United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency has said there could be global implications of new restrictions to access to abortion.
Data show that restricting access to abortion does not prevent people from seeking abortion. It simply makes the procedure more deadly. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Friday in a statement.
The statement comes days after the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion. A decision that has received widespread condemnation.
The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority. On June 24 upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
As the 2022 State of World Population report reveals nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended. Further over 60 percent of these unintended pregnancies may end in abortion.
“A staggering 45 per cent of all abortions around the world are unsafe, making this a leading cause of maternal death,” it added. “Almost all unsafe abortions currently occur in developing countries. In addition, UNFPA fears that more unsafe abortions will occur around the world if access to abortion becomes more restricted.”
In Nepal, according to the UN agency, nearly half of the pregnancies unintended. Therefore, close to two-thirds of them end in abortion.
As per the UNFPA’s State of World Population 2022, half of the 1.2 million pregnancies in 2017 in Nepal. Similarly, nearly 359,000 aborted. However, Abortion was legalized in Nepal in 2002, a milestone for women’s reproductive rights, their empowerment. Hence, their right to bodily autonomy.
