[women-rights] Ipas urges global action to prevent deaths of women from unsafe abortion

On May 28, International Day of Action for Women's Health, Ipas urges 
global action to prevent deaths of women from unsafe abortion

May 23, 2002 - In observance of the International Day of Action for Women's 
Health, Ipas calls on political leaders, policymakers, health care 
providers and others to take action against one of the most serious, most 
neglected and most preventable global threats to women's wellbeing: lack of 
access to safe abortion-related care.

Since 1987, women's health advocates worldwide have observed May 28 as 
International Day of Action for Women's Health, to raise awareness of 
unacceptably high rates of deaths and illnesses of women related to 
pregnancy, especially in poor countries. This year's campaign theme - 
Women's Right to Health: A Civil Right - is particularly relevant to 
abortion, which is legally permitted in at least some circumstances in 
almost every country. Yet women often face great difficulties obtaining 
even treatment for abortion complications and induced abortion for legal 
indications such as rape, incest and threat to the woman's life.

Governments' failure to ensure that women can obtain these and other legal 
services in a timely manner constitutes a tragic failure to meet their 
civic obligations to half their citizens. Moreover, many governments are 
party to international agreements committing them to reduce deaths and 
injuries from unsafe abortion, including by training and equipping health 
care providers to provide safe, timely abortion care. For example, in 1999 
governments of more than 180 countries  agreed that "in circumstances where 
abortion is not against the law, health systems should train and equip 
health-service providers and should take other measures to ensure that such 
abortion is safe and accessible." International Day of Action for Women's 
Health offers an excellent opportunity to renew that commitment.

Every year nearly 70,000 women die from complications of abortion, usually 
following abortions performed by unqualified practitioners, in unhygienic 
conditions, or both. Millions more suffer serious complications, including 
life-threatening infection and hemorrhage, often leading to permanent 
infertility.

These deaths and injuries need not occur, as simple, low-cost interventions 
exist to treat abortion complications. The main obstacle hindering women's 
access to safe abortion care is lack of political will to address this 
enormous public-health problem. Ipas salutes health care leaders and 
providers worldwide who have put women's, families' and communities' needs 
ahead of political constraints and are working to end deaths and injuries 
from unsafe abortion. Ipas challenges others to take concrete steps to 
improve women's access to contraceptive methods and services to prevent 
unintended pregnancy, to safe treatment for abortion complications and to 
induced abortion, in circumstances in which it is not against the law.

Ipas is an international nongovernmental organization that has worked for 
nearly three decades to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries and to 
increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights. 
Ipas's global and country programs include training, research, advocacy, 
distribution of reproductive health technologies, and information 
dissemination.


For more information, contact:
Merrill Wolf
Deputy Director, Public Information and Media
(919) 960-5612; wolfm@ipas.org
www.ipas.org