Cos when abortion is illegal, it doesn’t happen, right?
Abortion is illegal in Pakistan unless performed to save a woman’s life. [...]
According to a study (2002-2004), `Unwanted Pregnancy and Post-abortion Complications in Pakistan,’ conducted by the Population Council of Pakistan, the estimated national abortion rate is 29 per 1,000 women in the reproductive age-group.
For comparison, the UK rate is 17.8 per thousand women.
As abortion is illegal, safe abortion services are rarely available to women, who are forced to visit illegal clinics run by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) or midwives, says the study. [...]
According to the study, 23 per cent of the women who resort to unsafe abortions by unskilled health providers (since most reputed doctors and hospitals will not offer abortion facilities) are later hospitalised for complications.
