The Role of Abortion in Population Policies

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
International Handbook of Population Policies

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Population ((IHOP,volume 11))

  • 712 Accesses

Abstract

Abortion policies are complex but important components of the array of policies that affect the use of contraception and other reproductive health services. The chapter examines global abortion trends; abortion measurement issues; innovations in abortion technologies; the harms of abortion restrictions; and the challenges and controversies surrounding abortion policies globally, including a discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the chapter presents highlights of the development, implementation, and impact of selected national abortion policies, ranging from the least restrictive to the most restrictive. Finally, the chapter discusses how access to safe abortion fits into family planning and other reproductive health policies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 17 August 2022

    A correction has been published.

References

  • African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. (2014). General Comment No. 2 on Article 14.1 (a), (b), (c) and (f) and Article 14.2 (a) and (c) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. See https://www.achpr.org/legalinstruments/detail?id=13

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, A. R. A., Starling, J. E., Gomperts, R., Scott, J. G., & Aiken, C. E. (2021). Demand for self-managed online telemedicine abortion in eight European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: A regression discontinuity analysis. BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barthélemy, H. (2018). The American anti-LGBT movement goes to Italy. Southern Poverty Law Center. See https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/12/19/american-anti-lgbt-movement-goes-italy

    Google Scholar 

  • Bearak, J., Popinchalk, A., Ganatra, B., Moller, A. B., Tunçalp, Ö., Beavin, C., Kwok, L., & Alkema, L. (2020). Unintended pregnancy and abortion by income, region, and the legal status of abortion: Estimates from a comprehensive model for 1990-2019. The Lancet Global Health, 8(9), e1152–e1161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berro Pizzarossa, L., & Skuster, P. (2021). Toward human rights and evidence-based legal frameworks for (self-managed) abortion: A review of the last decade of legal reform. Health and Human Rights, 23(1), 199–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bongaarts, J. (1982). The fertility-inhibiting effects of the intermediate fertility variables. Studies in Family Planning, 13(6–7), 179–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, N., Bendavid, E., & Miller, G. (2019). USA aid policy and induced abortion in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis of the Mexico City Policy. The Lancet Global Health, 7(8), e1046–e1053.

    Google Scholar 

  • Center for Reproductive Rights. (2021). The world’s abortion laws. Center for Reproductive Rights. See https://reproductiverights.org/sites/default/files/WALM_2021update_V1.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Chong, E., Shochet, T., Raymond, E., Platais, I., Anger, H. A., Raidoo, S., Soon, R., Grant, M. S., Haskell, S., Tocce, K., Baldwin, M. K., Boraas, C. M., Bednarek, P. H., Banks, J., Coplon, L., Thompson, F., Priegue, E., & Winikoff, B. (2021). Expansion of a direct-to-patient telemedicine abortion service in the United States and experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contraception, 104(1), 43–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleland, J. (this volume). Chapter 27: The contraceptive revolution. In J. F. May & J. A. Goldstone (Eds.), International handbook of population policies. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, M. R., & Turner, K. L. (2003). Essential elements of postabortion care: Origins, evolution and future directions. International Family Planning Perspectives, 29(3), 106–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crane, B. B. (1994). The transnational politics of abortion. In J. L. Finkle & C. A. McIntosh (Eds.), The New Politics of Population: Conflict and Consensus in Family Planning, Population and Development Review, 20(Suppl.), 241–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • David, H. P. (2006). Born unwanted, 35 years later: The Prague study. Reproductive Health Matters, 14(27), 181–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donovan, M. K. (2018). Self-managed medication abortion: Expanding the available options for U.S. abortion care. Guttmacher Policy Review, 21, 41–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Parliament. (2020). Textes adoptés – Action coordonnée de l’Union pour combattre la pandémie de COVID-19 et ses conséquences – Vendredi 17 avril 2020. European Parliament. See https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0054_FR.html?utm_source=International+Campaign+for+Women%27s+Right+to+Safe+Abortion+membership+listandutm_campaign=c05213e6f2-andutm_medium=emailandutm_term=0_c9f67cdfa6-c05213e6f2-64323489

    Google Scholar 

  • Faundes, A., Comendant, R., Dilbaz, B., Jaldesa, G., Leke, R., Mukherjee, B., Padilla de Gil, M., & Tavara, L. (2020). Preventing unsafe abortion: Achievements and challenges of a global FIGO initiative. Best Practice & Research. Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 62, 101–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, J. B., Mayall, K., & Sepúlveda, L. (2017). The role of international human rights norms in the liberalization of abortion Laws globally. Health and Human Rights, 19(1), 69–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gambir, K., Kim, C., Necastro, K. A., Ganatra, B., & Ngo, T. D. (2020). Self-administered versus provider-administered medical abortion. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3(3), CD013181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganatra, B., Gerdts, C., Rossier, C., Johnson, B. R. J., Tunçalp, Ö., Assifi, A., Sedgh, G., Singh, S., Bankole, A., Popinchalk, A., Bearak, J., Kang, Z., & Alkema, L. (2017). Global, regional, and subregional classification of abortions by safety, 2010-14: Estimates from a Bayesian hierarchical model. The Lancet, 390(10110), 2372–2381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene Foster, D. (2020). The Turnaway study: Ten years, a thousand women, and the consequences of having – Or being denied – An abortion. Scribner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hessini, L., Brookman-Amissah, E., & Crane, B. B. (2006). Global Policy Change and Women’s Access to safe abortion: The impact of the World Health Organization’s guidance in Africa. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 10(3), 14–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, D., Grossman, D., Levin, C., Blanchard, K., Adanu, R., & Goldie, S. J. (2010). Cost-effectiveness analysis of unsafe abortion and alternative first-trimester pregnancy termination strategies in Nigeria and Ghana. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 14(2), 85–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, B. R., Lavelanet, A. F., & Schlitt, S. (2018). Global Abortion Policies Database: A new approach to strengthening knowledge on laws, policies, and human rights standards. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 18, 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12914-018-0174-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, H. B., & Hill, K. H. (1996). Induced abortion in the develo** world: Indirect estimates. International Family Planning Perspectives, 22(3), 108–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. (2019). Reproductive technologies as population control: How pronatalist policies harm reproductive health in South Korea. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27(2), 6–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marston, C., & Cleland, J. (2003). Relationships between contraception and abortion: A review of the evidence. International Family Planning Perspectives, 29(1), 6–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moreau, C., Shankar, M., Glasier, A., Cameron, S., & Gemzell-Danielsson, K. (2020). Abortion regulation in Europe in the era of COVID-19: A spectrum of policy responses. BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noble, J., & Potts, M. (1996). The fertility transition in Cuba and the Federal Republic of Korea: The impact of organised family planning. Journal of Biosocial Science, 28(2), 211–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radhakrishnan, A., Sarver, E., & Shubin, G. (2017). Protecting safe abortion in humanitarian settings: Overcoming legal and policy barriers. Reproductive Health Matters, 25(51), 40–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymond, E. G., Grossman, D., Mark, A., Upadhyay, U. D., Dean, G., Creinin, M. D., Coplon, L., Perritt, J., Atrio, J. M., Taylor, D., & Gold, M. (2020). Commentary: No-test medication abortion: A sample protocol for increasing access during a pandemic and beyond. Contraception, 101(6), 361–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romanis, E. C., & Parsons, J. A. (2020). Legal and policy responses to the delivery of abortion care during COVID-19. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 151(3), 479–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Say, L., Chou, D., Gemmill, A., Tunçalp, Ö., Moller, A.-B., Daniels, J., Gülmezoglu, A. M., Temmerman, M., & Alkema, L. (2014). Global causes of maternal death: A WHO systematic analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 2(6), e323–e333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedgh, G., Bearak, J., Singh, S., Bankole, A., Popinchalk, A., Ganatra, B., Rossier, C., Gerdts, C., Tunçalp, Ö., Johnson, B. R. J., Johnston, H. B., & Alkema, L. (2016). Abortion incidence between 1990 and 2014: Global, regional, and subregional levels and trends. The Lancet, 388(10041), 258–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S., Remez, L., Sedgh, G., Kwok, L., & Onda, T. (2018). Abortion worldwide 2017: Uneven progress and unequal access. Guttmacher Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S., Juarez, F., Prada, E., & Bankole, A. (2019). Estimating abortion incidence: Assessment of a widely used indirect method. Population Research and Policy Review, 38(3), 429–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • SisterSong. (2021). Reproductive justice. SisterSong. See https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice

    Google Scholar 

  • Starrs, A. M., Ezeh, A. C., Barker, G., Basu, A., Bertrand, J. T., Blum, R., Coll-Seck, A. M., Grover, A., Laski, L., Roa, M., Sathar, Z. A., Say, L., Serour, G. I., Singh, S., Stenberg, K., Temmerman, M., Biddlecom, A., Popinchalk, A., Summers, C., & Ashford, L. S. (2018). Accelerate progress-sexual and reproductive health and rights for all: Report of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission. The Lancet, 391(10140), 2642–2692.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sully, E. A., Biddlecom, A., Darroch, J. E., Riley, T., Ashford, L. S., Lince-Deroche, N., Firestein, L., & Murro, R. (2019). Adding it up: Investing in sexual and reproductive health 2019. Guttmacher Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2020). Joint statement on abortion access during the COVID-19 outbreak. ACOG. See https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2020/03/joint-statement-on-abortion-access-during-the-covid-19-outbreak

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (1999). Key actions for further implementation of the programme of action of the international conference on population and development. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. See https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/key_actions.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2014). Information-series-sexual-reproductive-health-rights. OHCHR. See https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WRGS/Pages/Information-Series-Sexual-Reproductive-Health-Rights.aspx

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Secretary-General. (2011). Right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. United Nations. See https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/66/254

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2011). Unsafe abortion: Global and regional estimates of the incidence of unsafe abortion and associated mortality in 2008. World Health Organization. See http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44529/9789241501118_eng.pdf?sequence=1

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2012). Safe abortion: Technical and policy guidance for health systems. World Health Organization. See http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/unsafe_abortion/9789241548434/en/

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2020a). Preventing unsafe abortion. World Health Organization. See https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preventing-unsafe-abortion

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2020b). Maintaining essential health services: Operational guidance for the COVID-19 context interim guidance. World Health Organization. See https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-essential-health-services-2020.1

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Alice Ivory, MA, for her contributions to research for this chapter. We are also grateful to those who provided insightful comments on earlier versions, including Janie Benson, Charlotte Hord Smith, Ronnie Johnson, Mary Luke, Elizabeth Maguire, John F. May, and Patty Skuster.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara B. Crane .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Crane, B.B., Maistrellis, E.A. (2022). The Role of Abortion in Population Policies. In: May, J.F., Goldstone, J.A. (eds) International Handbook of Population Policies. International Handbooks of Population, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-02040-7_28

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-02040-7_28

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-01998-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-02040-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Navigation