The Preventable Pandemic

"Unsafe abortion endangers health in the developing
world, and merits the same dispassionate, scientific
approach to solutions as do other threats to public health.
Although the remedies are available and inexpensive,
governments in developing nations often do not have the
political will to do what is right and necessary. The
beneficiaries of access to safe, legal abortion on request
include not only women but also their children, families,
and society—for present and future generations.
Women have always had abortions and will always
continue to do so, irrespective of prevailing laws,
religious proscriptions, or social norms. Although the
ethical debate over abortion will continue, the public-
health record is clear and incontrovertible: access to
safe, legal abortion on request improves health. As
noted by Mahmoud Fathalla, “Pregnancy-related
deaths... are often the ultimate tragic outcome of the
cumulative denial of women’s human rights. Women
are not dying because of untreatable diseases. They are
dying because societies have yet to make the decision
that their lives are worth saving.” Simply put, they die
because they do not count."

in
Grimes DA, Benson J, Singh S, Romero M, Ganatra B, Ekonofua FE, Hhah IH. Unsafe abortion: the preventable pandemic. The Lancet 2006; Sexual and Reproductive Health Series 4; DOI:10.1016/S0140- 6736(06)69481-6.

TheLancet.com