Abortion and fertility regulation

To achieve their desired fertility, women use a combination of contraception and abortion, and some societies also place constraints on marriage and sexual activity. The degree to which these means are adopted varies considerably,but for the foreseeable future abortion will remain an important element of fertility regulation. Globally, complications of unsafe abortion affect hundreds of thousands of women each year, and account for as many as 100 000 deaths annually (about two in ten maternal deaths), mainly in poor countries, where abortion typically remains illegal. Access to safe abortion is both essential and technically feasible and should be provided in combination with good quality family planning services.