A systematic review of the research evidence on cross-country features of illegal abortions

Policy surveillance for a global analysis of national abortion laws

Policy surveillance offers a novel and important method for comparing law across jurisdictions. We used policy surveillance to examine abortion laws across the globe. Self-managed abortion, which generally takes place outside formal healthcare settings, is increasing in prevalence and can be safe. We analysed provisions that do not account for the prevalence of self-managed abortion and evidence of its safety. Such provisions require that abortion take place in a formal healthcare setting. We also analysed criminal penalties for non-compliance. Our method included development of a legal framework, an iterative process of refining coding schemes and procedures, and rigorous quality control. We limited our analysis to liberal abortion laws for two reasons. Abortion laws globally trend towards less restrictive. In addition, we aimed to focus on how laws relate to abortion outside a formal healthcare setting specifically and excluded laws that prohibit abortion more broadly. We found that in all countries with liberal national abortion laws, the law permits only healthcare professionals or trained health workers to perform legal abortion and the majority require the abortion to take place in a specified health facility. With policy surveillance methods we can illuminate characteristics of law across many jurisdictions and the need for widespread reform, toward laws that reflect scientific evidence and the way people have abortions.

Aborto inseguro no Brasil: revisão sistemática da produção científica, 2008-2018

O objetivo deste estudo é atualizar o conhecimento sobre o aborto inseguro no país. Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática com busca e seleção de estudos via MEDLINE e LILACS, sem restrição de idiomas, no período 2008 a 2018, com avaliação da qualidade dos artigos por meio dos instrumentos elaborados pelo Instituto Joanna Briggs. Foram avaliados 50 artigos. A prevalência de aborto induzido no Brasil foi estimada por método direto em 15% no ano de 2010 e 13% no ano de 2016. Prevalências mais elevadas foram observadas em populações socialmente mais vulneráveis. A razão de aborto induzido por 1.000 mulheres em idade fértil reduziu no período 1995-2013, sendo de 16 por 1.000 em 2013. Metade das mulheres referiu a utilização de medicamentos para a interrupção da gestação e o número de internações por complicações do aborto, principalmente complicações graves, reduziu no período 1992-2009. A morbimortalidade materna por aborto apresentou frequência reduzida, mas alcançou valores elevados em contextos específicos. Há um provável sub-registro de óbitos maternos por aborto. Transtornos mentais comuns na gestação e depressão pós-parto foram mais frequentes em mulheres que tentaram induzir um aborto sem sucesso. Os resultados encontrados indicam que o aborto é usado com frequência no Brasil, principalmente nas regiões menos desenvolvidas e por mulheres socialmente mais vulneráveis. O acesso a métodos mais seguros provavelmente contribuiu para a redução de internações por complicações e para a redução da morbimortalidade por aborto. Entretanto, metade das mulheres ainda recorre a outros métodos e o número de internações por complicações do aborto é ainda elevado.

Why do they take the risk? A systematic review of the qualitative literature on informal sector abortions in settings where abortion is legal

BACKGROUND

Restrictive abortion laws are the single most important determinant of unsafe abortion, a major, yet preventable, global health issue. While reviews have been conducted on the extent of the phenomenon, no study has so far analysed the evidence of why women turn to informal sector providers when legal alternatives are available. This work provides a systematic review of the qualitative literature on informal sector abortion in setting where abortion is legal.

METHODS

We used the PRISMA guidelines to search Pubmed, Web of Science, Sciencedirect and Google Scholar databases between January and February 2018. 2794 documents in English and French were screened for eligibility against pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles investigating women's reasons for aborting in the informal sector in settings where abortion is legal were included. In total, sixteen articles were identified as eligible for this review. Findings were reported following the PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS

The review highlights the diverse reasons women turn to the informal sector, as abortions outside of legal health facilities were reported to be a widespread and normalised practice in countries where legal abortion is provided. Women cited a range of reasons for aborting in the informal sector; these included fear of mistreatment by staff, long waiting lists, high costs, inability to fulfil regulations, privacy concerns and lack of awareness about the legality of abortion or where to procure a safe and legal abortion. Not only was unsafe abortion spoken of in terms of medical and physical safety, but also in terms of social and economic security.

CONCLUSION

The use of informal sector abortions (ISAs) is a widespread and normalised practice in many countries despite the liberalisation of abortion laws. Although ISAs are not inherently unsafe, the practice in a setting where it is illegal will increase the likelihood that women will not be given the necessary information, or that they will be punished. This study brings to the fore the diverse reasons why women opt to abort outside formal healthcare settings and their issues with provision of abortion services in legal contexts, providing an evidence base for future research and policies.