According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) a legal induced abortion is

defined as an intervention performed by a licensed clinician (e.g., a physician, nurse-midwife, nurse

practitioner, or physician assistant) that is intended to terminate an ongoing pregnancy. An abortion is a

procedure that is used to remove a fertilized egg, also known as an embryo, from a woman’s uterus in

order to end her pregnancy. It can be done with a medication that makes the uterus force out the

embryo or surgically with a vacuum device that uses suction to remove the embryo. A therapeutic

abortion is performed to end a pregnancy if a doctor determines that continuing the pregnancy would

harm either the mother or fetus. It is different than an elective abortion, in which a woman ends a

pregnancy for personal reasons. The reasons for therapeutic abortions can be to protect the mother

from physical or mental harm or if the unborn child will have severe birth defects.

One of the most common reasons for a therapeutic abortion is a preexisting physical medical

condition that may make a woman unable to survive labor. Women with severe heart conditions may

not be able to handle the physical stress of labor. Another instance is if a pregnant woman has a type of

advanced gynecological cancer, such as breast or cervical cancer, she may not be able to continue

treatment without harming the unborn child. Stopping treatment for the duration can make the cancer

spread, often fatally, so a doctor may recommend a woman discontinue the pregnancy.

Abortion is one of the ethical dilemmas faced by every healthcare provider. Women of every

social class or creed seek termination of pregnancy for various reasons such as financial instability,

pregnancy as a result of rape or incest, when fetus have congenital abnormality such as congenital heart

defects, orofacial clefts¤ down syndrome, neural tube defects, when the continuation of pregnancy

have harmful effects on mother or when mother is suffering from diseases like hepatitis. Sometimes

amother goes for abortion without even paying attention to future consequences, and if abortion is not
legalized then the women utilizes the unsafe services provided by the quacks. Most of the people in our

society use abortion as their family planning method.

Induced abortion is medically safe when WHO-recommended methods are used by trained

persons, less safe when only one of those two criteria is met, and least safe when neither is met. Of the

56 million induced abortions that took place each year during 2010–2014, an estimated 25 million (45%)

were unsafe. In all, 55% of abortions each year were safe, 31% were less safe, and 14% were least safe.

Abortion tends to be safer where it is broadly legal than in more legally restrictive settings. It also tends

to be safer in countries with a higher gross national income. Of the world’s 1.64 billion women of

reproductive age, 6% live where abortion is banned outright, and 37% live where it is allowed without

restriction as to reason. Most women live in countries with laws that fall between these two extremes.

Between 2000 and 2017, 33 countries expanded the circumstances under which abortion is legally

permitted. Abortion rates are similar in countries where abortion is highly restricted and where it is

broadly legal. The abortion rate is 37 per 1,000 women in countries that prohibit abortion altogether or

allow it only to save a woman’s life, and 34 per 1,000 in countries that allow abortion without restriction

as to reason—a difference that is not significant. High levels of unmet need for contraception and of

unintended pregnancy help explain the high levels of abortion in countries with restrictive abortion

laws.

Abortion is common in the Philippines with about 70 women inducing abortion every hour and

about 11 women hospitalized every hour from unsafe abortion complications in 2012. The number of

women who have induced abortion in 2018 would be significantly higher since the number of women

inducing abortion increases proportionally with the growing Philippine population. About 1,000 women

died from unsafe abortion complications in 2012, translating to about 3 women dying every day. Unsafe

abortion is the 3rd leading cause of maternal death and is a leading cause of hospitalizations. The World
Health Organization defines unsafe abortion as a procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is

performed by an individual lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to

minimal medical standards, or both. The Philippines needs to step up its efforts to increase access to

safe and legal abortion to meet its Sustainable Development Goals commitment to decrease maternal

mortality ratio to two-thirds of 2010 levels.