Cutting unsafe abortions

The use of drugs to terminate pregnancy could cut the number of unsafe abortions, according to the Wellcome Trust and the Population Council. A specialist conference in January this year concluded that the technique is safe and effective and would be particularly valuable in resource-poor countries. In an article in the journal Science staff of the two organizations outline the research that will be necessary before medical abortion can be made widely available in the developing world. It is estimated that half of all surgical abortions are conducted in unsafe conditions. Drug-induced (medical) abortion has been available in developed countries for over 10 years, usually involving the use of the drug mifepristone. A cheaper drug, misoprostol, is already in use in some developing countries. Meanwhile, WHO has published a booklet on "emergency contraception." The term refers to contraceptive methods that can be used by women in the first few days following unprotected intercourse to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. This would not be considered as abortion by most authorities. The emergency methods available are: increased doses of combined oral contraceptive pills, high doses of progestogen-only pills, or inserting of copper releasing IUDs.