ILLEGAL ABORTION - CONSEQUENCES FOR WOMENS HEALTH AND THE HEALTH-CARESYSTEM

Illegal abortion is responsible for up to half of maternal deaths and consumes a large proportion of health resources in many developing cou ntries, particularly in Africa and Latin America. The legal situation of abortion in a country does not influence the abortion rate, but ill egality is associated with a much greater risk of complications and de ath. To make abortion legal is not enough. Access to safe abortion str ongly depends on the capacity and willingness of physicians and the he arth system to provide safe services, which sometimes are made availab le in spite of restrictive laws. The abortion rate will drop and the s afety of the procedure will improve, parallel to the position women oc cupy in a given society, and to the level of recognition of their sexu al and reproductive rights. The medical profession, and FIGO in partic ular, has a great role to play in implementing initiatives that will r educe the consequences of illegal abortion for women and society. (C) 1997 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.