(ANSA) – PARIS, 09 MAR – The World Health Organization (WHO) has appealed to facilitate women’s access to voluntary termination of pregnancy as much as possible, stating that the restrictions do not reduce the number of abortions but the risks increase.
“We recommend that women and girls be able to access abortion and family planning services when they need them,” WHO official Craig Lissner said last night. WHO recommends “removing unnecessary medical restrictions”, citing “criminalization, mandatory waiting times, imposing the consent of other people – spouses or family members – or institutions, prohibition of abortion beyond a certain stage of pregnancy”. This type of restriction is not accompanied by a drop in the number of abortions, stresses WHO, which cites a study published in 2020 in Lancet Global Health. On the contrary, “the restrictions will push above all women and girls to resort to risky interventions”, warns the UN organization.
Many countries around the world severely restrict the right to abortion, reserving it for situations where the mother’s health is in danger. Some, like El Salvador, even prohibit it altogether. (HANDLE).
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