Physical Wellness

Abortion Rates Fall But Only In Developed Countries

By Brian McNeill | Update Date: May 13, 2016 06:00 AM EDT

Abortion is a recourse done by women for varied reasons and may largely depend on the type of world they reside in. A paper that was published recently shows a remarkable drop on women who resorted to abortion for the period 2010 to 2014 but even that is up for debate.

The paper which was published via the Lancet journal shows an average of 56 million abortions that took place annually from 2010 to 2014. Whittling it down, that meant only 3.5% of women having abortions.

Compared to the numbers shown back in 1990 to 1994 where 40 abortions per 1,000 women annually was reported, the latest crunched numbers do show improvement and should draw cheers for people against it. However, principal research scientist Gilda Sedgh cautions that while the numbers are astounding, it may not necessarily cover the differences likely between developed and developing countries.

Developed countries such as the United States may see a noteworthy decline but sadly the same drops may not be that significant on other developing countries. Among the reasons singled out for the difference include modern methods of contraception which are known to help out people in reducing unwanted pregnancies.

"We think this is because the desire for small families and precisely timed births has outpaced the uptake of contraceptive use," Sedgh said.

The study was based on statistics collected from various sources such as national surveys, official government statistics and studies which was also supported by various countries.

Aside from the drop in abortion cases, it was also found that about three-fourths of abortions happened among married women which comes a bit of a surprise considering there are those who were expecting it to cover unwed teenagers.

"The obvious interpretation is that criminalizing abortion does not prevent it but, rather, drives women to seek illegal services or methods. But this simple story overlooks the many women who, in the absence of safe legal services, carry unwanted pregnancies to term," said associate professor Diana Greene Foster of the University of California at San Francisco.

With that said, it all boils down to making modern ways to provide women with the right kind of contraceptive innovations such as long-lasting, low-risk implantable and injectable alternatives to daily pills, particularly for the developing regions.

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