The situation of induced abortion has changed markedly over the past few decades. This
report provides updated information on the incidence of abortion worldwide, the laws that
regulate abortion and the safety of its provision. It also looks at unintended pregnancy, its
relationship to abortion, and the impact that both have on women and couples who
increasingly want smaller families and more control over the timing of their births.

Efforts continue to improve the quality and coverage of care for complications from unsafe
procedures. Treating unsafe abortion has long been recognized as an important way to
reduce maternal mortality and lessen the severity of maternal morbidity, and has officially
been on the global public health agenda since the Programme of Action of the 1994 Cairo
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). 4 Despite wide
differences among United Nations (UN) member states in their abortion laws, all agreed to …