Recorded presentation

Elizabeth S. Maguire, MA, President, Ipas, 300 Market Street, Suite 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 919-967-7052, maguirel@ipas.org and Barbara B. Crane, PhD, Executive Vice President, Ipas, 300 Market Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.

This paper will assess progress in addressing unsafe abortion since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, review relevant data from recent research, and propose the actions required for an accelerated global effort to reduce maternal deaths and injuries caused by unsafe abortion. The paper will: (1) Outline the magnitude and consequences of unsafe abortion as a global public health problem, presenting recent qualitative and quantitative data, such as results of a nationwide study of women presenting with abortion complications in public hospitals in Kenya. (2) Summarize key post-ICPD developments. Among these are the introduction of postabortion care (PAC) programs in many countries, recent guidance on safe abortion released by the World Health Organization, legal and policy changes in a number of countries, and the emergence of new and improved technologies for treating abortion complications and early induced abortion. (3) Summarize important new data and findings from research carried out by Ipas and partner organizations, including facility-based surveys of abortion-related care in a number of countries, cost analyses, and results of surveys of key stakeholders on country-level implementation of ICPD recommendations on abortion. The paper will argue that more rapid progress in reducing deaths and injuries due to unsafe abortion depends on changes in national priorities and policies; increased funding and support from donors; changes in restrictive policies of the U.S. government, and increased commitment by leaders in the reproductive health community.

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