Unsafe abortion Global and regional estimates of the incidence of unsafe abortion and associated mortality in 2008

Unsafe abortion and deaths due to complications of unsafe abortion continue to afflict the lives of many women, mostly in developing countries. Unsafe abortion is the cause of serious complications and disability for millions of women each year and is a prominent cause of maternal death. Despite efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goal 5 Target 5A – reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio between 1990 and 2015 – the percentage of maternal deaths due to unsafe abortion remains unchanged at 13%. Numbers of unsafe abortions have risen with the increase in the number of women of reproductive age. This trend may continue unless women’s access to safe abortion and contraception – and support to empower women (including their freedom to decide whether and when to have a child) – are put in place and further strengthened.