Abortion in the Developing World

Of the 20 million unsafe abortions performed each year, 90 per cent occur in the developing world.

Even in countries, such as China, where abortion is fully accessible in practice as well as theory, our understanding of the phenomenon is only partial.Using the results of a World Health Organization research project, this book provides information on abortion, why it happens and what happens when it does.

There are sections detailing women's perspectives and also chronicling the provider's views and the effect they have on medical provision.

Several contributions discuss the relationship between contraception and abortion, while a section on the rising abortion rate among adolescents addresses a newly emerging concern for the programme managers around the world.

While the editors put the case for the legalization of abortion as a first step, they show that true reproductive freedom depends on women's empowerment and an acceptable quality of health care.