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Right to protection from unsafe abortion and postabortion care
Author(s) -
Faúndes Anibal,
Rao Kamini,
Briozzo Leonel
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2009.03.032
Subject(s) - abortion , medicine , obligation , unsafe abortion , family planning , abortion law , population , reproductive health , health care , economic growth , public relations , law , environmental health , political science , research methodology , pregnancy , genetics , economics , biology
The International Congress on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action urged governments and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations to reduce women's recourse to abortion through improved family planning services; reliable information and counseling should be readily accessible to women who have unwanted pregnancies; where abortion is legal, it should be safe; and in all cases, quality services for management of abortion complications should be accessible. Review of the extent to which these recommendations have been implemented over the last 15 years shows that, with few exceptions, little attention has been given to this serious problem. Because of its political and religious implications, abortion is mostly ignored. Those with the power to promote change have an obligation to raise the issue of abortion from the darkness in which it is currently hidden, and bring it into the public light as a human drama and a health problem that is not difficult to solve if the ICPD recommendations are taken seriously.