Many regions and cultures around the world have different outlooks on a woman’s right

to abortion. Since there are so many different laws and controversies involving voluntary

termination of pregnancy, there is a wide range of research and studies showing the

demographics of abortion, the effects it has on women’s health, and many of the reasons why

women elect to have an abortion.

Many women undergo an abortion procedure, but studies show what group of women are

more likely to obtain those services. According to a study on the demographics of abortion, black

women who live in lower socioeconomic conditions and low-quality education are shown to

more likely to access an abortion service compared to white women who are well off. The study

says that high abortion rates within women of color are linked with the utilization of

contraceptives. Statistically, since women of color live in neighborhoods of poverty and do not

have substantial education they tend to not have sufficient sexual health classes which leads to

less usage of birth control and unintended pregnancy (Dehlendorf et al., 2013).

When abortions are not easily accessible or prohibited by law, studies have shown that

women’s health may be affected, causing the number of unsafe abortions to increase. Unsafe

abortions are when a trained medical provider is not the one performing the procedure and/or the

abortion is taking place in a non-medical appropriate environment (Sedgh et al., 2016). Many

risks are associated with unsafe abortions such as extreme blood loss, damage and infection due

to inserting sharp objects vaginally, not being able to remove all of the pregnancy tissue, and

death (Lim & Singh, 2014). One study shows that 25.1 million unsafe abortions happen yearly,

while 97% are in developing countries (Fanudes et al., 2020). According to one study, up to
13.2% of pregnant women die and 7 million women are hospitalized from unsafe abortions every

year (Fathalla, 2020). According to the World Health Organization, the more strict abortion laws

are in regions the more unsafe abortions will happen. WHO states that 1 out 4 abortions are safe

with strict laws, while in areas where it is easily accessed and legal, 9 out of 10 of the abortions

are safe (Worldwide, an estimated 25 million unsafe abortions occur each year, 2017).

There are several reasons why women decide to undergo an abortion, however, one study

took surveys from 14 different countries to see what the most common reason was. One of the

most frequent reasons a woman wanted access to an abortion was due to socio-economic reasons

and the mother could not afford to take care of a child at the moment. The second leading reason

was related to the woman’s partner, for example, the partner did not want to have children or the

woman and her partner had separated (Chae et al., 2017).

Since there are many different opinions on voluntary termination of pregnancy, there

have been claims stating that they can either cause long-term health conditions or they do not

cause any sort of health issues. One study looks at all the claims that people say happens as a

result of abortion including breast cancer, ectopic pregnancies, untimely deaths, and

complications of getting pregnant in the future. The study showed that none of those were a

direct outcome of utilizing abortions (Allen et al., 2018). Even though those physical effects

show no link to post-abortion, studies have shown that there are many negative mental health

outcomes for women who get abortions. A study measured women’s, ranging from ages 18 to 45,

sexual and mental health prior to the abortion and 6 months after the abortion. After the abortion,

women ages 18-25 experienced more sexual dysfunction issues compared to women of older age

groups. Many women experienced mental health issues, thoughts of suicide, depression, anxiety,
and drug or alcohol abuse after the abortion, in which they reported they felt guilty or regretful

going through with the voluntary termination of pregnancy. All of these mental health conditions

are huge in themselves and take a lot of work to recover from (Limocin et al., 2017).

The research has shown that women of color who do not have the ability to access quality

education are more likely to get an abortion. Regions that have strict abortion laws or are still

developing see more unsafe abortions compared to areas that allow it. Many times a woman

wants to access an abortion due to her socioeconomic status, and while there is not a lot of

physical evidence of negative outcomes from an abortion there is evidence that it can have a

negative impact on a women’s sexual and mental health.

Works Cited
Allen, R. H., Berwick, D. M., & Brindis, C. (2018). The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in

the United States. National Academy of Sciences.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507237/

Chae, S., Desai, S., & Crowell, M. (2017). Reasons why women have induced abortions: A

synthesis of findings from 14 countries. Contraception, 96(4), 233–241.

Dehlendorf, C., Harris, L. H., & Weitz, T. A. (2013). Disparities in Abortion Rates: A Public

Health Approach. American Public Health Association, 103(10).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3780732/

Fathalla, M. F. (2020). Safe Abortion: The Public Health Rationale. Best Practice & Research

Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 63, 2–12.

Faundes, A., Comendant, R., & Dilbaz, B. (2020). Preventing unsafe abortion: Achievements

and challenges of a global FIGO initiative. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics

& Gynaecology, 62, 101–112.

Lim, L., & Singh, K. (2014). Termination of pregnancy and unsafe abortion. Best Practice &

Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 28(6), 859–869.

Limocin, E., D’Alfonso, A., & Carallino, C. (2017). The effect of voluntary termination of

pregnancy on female sexual and emotional well-being in different age groups. Journal of

Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 38(4), 310–316.

Sedgh, G., Filippi, V., & Owolabi, O. O. (July 16). Insights from an expert group meeting on the

definition and measurement of unsafe abortion. International Journal of Gynecology &

Obstetrics, 134(1), 104–106.

Worldwide, an estimated 25 million unsafe abortions occur each year. (2017, September 28).

World Health Organization; WHO.

https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/28-09-2017-worldwide-an-estimated-25-million-u

nsafe-abortions-occur-each-year