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Title Denial of abortion in legal settings.
Full text https://escholarship.org/uc/item/17f4m5p9
Date 2015
Author(s) Gerdts, Caitlin; DePiñeres, Teresa; Hajri, Selma; Harries, Jane; Hossain, Altaf; Puri, Mahesh; Vohra, Divya; Foster, Diana Greene
Abstract BackgroundFactors such as poverty, stigma, lack of knowledge about the legal status of abortion, and geographical distance from a provider may prevent women from accessing safe abortion services, even where abortion is legal. Data on the consequences of abortion denial outside of the US, however, are scarce.MethodsIn this article we present data from studies among women seeking legal abortion services in four countries (Colombia, Nepal, South Africa and Tunisia) to assess sociodemographic characteristics of legal abortion seekers, as well as the frequency and reasons that women are denied abortion care.ResultsThe proportion of women denied abortion services and the reasons for which they were denied varied widely by country. In Colombia, 2% of women surveyed did not receive the abortions they were seeking; in South Africa, 45% of women did not receive abortions on the day they were seeking abortion services. In both Tunisia and Nepal, 26% of women were denied their wanted abortions.ConclusionsThe denial of legal abortion services may have serious consequences for women's health and wellbeing. Additional evidence on the risk factors for presenting later in pregnancy, predictors of seeking unsafe illegal abortion, and the health consequences of illegal abortion and childbirth after an unwanted pregnancy is needed. Such data would assist the development of programmes and policies aimed at increasing access to and utilisation of safe abortion services where abortion is legal, and harm reduction models for women who are unable to access legal abortion services.
Subject(s) Humans; Abortion; Induced; Pregnancy; Abortion Applicants; Adult; Health Services Accessibility; Tunisia; South Africa; Colombia; Nepal; Female; abortion; medico-legal; misoprostol; unintended pregnancy; 8.1 Organisation and delivery of services; Health and social care services research; Reproductive health and childbirth; Good Health and Well Being; Gender Equality; Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine; Public Health and Health Services; Demography; Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine
Coverage 161 - 163
Publisher eScholarship, University of California
Type of publication article
Format application/pdf
Source The journal of family planning and reproductive health care, vol 41, iss 3
Rights public
Identifier qt17f4m5p9
Repository Berkeley - University of California
Added to C-A: 2022-12-19;08:42:19