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New estimates, published in The Lancet Global Health,<\/em> and jointly authored by\u00a0the\u00a0Guttmacher\u00a0Institute\u00a0and HRP,\u00a0show a worldwide decline in unintended pregnancies since 1990-1994.\u00a0Over the same\u00a0period, the proportion These\u00a0findings\u00a0suggest\u00a0that over the past 30 years, more\u00a0women and individuals\u00a0than ever before have been able to limit or space their\u00a0pregnancies. This is\u00a0possibly\u00a0thanks to improved access to a choice of contraception, The new study<\/a> looks at the incidence of unintended pregnancy and abortion by income, region, and the legal status of abortion from 1990 to 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThe substantial declines in unintended pregnancies and in abortion rates in some regions of the world is welcome news, reflecting important gains in access to effective, safe, acceptable and affordable sexual and reproductive health services,\u201d says Bela Ganatra, Head of Preventing Unsafe Abortion Unit and Scientist at HRP.<\/p>\n Despite progress,\u00a0approximately 214 million\u00a0women of reproductive age who want to avoid pregnancy are not using a modern contraceptive method, so are much less able to\u00a0decide if, how many, and when to have children. The\u00a0new\u00a0estimates What is more,\u00a0women\u00a0living in the poorest regions\u00a0were nearly three times as likely to face unintended pregnancies than those in the wealthiest\u00a0regions.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The highest rates of abortion were found in countries with the most legal restrictions. In high-income countries where abortion is broadly legal\u00a0(the term\u00a0\u201cbroadly legal\u201d\u00a0means\u00a0that abortion is available on request Abortion rates were highest in\u00a0low-income countries with the most legal restrictions to abortion care.\u00a0There was also an\u00a0increase \u2013 of\u00a012% \u2013 in the number of abortions in countries with legal restrictions on the procedure, Women living in countries with more\u00a0legal restrictions for accessing abortion care, also faced\u00a0significantly higher rates of unintended pregnancies. This suggests they are\u00a0less able to access contraception\u00a0alongside broader\u00a0sexual This study uses an updated, more comprehensive methodology, in which for the first time the worldwide number of pregnancies was estimated, followed by an estimation of how many of those pregnancies were unintended and how many ended in abortion. These Countries were considered to have restrictive abortion laws if the procedure is completely prohibited, available only to save a woman\u2019s life or available to preserve her health. The study found similar abortion rates irrespective of the type Sexual and reproductive health care is an essential part of universal health coverage. This includes services to help prevent unintended pregnancy, through provision of comprehensive sexuality education and a choice of effective and affordable modern These services are essential to fulfilling the global commitments in the Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health care, reducing the number of maternal deaths and ending discrimination against women
\n of unintended\u00a0pregnancies\u00a0ending in abortion has increased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n in addition to, and as part of,\u00a0comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services\u00a0including safe abortion care to the full extent of the law.\u00a0<\/p>\nPoorest women at greatest risk<\/h2>\n
\n show that between 2015 and 2019, almost half of all pregnancies were unintended.\u00a0<\/p>\nHigher rates of abortion in countries\u00a0with more\u00a0legal\u00a0restrictions\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\n or on broad socioeconomic grounds)\u00a0there were 11 abortions per 1 000 women of reproductive age, compared with 32\u00a0abortions per 1 000 in high-income countries with more legal restrictions to access.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n whilst it declined slightly in countries where abortion is broadly legal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n and reproductive health services for preventing unintended pregnancies\u00a0\u2013 likely explaining the higher number of abortions\u00a0in these countries.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nNew methodology to improve understanding\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\n numbers were broken down by country income status, Sustainable Development Goal region and legal status.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n of legal restriction.\u00a0<\/p>\nHigh-quality reproductive health care essential for health, safety and wellbeing\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\n contraceptive methods, and access to safe abortion care and post abortion care to the full extent of the law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n and girls.\u00a0<\/p>\n