Decreasing the need for abortion: challenges and constraints.

Voluntary abortion is the most controversial act in the entire field of medical practice, although today, it is a practice that, under different conditions, has been legalized in more than 100 countries, mostly in the developed world. The United Nations has agreed that in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning and, therefore, it should be utilized only when contraception has failed. Overall, 61% of humanity lives in countries where abortion is legal and widely available; 14% in countries where termination is allowed to protect a woman's health; physical, mental, or both; 21% in countries where it can be performed only to save the mother's life and 4% in countries where abortion is not permitted at all. Restrictive legislation, per se, does not represent a valid deterrent to prevent abortion, while it may contribute to an increase in morbidity and mortality associated with pregnancy. In addition, because abortion is outlawed, nothing is done to actively reduce the reasons leading to it. Indeed, the countries with the lowest abortion rates are those where, on the one hand, pregnancy termination is legal and, on the other, sex education and contraceptive knowledge are widely spread.