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  • WHO: Abortion care guidelines (9 March 2022)


    • Switzerland
    • Guides and guidelines
    • Pre-existing
    • Original author
    • No
    • WHO
    • 09/03/22
    • Everyone

    Summary

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidelines on abortion care in a bid to protect the health of women and girls and help prevent over 25 million unsafe abortions that currently occur each year around the world.

    Based on the latest scientific evidence, these consolidated guidelines bring together over 50 recommendations spanning clinical practice, health service delivery, and legal and policy interventions to support quality abortion care.

    When carried out according to WHO guidelines, abortion is a simple and safe health intervention. The new guidelines will support access to comprehensive and quality abortion care within national health systems in the WHO European Region and globally.

    Content

    New recommendations to improve access to high quality, person-centred services

    When carried out using a method recommended by WHO, abortion is a safe procedure.

    Tragically, however, only half of all abortions take place under such conditions, with unsafe abortions causing around 39 000 deaths globally. Most of these deaths are in lower-income countries – with over 60% in Africa and 30% in Asia – and among those living in the most vulnerable situations.

    The new guidelines include recommendations on many simple interventions at the level of primary care that:

    • improve the quality of abortion care provided to women and girls
    • include task-sharing by a wider range of health workers
    • ensure access to medical abortion pills, which mean more women can obtain safe abortion services
    • ensure that accurate information on care is available to all those who need it.

    For the first time, the guidelines also include recommendations for the use of telemedicine where appropriate, which has helped support access to abortion and family planning services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Removing unnecessary policy barriers facilitates access to safe abortion

    Alongside the clinical and service delivery recommendations, the guidelines recommend removing medically unnecessary policy barriers to safe abortion, such as criminalisation, mandatory waiting times, the requirement that approval must be given by other people (such as partners or family members) or institutions, and limits on when during pregnancy an abortion can take place.

    Such barriers can lead to critical delays in accessing treatment and put women and girls at greater risk of unsafe abortion, stigmatisation and health complications, while increasing disruptions to their education and ability to work.

    Evidence shows that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions that take place. In fact, restrictions are more likely to drive women and girls toward unsafe procedures. In countries where abortion is most restricted, only 1 in 4 abortions is safe, compared to nearly 9 in 10 in countries where the procedure is broadly legal.

    WHO: Abortion care guidelines (9 March 2022) https://srhr.org/abortioncare/
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