Nearly half of the estimated 56 million abortions performed worldwide every year are unsafe and putting women's lives at risk, the authors of a study said on Wednesday, calling for greater access to contraception and safe terminations. Worldwide, 25 million unsafe abortions occurred every year between 2010 and 2014, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Guttmacher Institute. "There is an association between highly restrictive laws and unsafe abortion," she told a news briefing. "Increasing the availability, accessibility and affordability of contraception can reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancies and, therefore, abortions," Ganatra said in a statement about the study. "But it is essential to combine this strategy with interventions to ensure access to safe abortions."

Source: CBC News September 27, 2017 23:22 UTC