2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor
Issue date: 4/5/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
In the March 28 issue of the ISU Bengal, an article reports that South Dakota thinks that making abortion illegal will lower abortion rates. Let's look at the statistics for Latin America, where abortion is illegal, with the following information coming from the Population Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4012, USA, with information from the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Each year an estimated 36 million to 53 million abortions are performed worldwide. Of those, as many as 20 million are considered unsafe-that is, they take place outside health care systems, are performed by unskilled providers under unsanitary conditions, or both. Most, but not all, unsafe abortions take place in developing countries where abortion is limited by law.
In developing countries complications of unsafe abortion cause between 50,000 and 100,000 women's deaths annually. WHO estimates that the proportion of maternal mortality due to abortion complications ranges from 8% in Western Asia to 26% in South America...they may even be the leading cause of death for women of reproductive age...According to estimates from WHO and others, the highest rate of unsafe abortion is in Latin America, where an estimated 4.6 million unsafe abortions take place each year, or 40 per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Unsafe abortion is estimated to cause one-quarter of all maternal deaths in Latin America-6,000 deaths each year. Hospital-based studies in some countries have reported higher fractions. For example, between 1985 and 1989 unsafe abortion accounted for nearly one-third of maternal mortality at one Colombian hospital. At a Brazilian hospital abortion complications accounted for 47% of maternal deaths between 1978 and 1987."
So, in places where abortion is illegal, there are 40 abortions per 1000 female population, and they have incredibly high maternal death rates. For comparison, in the US where abortion is legal, they amount to 21.3 abortions per 1000 women population (nearly half).
This is a University, so one hopes that the students have an interest in research and facts. The facts are obvious - making abortion illegal does not stop it over time, it only increases the death rate of young women.
Sincerely,
Terry Busch
"Each year an estimated 36 million to 53 million abortions are performed worldwide. Of those, as many as 20 million are considered unsafe-that is, they take place outside health care systems, are performed by unskilled providers under unsanitary conditions, or both. Most, but not all, unsafe abortions take place in developing countries where abortion is limited by law.
In developing countries complications of unsafe abortion cause between 50,000 and 100,000 women's deaths annually. WHO estimates that the proportion of maternal mortality due to abortion complications ranges from 8% in Western Asia to 26% in South America...they may even be the leading cause of death for women of reproductive age...According to estimates from WHO and others, the highest rate of unsafe abortion is in Latin America, where an estimated 4.6 million unsafe abortions take place each year, or 40 per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Unsafe abortion is estimated to cause one-quarter of all maternal deaths in Latin America-6,000 deaths each year. Hospital-based studies in some countries have reported higher fractions. For example, between 1985 and 1989 unsafe abortion accounted for nearly one-third of maternal mortality at one Colombian hospital. At a Brazilian hospital abortion complications accounted for 47% of maternal deaths between 1978 and 1987."
So, in places where abortion is illegal, there are 40 abortions per 1000 female population, and they have incredibly high maternal death rates. For comparison, in the US where abortion is legal, they amount to 21.3 abortions per 1000 women population (nearly half).
This is a University, so one hopes that the students have an interest in research and facts. The facts are obvious - making abortion illegal does not stop it over time, it only increases the death rate of young women.
Sincerely,
Terry Busch