whether they had treated a woman with an adverse event in the prior year. During the study period, 8,765 telemedicine and 10,405 in-person medical abortions were performed. Forty-nine clinically significant adverse events were reported (no deaths or surgery; 0.18% of telemedicine patients with any adverse event [95% CI 0.11-0.29%] and 0.32% of in-person patients [95% CI 0.23-0.45%]). The difference in adverse event prevalence was 0.13% (95% CI -0.01% to 0.28%, P=.07). Forty-two emergency departments responded to the survey (35% response rate); none reported treating a woman with an adverse event after medical abortion. Adverse events are rare with medical abortion, and telemedicine provision is noninferior to in-person provision with regard to clinically significant

Access to Medication Abortion Among California's Public University Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyay, Ushma D; Cartwright, Alice F; Johns, Nicole E

2018-06-09

A proposed California law will require student health centers at public universities to provide medication abortion. To understand its potential impact, we sought to describe current travel time, costs, and wait times to access care at the nearest abortion facilities. We projected total medication abortion use based on campus enrollment figures and age- and state-adjusted abortion rates. We calculated distance and public transit time from campuses to the nearest abortion facility. We contacted existing abortion-providing facilities to determine costs, insurance acceptance, and wait times. We estimate 322 to 519 California public university students seek medication abortions each month. As many as 62% of students at these universities were more than 30 minutes from the closest abortion facility via public transportation. Average cost of medication abortion was $604, and average wait time to the first available appointment was one week. College students face cost, scheduling, and travel barriers to abortion care. Offering medication abortion on campus could reduce these barriers. Copyright © 2018 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Histopathological and molecular study of Neospora caninum infection in bovine aborted fetuses

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Amir Kamali; HesamAdin Seifi; Ahmad Reza Movassaghi; Gholam Reza Razmi; Zahra Naseri

2014-01-01

To estimate the extent to which abortion in dairy cows was associated with of Neospora caninum (N. caninum) and to determine the risk factors of neosporosis in dairy farms from 9 provinces in Iran. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was used to detect Neospora infection in the brain of 395 bovine aborted fetuses from 9 provinces of Iran. In addition, the brains of aborted fetuses were taken for histopathological examination. To identify the risk factors associated with neosporosis, data analysis was performed by SAS. Results: N. caninum was detected in 179 (45%) out of 395 fetal brain samples of bovine aborted fetuses using PCR. Among the PCR-positive brain samples, only 56 samples were suited for histopathological examination. The characteristic lesions of Neospora infection including non-suppurative encephalitis were found in 16 (28%) of PCR-positive samples. The risk factors including season, parity of dam, history of bovine virus diarrhea and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis infection in herd, cow’s milk production, herd size and fetal appearance did not show association with the infection. This study showed that Neospora caused abortion was significantly more in the second trimester of pregnancy than other periods. In addition, a significant association was observed between Neospora infection and stillbirth. Conclusions: The results showed N. caninum infection was detected in high percentage of aborted fetuses. In addition, at least one fourth of abortions caused by Neospora infection. These results indicate increasing number of abortions associated with the protozoa more than reported before in Iran.

Histopathological and molecular study of Neospora caninum infection in bovine aborted fetuses

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Amir; Kamali; Hesam; Adin; Seifi; Ahmad; Reza; Movassaghi; Gholam; Reza; Razmi; Zahra; Naseri

2014-01-01

Objective:To estimate the extent to which abortion in dairy cows was associated with of Neospom caninum(N.caninum) and to determine the risk factors of neosporosis in dairy farms from 9 provinces in Iran.Methods:Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) test was used to detect Neospora infection in the brain of 395 bovine aborted fetuses from 9 provinces of Iran.In addition,the brains of aborted fetuses were taken for histopathological examination.To identify the risk factors associated with neosporosis,data analysis was performed by SAS.Results:N.caninum was detected in 179(45%) out of 395 fetal brain samples of bovine aborted fetuses using PCR.Among the PCR-positive brain samples,only 56 samples were suited for histopathological examination.The characteristic lesions of Neospora infection including non-suppurative encephalitis were found in 16(28%) of PCR-positive samples.The risk factors including season,parity of dam,history of bovine virus diarrhea and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis infection in herd,cow’s milk production,herd size and fetal appearance did not show association with the infection.This study showed that Neospora caused abortion was significantly more in the second trimester of pregnancy than other periods.In addition,a significant association was observed between Neospora infection and stillbirth.Conclusions:The results showed N.caninum infection was detected in high percentage of aborted fetuses.In addition,at least one fourth of abortions caused by Neospora infection.These results indicate increasing number of abortions associated with the protozoa more than reported before in Iran.

Abortion in adolescence: a four-country comparison.

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Welsh, P; McCarthy, M; Cromer, B

2001-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparison, using qualitative analytic methodology, of perceptions concerning abortion among health care providers and administrators, along with politicians and anti-abortion activists (total n = 75) in Great Britain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United States. In none of these countries was there consensus about abortion prior to legalization, and, in all countries, public discussion continues to be present. In general, after legalization of abortion has no longer made it a volatile issue European countries have refocused their energy into providing family planning services, education, and more straightforward access to abortion compared with similar activities in the United States.

Induced abortion, pregnancy loss and intimate partner violence in Tanzania: a population based study

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Stöckl Heidi

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Violence by an intimate partner is increasingly recognized as an important public and reproductive health issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence is associated with induced abortion and pregnancy loss from other causes and to compare this with other, more commonly recognized explanatory factors. Methods This study analyzes the data of the Tanzania section of the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence, a large population-based cross-sectional survey of women of reproductive age in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya, Tanzania, conducted from 2001 to 2002. All women who answered positively to at least one of the questions about specific acts of physical or sexual violence committed by a partner towards her at any point in her life were considered to have experienced intimate partner violence. Associations between self reported induced abortion and pregnancy loss with intimate partner violence were analysed using multiple regression models. Results Lifetime physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence was reported by 41% and 56% of ever partnered, ever pregnant women in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya respectively. Among the ever pregnant, ever partnered women, 23% experienced involuntary pregnancy loss, while 7% reported induced abortion. Even after adjusting for other explanatory factors, women who experienced intimate partner violence were 1.6 (95%CI: 1.06,1.60 times more likely to report an pregnancy loss and 1.9 (95%CI: 1.30,2.89 times more likely to report an induced abortion. Intimate partner violence had a stronger influence on induced abortion and pregnancy loss than women's age, socio-economic status, and number of live born children. Conclusions Intimate partner violence is likely to be an important influence on levels of induced abortion and pregnancy loss in Tanzania. Preventing intimate partner violence may therefore be beneficial

Induced abortion, pregnancy loss and intimate partner violence in Tanzania: a population based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stöckl, Heidi; Filippi, Veronique; Watts, Charlotte; Mbwambo, Jessie K K

2012-03-05

Violence by an intimate partner is increasingly recognized as an important public and reproductive health issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence is associated with induced abortion and pregnancy loss from other causes and to compare this with other, more commonly recognized explanatory factors. This study analyzes the data of the Tanzania section of the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence, a large population-based cross-sectional survey of women of reproductive age in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya, Tanzania, conducted from 2001 to 2002. All women who answered positively to at least one of the questions about specific acts of physical or sexual violence committed by a partner towards her at any point in her life were considered to have experienced intimate partner violence. Associations between self reported induced abortion and pregnancy loss with intimate partner violence were analysed using multiple regression models. Lifetime physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence was reported by 41% and 56% of ever partnered, ever pregnant women in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya respectively. Among the ever pregnant, ever partnered women, 23% experienced involuntary pregnancy loss, while 7% reported induced abortion. Even after adjusting for other explanatory factors, women who experienced intimate partner violence were 1.6 (95%CI: 1.06,1.60) times more likely to report an pregnancy loss and 1.9 (95%CI: 1.30,2.89) times more likely to report an induced abortion. Intimate partner violence had a stronger influence on induced abortion and pregnancy loss than women's age, socio-economic status, and number of live born children. Intimate partner violence is likely to be an important influence on levels of induced abortion and pregnancy loss in Tanzania. Preventing intimate partner violence may therefore be beneficial for maternal health and pregnancy outcomes. © 2012 Stöckl et al

D & E midtrimester abortion: a medical innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewit, S

1982-01-01

With the advent of legalized abortion in the US in 1973, the innovation, adoption and dissemination of new and improved medical procedures for the voluntary termination of pregnancy became an important objective. 3 principal techniques were introduced: suction curettage, instillation procedures using saline solution or prostaglandin, and dilatation and evacuation (D and E). Suction curettage in the 1st trimester was readily adopted because the procedure was less traumatic than the traditional dilatation and curettage. Instillation procedures for abortions in the 2nd trimester were also readily adopted. Physicians preferred them to surgical procedures, were familiar with the delivery simulation, and were comfortable with the hospital setting in which the procedure was performed. D and E, an extension of the suction procedure to abortions in the 2nd trimester has lower complication rates than instillation procedures and can be performed early in the midtrimester. A 1981 membership survey conducted by the National Abortion Federation found that about 1/3 of the members performed D and E midtrimester abortions, a wider acceptance than was expected. In 1978, of the 2nd trimester abortions, 85% of the early midtrimester and 25% of the 16 weeks gestation or later abortions were done by D and E. Acceptance in some other countries is also increasing. A study of the relationship of a history of 2nd trimester abortions and subsequent adverse pregnancy outcomes was unable to identify any statistically significant relationship with the possible exception of low birth weight infants. According to a 1976 survey of teaching hospitals, less than 1/4 require their residents to perform midtrimester abortions. Very few medical schools include D and E procedures in their residency training programs. Residents should use the D and E technique only under supervision and after becoming experienced in 1st trimester suction curettage. A survey reported that D and E techniques can be learned

Unsafe Abortion- A Tragic Saga of Maternal Suffering

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M C Regmi

2010-03-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries despite provision of adequate care and legalization of abortion. The aim of this study was to find out the contribution of unsafe abortion in maternal mortality and its other consequences. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in BPKIHS between 2005 April to 2008 September analyzing all the unsafe abortion related admissions. RESULTS: There were 70 unsafe abortion patients. Majority of them (52.8% were of high grade. Most of them recovered but there were total 8maternal deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Unsafe abortion is still a significant medical and social problem even in post legalization era of this country. Keywords: abortion, legalization, maternal death, unsafe.

21 CFR 884.5050 - Metreurynter-balloon abortion system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Metreurynter-balloon abortion system. 884.5050... Devices § 884.5050 Metreurynter-balloon abortion system. (a) Identification. A metreurynter-balloon abortion system is a device used to induce abortion. The device is inserted into the uterine cavity...

Late Abortion: A Comprehensive Review

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Sheng Chiang

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Late termination of pregnancy (LTOP is defined as an abortion carried out beyond 24 gestational weeks, when the fetus has arguably attained viability. In Taiwan, the current abortion law, bearing a eugenic title, allows LTOP on certain medical grounds. However, the fetal and maternal conditions that constitute medical grounds are not clarified and remain legally untested. Professional debate on the abortion issue is also lacking in academia in Taiwan, despite societal concerns. With the advent of technology to detect fetal abnormalities, obstetricians are now confronted more frequently with acute dilemmas regarding LTOP. Quite often, they sail in an uncharted sea with no clinical guidelines from their professional societies or affiliated hospitals. Recently, LTOP at 35 gestational weeks for a fetus with Down syndrome, complicated with polyhydramnios and tetralogy of Fallot, triggered media scrutiny and aroused much public attention. Although the clinical decision making for pregnancies with fetal abnormalities entails increasingly balanced information and consideration in terms of the medical, ethical, legal, psychologic, and societal aspects, society at large is unaware of the complexity and intertwined nature of various abortion issues, especially LTOP. Obstetricians are now in a vulnerable position in Taiwanese society, where litigations relevant to the practice of early abortions are not rare. Therefore, a global and in-depth look into abortion issues from legal and ethical dimensions is indispensable for modern obstetric practice. This review considers the core issues in LTOP, including what conditions constitute a “serious” fetal abnormality to justify LTOP, the incidence of LTOP, legislation regarding LTOP in Western countries, and recent research on ambivalent fetal pain. It will also present procedures, some under the auspices of the ethical committee of a Presbyterian hospital in Taiwan, for clinical decision making, particularly

[Medical abortion provided by telemedicine to women in Latin America: complications and their treatment].

Science.gov (United States)

Larrea, Sara; Palència, Laia; Perez, Glòria

2015-01-01

To analyze reported complications and their treatment after a medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol provided by a telemedicine service to women living in Latin America. Observational study based on the registry of consultations in a telemedicine service. A total of 872 women who used the service in 2010 and 2011 participated in the study. The dependent variables were overall complications, hemorrhage, incomplete abortion, overall treatments, surgical evacuation, and antibiotics. Independent variables were age, area of residence, socioeconomic deprivation, previous children, pregnancies and abortions, and week of pregnancy. We fitted Poisson regression models with robust variance to estimate incidence ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Complications were reported by 14.6% of the participants: 6.2% reported hemorrhage and 6.8% incomplete abortion. Nearly one-fifth (19.0%) received postabortion treatment: 10.9% had a surgical evacuation and 9.3% took antibiotics. Socioeconomic deprivation increased the risk of complications by 64% (95%CI: 15%-132%), and, among these, the risk of incomplete abortion by 82% (95%CI: 8%-206%) and the risk of surgical intervention by 62% (95%CI: 7%-144%). Previous pregnancies increased the risk of complications and, specifically, the risk of hemorrhage by 2.29 times (95%CI: 1.33-3.95%). Women with a pregnancy of 12 or more weeks had a 2.45 times higher risk of receiving medical treatment and a 2.94 times higher risk of taking antibiotics compared with women with pregnancies of 7 or less weeks. Medical abortion provided by telemedicine seems to be a safe and effective alternative in contexts where it is legally restricted. Copyright © 2014 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

The role of men in induced abortion decision making in an urban area of the Philippines.

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Hirz, Alanna E; Avila, Josephine L; Gipson, Jessica D

2017-09-01

To understand beliefs about unintended pregnancy and abortion, and perceptions about male roles related to pregnancy decision-making among men in the Philippines. Qualitative data were collected during in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with men in an urban area of the Philippines between October 2007 and July 2008. Interview participants were purposively sampled from a local survey based on their having reported being "afraid or troubled" or "afraid and planned to terminate" in response to a recent pregnancy. Focus group participants were selected from the same communities. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. In-depth interview data from 15 men-each interviewed twice-and five focus group discussions were included. Male interview participants reported feeling morally responsible for the pregnancy and as wanting to avoid the "sin" of induced abortion; however, they were concerned about being able to support a family financially. Participants expressed resentment towards partners who attempted or completed an induced abortion without their knowledge. In such cases, men would disparage their partner and cease interacting with them to avoid the "sin" of induced abortion. Participants described negative feelings towards women seeking induced abortions, and their own desire to avoid associated "sin". This highlights the effects of unintended pregnancy and induced abortion on young Filipino men, including their own experience of abortion stigma. © 2017 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Anti-abortion policy leads to more abortions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, J L

1988-01-01

In 1984, the Reagan administration announced in Mexico City a reversal in the US international family planning policy. The new policy strictly forbids any international family planning group that receives US funds from providing abortion services or counseling. An immediate impact on family planning programs in developing countries was that it prevented the opening of much needed clinics in the poorest, most rapidly growing countries in the world, such as Bangladesh. The University of Michigan School of Public Health estimates an additional 380,000 unwanted pregnancies, resulting in 311,000 births, 69,000 abortions, and 1200 maternal deaths in the next 3 years. Not only did the US change its policy, but congress decreased funding for international family planning programs 20% between 1985 and 1987. The majority of the funding goes to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and in 1988 the Reagan administration allowed USAID to funnel about $75 million of this money to other projects, e.g. general African development fund. Fewer contraceptives are available due to the reduced funding, and therefore more women seek an abortion as a last resort against unwanted pregnancy. An additional effect of this 1984 policy reversal is that fewer nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are eligible for grants, so USAID gives its family planning funds to government agencies who are not the most effective users of funds and are not always trusted by the people served.

Evidence Supporting Broader Access To Safe Legal Abortion

OpenAIRE

Faundes; Anibal; Shah; Iqbal H.

2016-01-01

Unsafe abortion continues to be a major cause of maternal death; it accounts for 14.5% of all maternal deaths globally and almost all of these deaths occur in countries with restrictive abortion laws. A strong body of accumulated evidence shows that the simple means to drastically reduce unsafe abortion-related maternal deaths and morbidity is to make abortion legal and institutional termination of pregnancy broadly accessible. Despite this evidence, abortion is denied even when the legal con...

Induced abortion and subsequent pregnancy duration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Wei Jin; Sørensen, Henrik Toft; Olsen, Jørn

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether induced abortion influences subsequent pregnancy duration. METHODS: Women who had their first pregnancies during 1980, 1981, and 1982 were identified in three Danish national registries. A total of 15,727 women whose pregnancies were terminated by first-trimester ind......OBJECTIVE: To examine whether induced abortion influences subsequent pregnancy duration. METHODS: Women who had their first pregnancies during 1980, 1981, and 1982 were identified in three Danish national registries. A total of 15,727 women whose pregnancies were terminated by first......-trimester induced abortions were compared with 46,026 whose pregnancies were not terminated by induced abortions. All subsequent pregnancies until 1994 were identified by register linkage. RESULTS: Preterm and post-term singleton live births were more frequent in women with one, two, or more previous induced...... abortions. After adjusting for potential confounders and stratifying by gravidity, the odds ratios of preterm singleton live births in women with one, two, or more previous induced abortions were 1.89 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70, 2.11), 2.66 (95% CI 2.09, 3.37), and 2.03 (95% CI 1.29, 3...

Abortion in Brazil: A Search For Rights

OpenAIRE

Anjos, Karla Ferraz dos; Santos, Vanessa Cruz; Souzas, Raquel; Eugênio, Benedito Gonçalves

2013-01-01

Discussing the abortion theme in Brazil is highly problematic since it involves ethical, moral and legal precepts. The criminalization of abortion in Brazil favors a clandestine and unsafe practice and can lead to serious consequences to women´s health. In this perspective, this research deals with the legal context in which the abortion problem is inscribed in Brazil, coupled to the specific aims in pinpointing complications caused by the criminalization of clandestine abortion besides deali...

Determinants of first and second trimester induced abortion - results from a cross-sectional study taken place 7 years after abortion law revisions in Ethiopia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonnen, Kristine Ivalu; Tuijje, Dereje Negussie; Rasch, Vibeke

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: In 2005 Ethiopia took the important step to protect women's reproductive health by liberalizing the abortion law. As a result women were given access to safe pregnancy termination in first and second trimester. This study aims to describe socio-economic characteristics and contraceptive...... experience among women seeking abortion in Jimma, Ethiopia and to describe determinants of second trimester abortion. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted October 2011 - April 2012 in Jimma Town, Ethiopia among women having safely induced abortion and women having unsafely induced abortion. In all 808...... safe abortion cases and 21 unsafe abortion cases were included in the study. Of the 829 abortions, 729 were first trimester and 100 were second trimester abortions. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine risk factors associated with second trimester abortion...

Reproductive rights: Current issues of late abortion

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Mujović-Zornić Hajrija

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This article considers the legal issues surrounding induced late abortion in cases when severe medical, therapeutic or ethical reasons have not been in dispute. Generally discussing the essential question about abortion today, it means not anymore legality of abortion but, in the first place, safety of abortion. From the aspect of woman health the most important aim is to detect and avoid possible risks of medical intervention, such as late abortion present. This is the matter of medical law context and also the matter of the woman's reproductive rights, here observed through legislation and court practice. The gynecologist has an obligation to obtain the informed consent of each patient. Information's should be presented in reasonably understandable terms and include alternative modes of treatment, objectives, risks, benefits, possible complications, and anticipated results of such treatment. Pregnant woman should receive supportive counseling before and particularly after the procedure. The method chosen for all terminations should ensure that the fetus is born dead. This should be undertaken by an appropriately trained practitioner. Reform in abortion law, making it legally accessible to woman, is not necessarily the product of a belief in woman's rights, but can be a means of bringing the practice of abortion back under better control. Counseling and good medical practice in performing late abortion are the instruments to drive this point even further home. It does not undermine the woman who wants to make a positive decision about her life and its purpose is not to produce feelings of insecurity and guilt. It concludes that existing law should not be changed but that clear rules should be devised and board created to review late term abortion. In Serbia, this leads to creation and set up guidelines for reconciling medical justification for late abortion with existing law, especially with solutions which brings comparative law. .

If war is "just," so is abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kissling, F

1991-01-01

Currently Catholic bishops are applying an inconsistent ethical paradigm to the issues of war and abortion. Based on the seamless garment theory war, abortion and capital punishment are all immoral acts because they are of the same garment. They are all "killing acts" and as such they are immoral. However there is within the Catholic paradigm the idea of a just war. The just war theory states that the destruction of human life in war is justified if it is for a greater good. However abortion has no exceptions, there is no just abortion in the rules of the Catholic Church. The author takes the just war doctrine as presented by the Catholic Church and shows how it could easily apply to abortion. Both war and abortion involve the taking of a human life, but in the case of war the taking of a life is justified if it is done to protect your own life. The same exception in abortion would be to allow abortion when the mother's life is in danger. yet no such exception exists. The just war theory further states that was is necessary to protect national integrity, particularly if the violation erodes the quality of life for its citizens. The same exception for abortion would include allowing abortions for women who already have more children then they can care for or if having the child would erode the quality of life for the woman. Other aspects of the just war theory include the competence and goals of the national leaders. Women must also be allowed to be competent moral agents. Proponents of the seamless garment theory will bring up the fact that in a just war only combatants die yet the fetus is innocent. But no war has ever been fought without the loss of innocent civilians.

Sex ratios at birth after induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Urquia, Marcelo L; Moineddin, Rahim; Jha, Prabhat; O'Campo, Patricia J; McKenzie, Kwame; Glazier, Richard H; Henry, David A; Ray, Joel G

2016-06-14

Skewed male:female ratios at birth have been observed among certain immigrant groups. Data on abortion practices that might help to explain these findings are lacking. We examined 1 220 933 births to women with up to 3 consecutive singleton live births between 1993 and 2012 in Ontario. Records of live births, and induced and spontaneous abortions were linked to Canadian immigration records. We determined associations of male:female infant ratios with maternal birthplace, sex of the previous living sibling(s) and prior spontaneous or induced abortions. Male:female infant ratios did not appreciably depart from the normal range among Canadian-born women and most women born outside of Canada, irrespective of the sex of previous children or the characteristics of prior abortions. However, among infants of women who immigrated from India and had previously given birth to 2 girls, the overall male:female ratio was 1.96 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.75-2.21) for the third live birth. The male:female infant ratio after 2 girls was 1.77 (95% CI 1.26-2.47) times higher if the current birth was preceded by 1 induced abortion, 2.38 (95% CI 1.44-3.94) times higher if preceded by 2 or more induced abortions and 3.88 (95% CI 2.02-7.50) times higher if the induced abortion was performed at 15 weeks or more gestation relative to no preceding abortion. Spontaneous abortions were not associated with male-biased sex ratios in subsequent births. High male:female ratios observed among infants born to women who immigrated from India are associated with induced abortions, especially in the second trimester of pregnancy. © 2016 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors.

The association and a potential pathway between gender-based violence and induced abortion in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam

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Phuong Hong Nguyen

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Gender-based violence (GBV has profound adverse consequences on women's physical, mental, and reproductive health. Although Vietnam has high rates of induced abortion and GBV, literature examining this relationship is lacking. Objective: This study examines the association of GBV with induced abortion among married or partnered women of reproductive age in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam. In addition, we explore contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy as mediators in the pathway between GBV and induced abortion. Design and methods: Data were drawn from a cross-sectional survey of 1,281 women aged 18–49 years in four districts of Thai Nguyen province. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to examine the associations between lifetime history of GBV, contraceptive use, unintended pregnancy, induced abortion, and repeat abortion, controlling for other covariates. Results: One-third of respondents had undergone induced abortion in their lifetime (33.4%, and 11.5% reported having repeat abortions. The prevalence of any type of GBV was 29.1% (17.0% physical violence, 10.4% sexual violence, and 20.1% emotional violence. History of GBV was associated with induced abortion (OR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.20–2.16 and repeat abortion (OR=2.22, 95% CI: 1.48–3.32. Physical violence was significantly associated with induced abortion, and all three types of violence were associated with repeat abortion. Abused women were more likely than non-abused women to report using contraceptives and having an unintended pregnancy, and these factors were in turn associated with increased risk of induced abortion. Conclusions: GBV is pervasive in Thai Nguyen province and is linked to increased risks of induced abortion and repeat abortion. The findings suggest that a pathway underlying this relationship is increased risk of unintended pregnancy due in part to ineffective use of contraceptives. These findings emphasize the importance of

The association and a potential pathway between gender-based violence and induced abortion in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Nguyen, Son Van; Nguyen, Manh Quang; Nguyen, Nam Truong; Keithly, Sarah Colleen; Mai, Lan Tran; Luong, Loan Thi Thu; Pham, Hoa Quynh

2012-11-29

Gender-based violence (GBV) has profound adverse consequences on women's physical, mental, and reproductive health. Although Vietnam has high rates of induced abortion and GBV, literature examining this relationship is lacking. This study examines the association of GBV with induced abortion among married or partnered women of reproductive age in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam. In addition, we explore contraceptive use and unintended pregnancy as mediators in the pathway between GBV and induced abortion. Data were drawn from a cross-sectional survey of 1,281 women aged 18-49 years in four districts of Thai Nguyen province. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to examine the associations between lifetime history of GBV, contraceptive use, unintended pregnancy, induced abortion, and repeat abortion, controlling for other covariates. One-third of respondents had undergone induced abortion in their lifetime (33.4%), and 11.5% reported having repeat abortions. The prevalence of any type of GBV was 29.1% (17.0% physical violence, 10.4% sexual violence, and 20.1% emotional violence). History of GBV was associated with induced abortion (OR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.20-2.16) and repeat abortion (OR=2.22, 95% CI: 1.48-3.32). Physical violence was significantly associated with induced abortion, and all three types of violence were associated with repeat abortion. Abused women were more likely than non-abused women to report using contraceptives and having an unintended pregnancy, and these factors were in turn associated with increased risk of induced abortion. GBV is pervasive in Thai Nguyen province and is linked to increased risks of induced abortion and repeat abortion. The findings suggest that a pathway underlying this relationship is increased risk of unintended pregnancy due in part to ineffective use of contraceptives. These findings emphasize the importance of screening and identification of GBV and incorporating women's empowerment in

Factors Associated with Induced Abortion among Women in Hohoe ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Erah

Bivariate logistic regression showed that compared with .... However, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate. (MCPR) has also ... municipal hospital reported managing a total of 326 abortions in 2007 ... not, using chi-square test for trends.

Abortion in Iranian legal system: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi, Mahmoud; Shamsi Gooshki, Ehsan; Allahbedashti, Neda

2014-02-01

Abortion traditionally means, "to miscarry" and is still known as a problem which societies has been trying to reduce its rate by using legal means. Despite the pregnant women and fetuses have being historically supported; abortion was firstly criminalized in 1926 in Iran, 20 years after establishment of modern legal system. During next 53 years this situation changed dramatically, so in 1979, the time of Islamic Revolution, aborting fetuses before 12 weeks and therapeutic abortion (TA) during all the pregnancy length was legitimate, based on regulations that used medical justification. After 1979 the situation changed into a totally conservative and restrictive approach and new Islamic concepts as "Blood Money" and "Ensoulment" entered the legal debates around abortion. During the next 33 years, again a trend of decriminalization for the act of abortion has been continuing. Reduction of punishments and omitting retaliation for criminal abortions, recognizing fetal and maternal medical indications including some immunologic problems as legitimate reasons for aborting fetuses before 4 months and omitting the fathers' consent as a necessary condition for TA are among these changes. The start point for this decriminalization process was public and professional need, which was responded by religious government, firstly by issuing juristic rulings (Fatwas) as a non-official way, followed by ratification of "Therapeutic Abortion Act" (TAA) and other regulations as an official pathway. Here, we have reviewed this trend of decriminalization, the role of public and professional request in initiating such process and the rule-based language of TAA.

An outpatient regimen of combined oral mifepristone 400 mg and misoprostol 400 microg for first-trimester legal medical abortion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Pernille; Rasmussen, Ase; Knudsen, Ulla Breth

2005-01-01

AIM: To evaluate the success rate of medical abortion using an outpatient regimen of oral mifepristone 400 mg and oral misoprostol 400 microg for legal abortion in women abortion was defined as an endometrial thickness ... the procedure over a 3-year period and 606 (92%) experienced successful medical abortion. The remaining 8% had vacuum aspiration performed mainly due to uterine retention (70%). Other reasons were vaginal bleeding (25%), vomiting (2%), or pelvic infection (4%). Most women reported no days with severe pain (67......%), 0--1 days with moderate pain (82%), and 0--1 days with light pain (62%). In terms of gastrointestinal side effects, 68% reported nausea, 33% vomiting, and 27% diarrhea. Most women (90%) felt that the information given at the hospital prior to the abortion was sufficient, 74% would prefer medical...

Clandestine induced abortion: prevalence, incidence and risk factors among women in a Latin American country.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernabé-Ortiz, Antonio; White, Peter J; Carcamo, Cesar P; Hughes, James P; Gonzales, Marco A; Garcia, Patricia J; Garnett, Geoff P; Holmes, King K

2009-02-03

Clandestine induced abortions are a public health problem in many developing countries where access to abortion services is legally restricted. We estimated the prevalence and incidence of, and risk factors for, clandestine induced abortions in a Latin American country. We conducted a large population-based survey of women aged 18-29 years in 20 cities in Peru. We asked questions about their history of spontaneous and induced abortions, using techniques to encourage disclosure. Of 8242 eligible women, 7992 (97.0%) agreed to participate. The prevalence of reported induced abortions was 11.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.9%-12.4%) among the 7962 women who participated in the survey. It was 13.6% (95% CI 12.8%-14.5%) among the 6559 women who reported having been sexually active. The annual incidence of induced abortion was 3.1% (95% CI 2.9%-3.3%) among the women who had ever been sexually active. In the multivariable analysis, risk factors for induced abortion were higher age at the time of the survey (odds ratio [OR] 1.11, 95% CI 1.07-1.15), lower age at first sexual intercourse (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.84-0.91), geographic region (highlands: OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.23-1.97; jungle: OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.41-2.31 [v. coastal region]), having children (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.68-0.98), having more than 1 sexual partner in lifetime (2 partners: OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.23-2.09; > or = 3 partners: OR 2.79, 95% CI 2.12-3.67), and having 1 or more sexual partners in the year before the survey (1 partner: OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.01-1.72; > or = 2 partners: OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.14-2.02). Overall, 49.0% (95% CI 47.6%-50.3%) of the women who reported being currently sexually active were not using contraception. The incidence of clandestine, potentially unsafe induced abortion in Peru is as high as or higher than the rates in many countries where induced abortion is legal and safe. The provision of contraception and safer-sex education to those who require it needs to be greatly improved and could potentially

Brazilian abortion law: the opinion of judges and prosecutors.

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, Graciana Alves; Osis, Maria José Duarte; Faúndes, Anibal; Sousa, Maria Helena de

2010-06-01

To analyze the opinion of judges and prosecutors concerning Brazilian abortion law and situations in which the abortion should be allowed. A cross-sectional study was performed with 1,493 judges and 2,614 prosecutors in Brazil between 2005 and 2006. Participants completed a structured questionnaire approaching sociodemographic characteristics, opinions about abortion law, and circumstances in which abortion is considered lawful. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of data were carried out through Poisson regression. The majority of participants (78%) found that the circumstances in which abortion is considered lawful should be broadened, or even that abortion should not be criminalized. The highest rates of pro-abortion opinions resulted from: risk to the life of the mother (84%), anencephaly (83%), severe congenital malformation of fetus (82%), and pregnancy resulting from rape (82%). Variables related to religion were strongly associated to the opinion of participants. There is a trend in considering the need of changing the current abortion law, in the sense of widening the circumstances in which abortion is considered lawful, or even toward decriminalizing abortion, regardless of the circumstances in which it takes place.

Therapeutic abortion on account of x-ray examination during pregnancy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammer-Jacobsen, E

1959-06-15

Previous studies on radiation injury to the foetus are reviewed. Very little is known about possible injuries due to the small radiation doses in diagnostic radiology. Eleven pregnant women had one or more abdominal X-ray examinations during the first three months of pregnancy. Subsequently, 8 had therapeutic abortion, whereas 3 went to term. The case histories are reported. The calculated foetal doses range from 0.03 to 3.7 r (0.01-18.9). The author makes the following preliminary suggestions about irradiation during the first four months of pregnancy: Foetal doses below about one r do not indicate induction of abortion. Foetal doses between about one r and about ten r indicate therapeutic abortion only in the presence of additional indications. Foetal doses above about 10 r presumably always indicate abortion. One of the pregnancies that was carried to term ought to have been interrupted. Four of the induced abortions ought not to have been performed. X-ray examinations of the abdomen should not be performed during the first four months of pregnancy. In order to avoid irradiation in the early stages of pregnancy, the following routine precaution is suggested: In fertile women X-ray examination of the abdomen should be carried out only during the first ten days after a regular menstrual period of normal intensity and duration. (author)

Therapeutic abortion on account of x-ray examination during pregnancy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammer-Jacobsen, E.

1959-06-01

Previous studies on radiation injury to the foetus are reviewed. Very little is known about possible injuries due to the small radiation doses in diagnostic radiology. Eleven pregnant women had one or more abdominal X-ray examinations during the first three months of pregnancy. Subsequently, 8 had therapeutic abortion, whereas 3 went to term. The case histories are reported. The calculated foetal doses range from 0.03 to 3.7 r (0.01-18.9). The author makes the following preliminary suggestions about irradiation during the first four months of pregnancy: Foetal doses below about one r do not indicate induction of abortion. Foetal doses between about one r and about ten r indicate therapeutic abortion only in the presence of additional indications. Foetal doses above about 10 r presumably always indicate abortion. One of the pregnancies that was carried to term ought to have been interrupted. Four of the induced abortions ought not to have been performed. X-ray examinations of the abdomen should not be performed during the first four months of pregnancy. In order to avoid irradiation in the early stages of pregnancy, the following routine precaution is suggested: In fertile women X-ray examination of the abdomen should be carried out only during the first ten days after a regular menstrual period of normal intensity and duration. (author)

Unsafe abortion: a tragic saga of maternal suffering.

Science.gov (United States)

Regmi, M C; Rijal, P; Subedi, S S; Uprety, D; Budathoki, B; Agrawal, A

2010-01-01

Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries despite provision of adequate care and legalization of abortion. The aim of this study was to find out the contribution of unsafe abortion in maternal mortality and its other consequences. A retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in BPKIHS between 2005 April to 2008 September analyzing all the unsafe abortion related admissions. There were 70 unsafe abortion patients. Majority of them (52.8%) were of high grade. Most of them recovered but there were total 8 maternal deaths. Unsafe abortion is still a significant medical and social problem even in post legalization era of this country.

Abortion and Mental Health: Evaluating the Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Major, Brenda; Appelbaum, Mark; Beckman, Linda; Dutton, Mary Ann; Russo, Nancy Felipe; West, Carolyn

2009-01-01

The authors evaluated empirical research addressing the relationship between induced abortion and women's mental health. Two issues were addressed: (a) the relative risks associated with abortion compared with the risks associated with its alternatives and (b) sources of variability in women's responses following abortion. This article reflects…

[Criteria on the legalization of abortion].

Science.gov (United States)

García-Romero, H; González-González, A; Galicia, J; Garcia-Barrios, C

2000-01-01

We revised ethical concepts related to abortion from the points of view of the mothers; life, health, and considerations are made concerning the embryo or fetus as a biological, ontological, moral, and potential person. Certain religious matters on abortion are described and commented on. Effects of abortion penalization in Mexico and the legislation in the Mexican states are examined, as well as the motives of depenalization in certain countries.

Barriers to safe abortion access: uterine rupture as complication of unsafe abortion in a Ugandan girl.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Rose McKeon; Kamurari, Solomon

2017-10-20

A 15-year-old girl at 18 weeks gestation by the last menstrual period presented to a rural Ugandan healthcare facility for termination of her pregnancy as a result of rape by her uncle. Skilled healthcare workers at the facility refused to provide the abortion due to fear of legal repercussions. The patient subsequently obtained an unsafe abortion by vaginal insertion of local herbs and sharp objects. She developed profuse vaginal bleeding and haemorrhagic shock. She was found to have uterine rupture and emergent hysterectomy was performed. Young and poor women are at high risk of unplanned pregnancy and subsequent mortality during pregnancy and childbirth. Unsafe abortion is a leading and entirely preventable cause of maternal mortality worldwide. Multiple barriers restrict access to safe abortions including social and moral stigma, gender-based power imbalances, inadequate contraceptive use and sexual education, high cost and poor availability, and restrictive abortion laws. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Exploring Canadian Women's Multiple Abortion Experiences: Implications for Reducing Stigma and Improving Patient-Centered Care.

Science.gov (United States)

LaRoche, Kathryn J; Foster, Angel M

2018-05-24

Roughly one-third of all abortions in Canada are subsequent abortions. However, few published reports showcase women's voices or explore women's experiences on this topic. Our study aimed to understand better the ways that women who have had multiple abortions talk about and view those experiences. Between 2012 and 2016, we conducted in-depth interviews with 41 Canadian women who had a total of 87 abortions in the 5 years preceding the interviews. We audio-recorded and transcribed all English- and French-language interviews and analyzed our data for content and themes using a multiphased iterative approach and inductive and deductive techniques. Women described their abortion experiences as unique life events, even in cases when the overarching circumstances surrounding the pregnancies were similar. Participants recalled multiple factors that influenced their decisions to terminate, including their relationship status; level of support from family and friends; financial situation; health status; previous reproductive health, pregnancy, and abortion experiences; and desire to parent. In general, a previous abortion demystified the abortion process but did not play a significant role in decision making. Women described intensified feelings of shame and both internalized and externalized stigma surrounding their decision to have more than one abortion. However, the overwhelming majority were confident in their decisions. The often-used phase "repeat abortion" fails to capture women's experiences and the complex decision making surrounding each pregnancy. Efforts to reframe the narrative of multiple abortions, including among health care providers, could help reduce the amplified stigma associated with having more than one lifetime abortion. Copyright © 2018 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Re-visioning evidence: Reflections on the recent controversy around gender selective abortion in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Unnithan, Maya; Dubuc, Sylvie

2018-06-01

Reports in the British media over the last 4 years have highlighted the schisms and contestations that have accompanied the reports of gender selective abortions amongst British Asian families. The position that sex-selection may be within the terms of the 1967 Abortion Act has particularly sparked controversy amongst abortion campaigners and politicians but equally among medical practitioners and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service who have hitherto tended to stay clear of such debates. In what ways has the controversy around gender-based abortion led to new framings of the entitlement to service provision and new ways of thinking about evidence in the context of reproductive rights? We reflect on these issues drawing on critiques of what constitutes best evidence, contested notions of reproductive rights and reproductive governance, comparative work in India and China as well as our involvement with different groups of campaigners including British South Asian NGOs. The aim of the paper is to situate the medical and legal provision of abortion services in Britain within current discursive practices around gender equality, ethnicity, reproductive autonomy, probable and plausible evidence, and policies of health reform.

[Decriminalization of abortion: a common purpose in Latin America].

Science.gov (United States)

1993-12-01

In the conviction that abortion is a fundamental right of women and that its illegal practice constitutes a serious threat to life, several Latin American women's groups have united to work for decriminalization. The groups have been attempting to increase public awareness of the consequences of illegal abortion. Official silence on the topic appears to deny the existence of a problem. Proposals in the different Latin American countries are adapted to their political and legal circumstances. In Argentina, a campaign has been underway for nearly two years to collect signatures for a petition for a law concerning contraception and abortion. The National Network for Women's Health and other groups have held regional and national workshops on the issue. In Bolivia, radio and television programs have been broadcast in Spanish and indigenous languages on the right to choose, reproductive health, and sex education. Abortion was debated in Brazil during the process of constitutional reform, but it remains illegal. Illegal abortion continues to be a reality and women's groups are lobbying for decriminalization. Abortion is considered a crime in Colombia's penal code. Attempts to legalize abortion have been rejected by the legislature without debate. The practice of abortion under the circumstances has become a lucrative business whose lack of regulation has resulted in a growing number of maternal deaths. Attempts are underway in Costa Rica to legalize abortion in cases of rape or incest. Studies show that illegal abortion is the third most important cause of maternal death. A bill to legalize abortion is under study in Chile's Parliament but has not been approved. Abortion is illegal but common in Ecuador. Efforts are underway in Mexico and Nicaragua to encourage debate on abortion. Peru's Health Commission was recently prevented from classifying abortion for any reason other than grave congenital anomaly as homicide. Abortion has been legal in Puerto Rico since 1974, but

[Medical induced abortion].

Science.gov (United States)

Bettahar, K; Pinton, A; Boisramé, T; Cavillon, V; Wylomanski, S; Nisand, I; Hassoun, D

2016-12-01

Updated clinical recommendations for medical induced abortion procedure. A systematic review of French and English literature, reviewing the evidence relating to the provision of medical induced abortion was carried out on PubMed, Cochrane Library and international scientific societies recommendations. The effectiveness of medical abortion is higher than 95% when the protocols are adjusted to gestational age (EL1). Misoprostol alone is less effective than a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol (EL1). Gemeprost is less effective than misoprostol (EL2). The dose of 200mg of mifepristone should be preferred to 600mg (NP1, Rank A). Mifepristone can be taken at home (professional agreement). The optimum interval between mifepristone and misoprostol intake should be 24 to 48 hours (EL1, grade A). Before 7 weeks LMP, the dose of 400μg misoprostol should be given orally (EL1, grade A) eventually repeated after 3hours if no bleeding occurs. For optimal effectiveness between 7 and 14 LMP, the interval between mifepristone and misoprostol should not be shortened to less than 8hours (grade 1). An interval of 24 to 48hours will not affect the effectiveness of the method provided misoprostol dosage is 800μg (EL1). Vaginal, sublingual or buccal routes of administration are more effective and better tolerated than the oral route, which should be abandoned (EL1). An amount of 800μg sublingual or buccal misoprostol route has the same effectiveness than the vaginal route but more gastrointestinal side effects (EL1, grade A). Between 7 and 9 LMP, it does not seem necessary to repeat misoprostol dose whereas it should be repeated beyond 9 SA (grade B). Between 9 and 14 LMP, the dose of 400μg misoprostol given either vaginally, buccally or sublingually should be repeated every 3hours if needed (with a maximum of 5 doses) (EL2, grade B). There is no strong evidence supporting routine antibiotic prophylaxis for medical abortion (professional agreement). Rare contraindications

Truth, not truce: "common ground" on abortion, a movement within both movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, J R

1995-01-01

This sociological study examines the "common ground" movement that arose among abortion activists in the US during the 1980s. The first application of the term "common ground" to joint efforts by abortion activists on both sides of the issue is traced, and its meaning to early organizers is described. Discussion continues on the complicated and elusive efforts on the part of grassroots organizations and conflict resolution groups to practice the common ground approach to abortion. The five characteristics of the seminal common ground group in St. Louis were that it resulted from a combined pro-life and pro-choice initiative, it involved activists who publicly distinguished common ground from moral compromise or political accommodation, the activists remained loyal to their abortion activities, the activists agreed to cooperate in efforts aimed at reducing the pressures on women to abort, and common ground involved identifying the overlaps in emerging social thinking. The conceptual difficulties involved with use of the term are included in the reasons given for its virtual disappearance from abortion reporting in the press, which was busy relaying incidents of violence at abortion clinics. The election of President Clinton also stole the momentum from the common ground movement. While the future of movements based on the concept of "common ground" as envisioned by the St. Louis group remains precarious, depending for success as it does on actually changing society, this use of the term bears witness that conflicting loyalties do not preclude the promotion of common good. This meaning of the term is worth pursuing in cultural controversies such as that posed by abortion.

Assessing the mandatory bovine abortion notification system in France using unilist capture-recapture approach

OpenAIRE

Bronner, Anne-Christine; Hénaux, Viviane; Vergne, Timothée; Vinard, Jean-Luc; Morignat, Eric; Hendrikx, Pascal; Calavas, Didier; Gay, Emilie

2013-01-01

The mandatory bovine abortion notification system in France aims to detect as soon as possible any resurgence of bovine brucellosis. However, under-reporting seems to be a major limitation of this system. We used a unilist capture-recapture approach to assess the sensitivity, i.e. the proportion of farmers who reported at least one abortion among those who detected such events, and representativeness of the system during 2006-2011. We implemented a zero-inflated Poisson model to estimate the ...

Religion and abortion: Roman Catholicism lost in the pelvic zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Kissling, F

1993-01-01

behavior caused even more alienation of middle-of-the-road Catholics from the bishops' position. The bishops tried to recover by hiring a professional public relations firm and the pollster used by the Reagan administration. The public relations firm was dismissed within a year. Religious observers wonder why the church is so adamantly against abortion in every circumstance, despite the beliefs of its members. In fact, in 1974, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith noted the church's opposition to abortion but fell short of calling it murder and was honest about the church's ambiguity over the personhood of a fetus or at what stage in development the creator endows a fetus with a soul. This question has been debated by theologians since the early centuries of the church. Even the current Pope favors the term "that which is in the process of becoming" when discussing a fetus. In addition, church history and positions regarding the possibility of a "just war" make the church's adherence to the impossibility of a "just abortion" hard to justify. This hard-line position has removed the church from a position in which it could help women and society understand the values which must underly every decision to have an abortion.

Psychological sequelae of induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Romans-Clarkson, S E

1989-12-01

This article reviews the scientific literature on the psychological sequelae of induced abortion. The methodology and results of studies carried out over the last twenty-two years are examined critically. The unanimous consensus is that abortion does not cause deleterious psychological effects. Women most likely to show subsequent problems are those who were pressured into the operation against their own wishes, either by relatives or because their pregnancy had medical or foetal contraindications. Legislation which restricts abortion causes problems for women with unwanted pregnancies and their doctors. It is also unjust, as it adversely most affects lower socio-economic class women.

Determinants of first and second trimester induced abortion - results from a cross-sectional study taken place 7 years after abortion law revisions in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnen, Kristine Ivalu; Tuijje, Dereje Negussie; Rasch, Vibeke

2014-12-19

In 2005 Ethiopia took the important step to protect women's reproductive health by liberalizing the abortion law. As a result women were given access to safe pregnancy termination in first and second trimester. This study aims to describe socio-economic characteristics and contraceptive experience among women seeking abortion in Jimma, Ethiopia and to describe determinants of second trimester abortion. A cross-sectional study conducted October 2011 - April 2012 in Jimma Town, Ethiopia among women having safely induced abortion and women having unsafely induced abortion. In all 808 safe abortion cases and 21 unsafe abortion cases were included in the study. Of the 829 abortions, 729 were first trimester and 100 were second trimester abortions. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine risk factors associated with second trimester abortion. The associations are presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidential intervals. Age stratified analyses of contraceptive experience among women with first and second trimester abortions are also presented. Socio-economic characteristics associated with increased ORs of second trimester abortion were: age abortion where only 15% and 19% stated they had ever used contraception. Young age, poor education and the prospect of single parenthood were associated with second trimester abortion. Young girls and young women were using contraception comparatively less often than older women. To ensure women full right to control their fertility in the setting studied, modern contraception should be made available, accessible and affordable for all women, regardless of age.

Turkish nursing students' attitudes towards voluntary induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanikkerem, Emre; Üstgörül, Sema; Karakus, Asli; Baydar, Ozge; Esmeray, Nicole; Ertem, Gül

2018-03-01

To evaluate Turkish nursing students' attitudes towards voluntary induced abortion.. This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and June 2015, comprising students of Ege University Nursing Faculty and Celal Bayar University School of Health, located in two different cities of Turkey. Data was collected with a three-part questionnaire, focussing on students' characteristics, the knowledge of abortion law in Turkey and attitudes towards voluntary induced abortion. SPSS 15 was used for data analysis.. The mean score of students' attitude towards voluntary induced abortion was 39.8±7.9 which shows that nursing students moderately support abortion. Female students, students coming from upper class in society, and students who had higher family income and sexual experiences had more supportiveness attitudes towards voluntary induced abortion (pabortion.

21 CFR 884.5070 - Vacuum abortion system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Vacuum abortion system. 884.5070 Section 884.5070 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED... § 884.5070 Vacuum abortion system. (a) Identification. A vacuum abortion system is a device designed to...

Knowledge and attitudes of Swedish politicians concerning induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Sydsjö, Adam; Josefsson, Ann; Bladh, Marie; Muhrbeck, Måns; Sydsjö, Gunilla

2012-12-01

Induced abortion is more frequent in Sweden than in many other Western countries. We wanted to investigate attitudes and knowledge about induced abortion among politicians responsible for healthcare in three Swedish counties. A study-specific questionnaire was sent to all 375 elected politicians in three counties; 192 (51%) responded. The politicians stated that they were knowledgeable about the Swedish abortion law. More than half did not consider themselves, in their capacity as politicians, sufficiently informed about abortion-related matters. Most politicians (72%) considered induced abortion to be primarily a 'women's rights issue' rather than an ethical one, and 54% considered 12 weeks' gestational age an adequate upper limit for induced abortion. Only about a third of the respondents were correctly informed about the number of induced abortions annually carried out in Sweden. Information and knowledge on induced abortion among Swedish county politicians seem not to be optimal. Changes aimed at reducing the current high abortion rates will probably not be easy to achieve as politicians seem to be reluctant to commit themselves on ethical issues and consider induced abortion mainly a women's rights issue.

Induced abortion and placenta complications in the subsequent pregnancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Wei Jin; Nielsen, Gunnar Lauge; Larsen, Helle

2001-01-01

Background. To study the risk of placenta complications following an induced abortion as a function of the interpregnancy interval. Methods. This study is based on three Danish national registries; the Medical Birth Registry, the Hospital Discharge Registry, and the Induced Abortion Registry. All...... primigravida women from 1980 to 1982 were identified in these three registries. A total of 15,727 women who terminated the pregnancy with a first trimester induced abortion were selected to the abortion cohort, and 46,026 women who did not terminate the pregnancy with an induced abortion constituted...... or the Medical Birth Registry records. Results. A slightly higher risk of placenta complications following an abortion was found. Retained placenta occurred more frequently in women with one, two or more previous abortions, compared with women without any previous abortion of similar gravidity. Adjusting...

The incidence of abortion and unintended pregnancy in India, 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Susheela; Shekhar, Chander; Acharya, Rajib; Moore, Ann M; Stillman, Melissa; Pradhan, Manas R; Frost, Jennifer J; Sahoo, Harihar; Alagarajan, Manoj; Hussain, Rubina; Sundaram, Aparna; Vlassoff, Michael; Kalyanwala, Shveta; Browne, Alyssa

2018-01-01

Summary Background Reliable information on the incidence of induced abortion in India is lacking. Official statistics and national surveys provide incomplete coverage. Since the early 2000s, medication abortion has become increasingly available, improving the way women obtain abortions. The aim of this study was to estimate the national incidence of abortion and unintended pregnancy for 2015. Methods National abortion incidence was estimated through three separate components: abortions (medication and surgical) in facilities (including private sector, public sector, and non-governmental organisations [NGOs]); medication abortions outside facilities; and abortions outside of facilities and with methods other than medication abortion. Facility-based abortions were estimated from the 2015 Health Facilities Survey of 4001 public and private health facilities in six Indian states (Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh) and from NGO clinic data. National medication abortion drug sales and distribution data were obtained from IMS Health and six principal NGOs (DKT International, Marie Stopes International, Population Services International, World Health Partners, Parivar Seva Santha, and Janani). We estimated the total number of abortions that are not medication abortions and are not obtained in a health facility setting through an indirect technique based on findings from community-based study findings in two states in 2009, with adjustments to account for the rapid increase in use of medication abortion since 2009. The total number of women of reproductive age and livebirth data were obtained from UN population data, and the proportion of births from unplanned pregnancies and data on contraceptive use and need were obtained from the 2015–16 National Family Health Survey-4. Findings We estimate that 15·6 million abortions (14·1 million–17·3 million) occurred in India in 2015. The abortion rate was 47·0 abortions (42·2–52·1) per

Migration, legality, and fertility regulation: Abortion and contraception among migrants and natives in Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Agadjanian

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Migrant-vs.-native differentials in reproductive behavior are typically examined through the prism of socioeconomic and cultural constraints that characterize the migration process and experiences. However, the literature seldom factors in migrant legal status because necessary data is rarely available. Objective: The study seeks to fill this important gap by looking at variations in induced abortion and contraceptive use not only between migrants and nonmigrants but also among migrants of different legal statuses in the Russian Federation. Methods: We use unique survey data collected in urban Russia from Central Asian working migrant women of different legal statuses - regularized vs. irregular - as well as their native counterparts. Binomial and multinomial logistic regressions are fitted to model abortion experience and current contraceptive use and method choice. Results: The results point to higher overall use of abortion among natives, but also to significant differences between migrants with regularized and irregular legal statuses. With respect to contraception, while no variation in overall use between migrants and natives or between migrants of different legal statuses is detected, instructive migrant-vs.-native differences in method choice emerge. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of migrants' legal status, along with their other characteristics, for a better understanding of their reproductive behavior and for more effective corresponding policies. Contribution: The study offers pioneering insights into the intersection of migration, legality, and fertility in contemporary Russia and contributes to the cross-national scholarship on migration and reproductive behavior and health.

Medicine and abortion law: complicating the reforming profession.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuinness, Sheelagh; Thomson, Michael

2015-01-01

The complicated intra-professional rivalries that have contributed to the current contours of abortion law and service provision have been subject to limited academic engagement. In this article, we address this gap. We examine how the competing interests of different specialisms played out in abortion law reform from the early twentieth-century, through to the enactment of the Abortion Act 1967, and the formation of the structures of abortion provision in the early 1970s. We demonstrate how professional interests significantly shaped the landscape of abortion law in England, Scotland, and Wales. Our analysis addresses two distinct and yet related fields where professional interests were negotiated or asserted in the journey to law reform. Both debates align with earlier analysis that has linked abortion law reform with the market development of the medical profession. We argue that these two axes of debate, both dominated by professional interests, interacted to help shape law's treatment of abortion, and continue to influence the provision of abortion services today. © The Author [2015]. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Factors associated with induced abortion at selected hospitals in the Volta Region, Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Klutsey, Ellen Eyi; Ankomah, Augustine

2014-01-01

Induced abortion rates remained persistently high in the Volta Region of Ghana in the 5 years from 2006 to 2011. Some hospitals, both rural and urban, report induced abortion-related complications as one of the top ten conditions in hospital admissions. This study explored demographic and other factors associated with induced abortion, and also assessed awareness of abortion-related complications among women of reproductive age in the Volta Region. A quantitative, hospital-based, unmatched case-control study was performed. The Volta Region was stratified into two health administration zones, ie, north and south. For each zone, hospitals were stratified into government and private hospitals. Employing simple random sampling, one private and three government hospitals were selected from each zone. This study is therefore based on eight hospitals, ie, six government hospitals and two private hospitals. Marital status, employment status, number of total pregnancies, and knowledge about contraception were found to be associated with induced abortion. Multiple logistic regression showed a 4% reduction in the odds of induced abortion in married women compared with women who were single (odds ratio [OR] 0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.07-0.22). Unemployed women of reproductive age were found to be 0.35 times less likely to seek induced abortion compared with their employed counterparts (OR 0.35, CI 0.19-0.65). It was also observed that women with their second pregnancies were 3.8 times more likely to seek induced abortion and women with more than two pregnancies were 6.6 times more likely to do so (OR 3.81, CI 1.94-7.49 and OR 6.58, CI 2.58-16.79, respectively). Women with no knowledge of contraceptive methods were 4.6 times likely to seek induced abortion (OR 4.64, CI 1.39-15.4). Compared with women who had not had induced abortion, women with a high number of pregnancies and no contraceptive knowledge were more likely to have induced abortion. It was found that lack

Debate on the legalization of abortion in Zimbabwe.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

In Zimbabwe, where over 70,000 illegal abortions are performed each year and complications from clandestine abortion are a leading cause of maternal mortality, the abortion law debate has been re-opened. Under the present law, abortion is legal only to save the life of the mother and women who undergo illegal abortion face strict criminal sanctions. Timothy Stamps, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, has stated, "The first rights of a child are to be desired, to be wanted, and to be planned." Dr. Illiff, of the University of Zimbabwe's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has noted, "We cannot stop abortion. The choice is how safe it is." Illiff pointed out that urban Zimbabwe women run a 262 times greater risk of dying of abortion complications than their counterparts in the UK where abortion is legal. As the Women's Action Group has observed, men have dominated the current debate on abortion. The group has issued an appeal to women to enter into this debate that concerns their bodies to ensure that another law is not imposed on them. The group's appeal for action states: "We as Women's Action Group believe that every woman should decide what's right and what's wrong in her life. She and only she should be the master of her destiny. Her voice should be heard louder than anyone else's."

The Relationship of Abortion and Violence Against Women: Violence Prevention Strategies and Research Needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Coyle, Catherine T; Shuping, Martha W; Speckhard, Anne; Brightup, Jennie E

2015-01-01

From the perspective of peace psychology, the role of abortion in acts of violence against women is explored, with a focus on violence-prevention strategies. Setting aside the political debate, this task force report takes the conflict-transformation approach of considering all perspectives that have concern for the right of women to avoid being victims of violence. The evidence that victims of Intimate Partner Violence are disproportionately represented in women presenting for abortion suggests a need for screening at clinics. Coerced abortion is a form of violence and has occurred by government policy in China and as a result of other violence against women: sex trafficking and war situations. Sex-selection abortion of female fetuses, referred to as "gendercide," has reached pandemic proportions and caused a gender imbalance in some countries. Psychology, through empirical research, can make unique contributions to understanding the relationship between abortion and violence and in developing prevention strategies.

Are all abortions equal? Should there be exceptions to the criminalization of abortion for rape and incest?

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, I Glenn

2015-01-01

Politics, public discourse, and legislation restricting abortion has settled on a moderate orthodoxy: restrict abortion, but leave exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape and incest. I challenge that consensus and suggest it may be much harder to defend than those who support the compromise think. From both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice perspectives, there are good reasons to treat all abortions as equal. © 2015 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Effects of abortion legalization in Nepal, 2001-2010.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jillian T Henderson

Full Text Available Abortion was legalized in Nepal in 2002, following advocacy efforts highlighting high maternal mortality from unsafe abortion. We sought to assess whether legalization led to reductions in the most serious maternal health consequences of unsafe abortion.We conducted retrospective medical chart review of all gynecological cases presenting at four large public referral hospitals in Nepal. For the years 2001-2010, all cases of spontaneous and induced abortion complications were identified, abstracted, and coded to classify cases of serious infection, injury, and systemic complications. We used segmented Poisson and ordinary logistic regression to test for trend and risks of serious complications for three time periods: before implementation (2001-2003, early implementation (2004-2006, and later implementation (2007-2010.23,493 cases of abortion complications were identified. A significant downward trend in the proportion of serious infection, injury, and systemic complications was observed for the later implementation period, along with a decline in the risk of serious complications (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.64, 0.85. Reductions in sepsis occurred sooner, during early implementation (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.47, 0.75.Over the study period, health care use and the population of reproductive aged women increased. Total fertility also declined by nearly half, despite relatively low contraceptive prevalence. Greater numbers of women likely obtained abortions and sought hospital care for complications following legalization, yet we observed a significant decline in the rate of serious abortion morbidity. The liberalization of abortion policy in Nepal has benefited women's health, and likely contributes to falling maternal mortality in the country. The steepest decline was observed after expansion of the safe abortion program to include midlevel providers, second trimester training, and medication abortion, highlighting the importance of concerted efforts to improve

Effects of abortion legalization in Nepal, 2001-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Jillian T; Puri, Mahesh; Blum, Maya; Harper, Cynthia C; Rana, Ashma; Gurung, Geeta; Pradhan, Neelam; Regmi, Kiran; Malla, Kasturi; Sharma, Sudha; Grossman, Daniel; Bajracharya, Lata; Satyal, Indira; Acharya, Shridhar; Lamichhane, Prabhat; Darney, Philip D

2013-01-01

Abortion was legalized in Nepal in 2002, following advocacy efforts highlighting high maternal mortality from unsafe abortion. We sought to assess whether legalization led to reductions in the most serious maternal health consequences of unsafe abortion. We conducted retrospective medical chart review of all gynecological cases presenting at four large public referral hospitals in Nepal. For the years 2001-2010, all cases of spontaneous and induced abortion complications were identified, abstracted, and coded to classify cases of serious infection, injury, and systemic complications. We used segmented Poisson and ordinary logistic regression to test for trend and risks of serious complications for three time periods: before implementation (2001-2003), early implementation (2004-2006), and later implementation (2007-2010). 23,493 cases of abortion complications were identified. A significant downward trend in the proportion of serious infection, injury, and systemic complications was observed for the later implementation period, along with a decline in the risk of serious complications (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.64, 0.85). Reductions in sepsis occurred sooner, during early implementation (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.47, 0.75). Over the study period, health care use and the population of reproductive aged women increased. Total fertility also declined by nearly half, despite relatively low contraceptive prevalence. Greater numbers of women likely obtained abortions and sought hospital care for complications following legalization, yet we observed a significant decline in the rate of serious abortion morbidity. The liberalization of abortion policy in Nepal has benefited women's health, and likely contributes to falling maternal mortality in the country. The steepest decline was observed after expansion of the safe abortion program to include midlevel providers, second trimester training, and medication abortion, highlighting the importance of concerted efforts to improve access. Other