Safe Abortion: Who Technical and Policy Guidance

Abstract

In 2003, the World Health Organization published its well reference handbook Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance for Health Systems to address the estimated almost 20 million induced abortions each year that are unsafe, imposing a burden of about 67 thousand deaths annually. It is a global injustice that 95 percent of unsafe abortions occur in developing countries. The focus of guidance is on abortion procedures that are lawful within the countries in which they occur, noting that in almost all countries, the law permits abortion to save a woman's life. The guidance treats unsafe abortion as a public health challenge, and responds to the problem through strategies concerning improved clinical care for women undergoing procedures, and the appropriate placement of necessary services. Legal and policy considerations are explored, and annexes present guidance to further reading, international consensus documents on safe abortion, and on manual vacuum aspiration and post-abortion contraception.

Keywords: Abortion, Safe abortion, Unsafe abortion, Manual vacuum aspiration, Dilation and curettage, Dilation and evacuation, Contraception

JEL Classification: I18, K19