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A woman in El Salvador was sentenced to jail for 40 years because she had a miscarriage, which was accused of having an illegal abortion. She was raped and had no idea she was even pregnant until one day she started having lots of bleeding. She started to lose consciousness and woke up to many police surrounding her since they believed she had an illegal abortion.

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El Salvador: Woman Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for a Miscarriage

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If you're a woman in El Salvador, you risk jail time for ending a pregnancy-or having a miscarriage. Sign the petition to tell El Salvador's Congress: Pass legislation lifting the total abortion ban today. http://www.reproductiverights.org/ElSalvador Version en español: https://youtu.be/EV-x9v2iY54 TRANSCRIPT The sentenced me to 40 years in prison for having a miscarriage.

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Dee Dee Bridgewater talks about her experience with having an illegal abortion.

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"I Had To Have An Illegal Abortion": Dee Dee Bridgewater

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Dee Dee Bridgewater had an illegal abortion. Forty-six years in her past, and she still feels the pain and humiliation of having to seek unsafe health care. Now she wants to tell you about it-because she knows that access to abortion is under fire, and we all need to stand up in its defense.

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Since many places around the world have strict laws against abortions, many women leave their newborn child to death either by letting the wild take its course or leaving the child to starve. Senegal is labeled as one of the strictest laws for abortions according to the UN. For a woman to be able to have an abortion, three doctors need to approve the process by determining if this pregnancy puts the mother at risk or rape/incest situation. This video goes into further detail as for why strict laws lead to more deaths than constitutional abortion laws. It also displays statistics and interesting facts.

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Subscribe! http://bitly.com/1iLOHml Around the world, women face extremely strict abortion laws, often punishable by death. Are these harsh abortion laws doing more harm than good? Learn More: 47,000 Women Die Each Year From Unsafe Abortions http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10/04/963901/47000-women-die-each-year-from-unsafe-abortions/ Facts on Induced Abortion Worldwide http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/unsafe_abortion/induced_abortion_2012.pdf?ua=1 Worldwide and regional incidents and trends on abortions worldwide.

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Although many countries around the world have banned abortions unless it puts the mother at risk, women still find a way to have an abortion which can lead to unsafe abortions. Many women risk their lives to undergo unsafe abortions.
Unsafe abortion is an operation done by someone who may not have the adequate training to perform such acts or operated in an unsafe environment defined by The World Health Organization (Blanchard et al., 2014).
98 percent of unsafe abortions are operated in developing countries.

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Historically, women around the world have tried to end their unintended pregnancies whether abortion is legal or not, often jeopardizing their safety and health by self-inducing or seeking a dangerous illegal procedure.

While there is very little relationship between abortion legality and abortion incidence, there is a strong correlation between abortion legality and abortion safety.

Estimates of the number of illegal abortions in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. Today, abortion is one of the most commonly performed clinical procedures in the United States, and the death rate from abortion is extremely low: 0.6 per 100,000 procedures, according to the World Health Organization.

Legalization of abortion allows women to obtain timely abortions, thereby reducing the risk of complications. In 1970, one in four abortions in the United States took place at or after 13 weeks gestation. In 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 92 percent of abortions were performed within the first trimester (64 percent were performed at under eight weeks gestation). Few abortions (7 percent) were performed at 14-20 weeks' gestation, and even fewer (1.3 percent) were performed greater than 21 weeks gestation.

The World Health Organization defines unsafe abortion as a procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both. Unsafe abortion is common in places where abortion is illegal. Nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, and nearly all unsafe abortions (98 percent) occur in developing countries. In countries where abortion remains unsafe, it is a leading cause of maternal mortality.

Highly restrictive abortion laws are not associated with lower abortion rates. For example, as Guttmacher Institute explains, the abortion rate is 29 per 1,000 women of childbearing age in Africa, and 32 per 1,000 in Latin America - regions in which abortion is illegal under most circumstances in the majority of countries. The rate is 12 per 1,000 in Western Europe, where abortion is generally permitted on broad grounds.

For more information on efforts to make abortion safe and legal in the United States, see U.S. Abortion History.

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The Impact of Illegal Abortion - Our Bodies Ourselves

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Historically, women around the world have tried to end their unintended pregnancies whether abortion is legal or not, often jeopardizing their safety and health by self-inducing or seeking a dangerous illegal procedure. While there is very little relationship between abortion legality and abortion incidence, there is a strong correlation between abortion legality and abortion safety.

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In this article WHO talks about how you can preventing unsafe abortions. It talks about the key facts about unsafe abortions.
- It was estimated about 47,000 women died due to unsafe abortions in 2008.
- $680 million dollars was estimated for annual cost for treating severe complications due to unsafe abortions
Unsafe abortions occur when a mother has decided to end her pregnancy and laws classify as abortions illegal unless it causes harm to the mother and/or pregnancy occurred because of incest or rape. People who are not certified and lacks the skills and training or perform procedure in an unsafe environment without proper medical equipment is known as an unsafe abortion.

Reasons why some women would undergo an illegal abortion include:
- Cost of procedure
- Laws against abortions
- shame
- barriers to accessing proper services

How can we prevent unsafe abortions?
Education is a critical piece to avoid unsafe abortions. Many women in developing countries lack the education and knowledge around safe sex and pregnancy.
This article goes into depth about unsafe abortions and provides interesting facts that women in today’s society should be informed of.

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Abortions are safe if they are done with a method recommended by WHO that is appropriate to the pregnancy duration and if the person providing or supporting the abortion is trained. Such abortions can be done using tablets (medical abortion) or a simple outpatient procedure.

Unsafe abortion occurs when a pregnancy is terminated either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both. The people, skills, and medical standards considered safe in the provision of induced abortions are different for medical abortion (which is performed with drugs alone), and surgical abortion (which is performed with a manual or electric aspirator). Skills and medical standards required for safe abortion also vary depending upon the duration of the pregnancy and evolving scientific advances.

They are less safe, when done using outdated methods like sharp curettage even if the provider is trained or if women using tablets do not have access to proper information or to a trained person if they need help.

Abortions are dangerous or least safe when they involve ingestion of caustic substances or untrained persons use dangerous methods such as insertion of foreign bodies, or use of traditional concoctions.

Women, including adolescents, with unwanted pregnancies often resort to unsafe abortion when they cannot access safe abortion. Barriers to accessing safe abortion include:

restrictive laws

poor availability of services

high cost

stigma

conscientious objection of health-care providers and

unnecessary requirements, such as:

Scope of the problem

Based on data from 2010-2014 there are approximately 25 million unsafe abortions annually. Of these one third or approximately 8 million were performed under the least safe conditions by untrained persons using dangerous and invasive methods. Unsafe abortions lead to an estimated 7 million complications (3).

In developed regions, it is estimated that 30 women die for every 100 000 unsafe abortions. That number rises to 220 deaths per 100 000 unsafe abortions in developing regions and 520 deaths per 100 000 unsafe abortions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mortality from unsafe abortion disproportionately affects women in Africa. While the continent accounts for 29% of all unsafe abortions, it sees 62% of unsafe abortion-related deaths (1).

Who is at risk?

Any woman with an unwanted pregnancy who cannot access safe abortion is at risk of unsafe abortion. Women living in low-income countries and poor women are more likely to have an unsafe abortion. Deaths and injuries are higher when unsafe abortion is performed later in pregnancy. The rate of unsafe abortions is higher where access to effective contraception and safe abortion is limited or unavailable.

Complications of unsafe abortion requiring emergency care

Following unsafe abortion, women may experience a range of harms that affect their quality of life and well-being, with some women experiencing life-threatening complications. The major life-threatening complications resulting from the least safe abortions are haemorrhage, infection, and injury to the genital tract and internal organs. Unsafe abortions when performed under least safe conditions can lead to complications such as:

incomplete abortion (failure to remove or expel all of the pregnancy tissue from the uterus)

haemorrhage (heavy bleeding)

infection

uterine perforation (caused when the uterus is pierced by a sharp object)

damage to the genital tract and internal organs by inserting dangerous objects such as sticks, knitting needles, or broken glass into the vagina or anus.

An accurate initial assessment is essential to ensure appropriate treatment and prompt referral for complications of unsafe abortion. The critical signs and symptoms of complications that require immediate attention include:

abnormal vaginal bleeding

abdominal pain

infection

shock (collapse of the circulatory system).

Complications of unsafe abortion can be difficult to diagnose. For example, a woman with an extra-uterine or ectopic pregnancy (abnormal development of a fertilized egg outside of the uterus) may have symptoms similar to those of incomplete abortion. It is essential, therefore, for health-care personnel to be prepared to make referrals and arrange transport to a facility where a definitive diagnosis can be made and appropriate care can be delivered quickly.

Complications arising from unsafe abortions and their treatments include:

Haemorrhage: timely treatment of heavy blood loss is critical, as delays can be fatal.

Infection: treatment with antibiotics along with evacuation of any remaining pregnancy tissue from the uterus as soon as possible.

Injury to the genital tract and/or internal organs: if this is suspected, early referral to an appropriate level of health care is essential.

Access to treatment for abortion complications

Health-care providers are obligated to provide life-saving medical care to any woman who suffers abortion-related complications, including treatment of complications from unsafe abortion, regardless of the legal grounds for abortion. However, in some cases, treatment of abortion complications is administered only on the condition that the woman provides information about the person(s) who performed the illegal abortion.

The practice of extracting confessions from women seeking emergency medical care as a result of illegal abortion puts women's lives at risk. The legal requirement for doctors and other health-care personnel to report cases of women who have undergone abortion, delays care and increases the risks to women's health and lives. UN human rights standards call on countries to provide immediate and unconditional treatment to anyone seeking emergency medical care (6) .

Prevention and control

Unsafe abortion can be prevented through:

comprehensive sexuality education;

prevention of unintended pregnancy through use of effective contraception, including emergency contraception; and

provision of safe, legal abortion.

In addition, deaths and disability from unsafe abortion can be reduced through the timely provision of emergency treatment of complications.

Economic impact

In addition to the deaths and disabilities caused by unsafe abortion, there are major social and financial costs to women, families, communities, and health systems. In 2006, it was estimated that US$ 553 million was spent treating serious consequences of unsafe abortion (4). An additional US$ 375 million would be required to fully meet the unmet need for treatment of complications from unsafe abortion (4).

WHO response
Evidence-based resources
WHO provides global technical and policy guidance on the use of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy, safe abortion, and treatment of complications from unsafe abortion. In 2012, WHO published updated technical and policy guidance on safe abortion. WHO recommendations for safe abortion can be found in the following publications:

An interactive online database containing comprehensive information on the abortion laws, policies, health standards and guidelines for all countries is available at http://www.srhr.org/abortion-policies.
Technical support to countries
Upon request, WHO provides technical support to countries to adapt sexual and reproductive health guidelines to specific contexts and strengthen national policies and programmes related to contraception and safe abortion care.

WHO is a cosponsor of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, which carries out research on clinical care as well as implementation research on community and health systems approaches to preventing unsafe abortion. It also monitors the global burden of unsafe abortion and its consequences.

(1) Ganatra B, Gerdts C, Rossier C, Johnson Jr B R, Tuncalp Ö, Assifi A, Sedgh G, Singh S, Bankole A, Popinchalk A, Bearak J, Kang Z, Alkema L. Global, regional, and subregional classification of abortions by safety, 2010-14: estimates from a Bayesian hierarchical model. The Lancet. 2017 Sep

(2) Say L, Chou D, Gemmill A, Tunçalp Ö, Moller AB, Daniels J, Gülmezoglu AM, Temmerman M, Alkema L. Global causes of maternal death: a WHO systematic analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 2014 Jun; 2(6):e323-33.

(3) Singh S, Maddow-Zimet I. Facility-based treatment for medical complications resulting from unsafe pregnancy termination in the developing world, 2012: a review of evidence from 26 countries. BJOG 2015; published online Aug 19. DOI:10.1111/1471-0528.13552.

(4) Vlassoff et al. Economic impact of unsafe abortion-related morbidity and mortality: evidence and estimation challenges. Brighton, Institute of Development Studies, 2008 (IDS Research Reports 59).

(5) L Haddad. Unsafe Abortion: Unnecessary Maternal Mortality. Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Spring; 2(2): 122-126.

(6) Human Rights Committee; Committee Against Torture; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

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Abortions are safe if they are done with a method recommended by WHO that is appropriate to the pregnancy duration and if the person providing or supporting the abortion is trained. Such abortions can be done using tablets (medical abortion) or a simple outpatient procedure.

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Strict Laws Resulted into Secret Abortions

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Strict Laws Resulted into Secret Abortions

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A woman who only wanted to be identified as F.D. had an abortion in a hidden clinic. The family had ordered the abortion to be kept secret, which carried shame and secrecy. She stated it was a violent, aggressive and terrible experience she underwent (Davies, 2016).
It’s estimated about one million women undergo abortions in Brazil where it’s illegal to have an abortion unless the mother is at risk or the pregnancy was in result of rape or incest.
Over the last decade, Brazil has shut down many hidden abortion clinics around the country. If convicted of performing illegal acts, the doctors can face up to four years in prison and women who have illegal abortions can face to up to three years of jail time.
According to the Brazilian press, a woman dies every couple of days from undergoing illegal abortion procedure (Davies, 2016).
F.D. wants to get married and start a family but now has a hard time opening up about her abortion in a country that has a negative view on abortions.

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RIO DE JANEIRO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Years after giving into family pressure and having an illegal abortion, one Brazilian woman says she is haunted by the secret procedure so taboo that hardly anyone will talk about it.

The woman, who only wants to be identified as F.D., went to a clinic hidden away in the southern state of Paraná for an abortion when she was a student.

Ordered by her family to keep silent, F.D. says the secrecy and shame has stayed with her.

"For me it was something very violent, very aggressive and terrible," she said.

Roughly one million women each year seek abortions to end unwanted pregnancies in Brazil, where abortion is illegal except in cases of rape or incest or if the life of the mother is in danger.

Brazil has raided and closed down hundreds of secret abortion clinics across the country over the last decade.

Once tolerated, the clinics have become the target of a clampdown which human rights groups say is due to a rising numbers of evangelical Christians in the Brazilian Congress.

Just weeks ago, two doctors and a patient were arrested at a secret clinic in Rio de Janeiro's glitzy Copacabana district.

The gynecologist and anesthetist were in the middle of a procedure when police came through the doors. The gynecologist works by day at a hospital in Leblon, one of Rio's wealthiest neighborhoods.

If convicted, the doctors face up to four years in prison. Women who undergo illegal abortions can face up to three years in prison, though such sentences are rare.

The arrests in such a high-priced district highlight Brazil's gaping social divide, which leaves rich and poor women with very different options.

Women without means turn to unsafe backstreet operations or try to carry out the procedure themselves, which can result in botched abortions or death.

Brazil's National Health System estimates that 250,000 women a year arrive in hospital emergency rooms with health problems that are a direct consequence of unsafe abortions.

Brazilian press reports have said that a woman dies every two days from an illegal abortion.

One botched case was that of Jandira Magdalena dos Santos Cruz, a young woman last seen getting into a car in Rio in 2014 to be taken to a clandestine clinic to end a 16-week pregnancy.

Her mutilated and charred body was found the next day.

Police said a criminal network likely ran the illicit clinic and probably killed Cruz after she developed complications they could not handle.

Women with means, on the other hand, pay expensive fees at high-end clinics with legitimate, moonlighting doctors.

F.D. was referred to a clinic by her boyfriend's father, a doctor himself. She says it was luxurious, well-organized and costly.

Being so secret and illegal, however, the abortion left her with psychological scars, she said. She said she also felt pressured into it by her conservative Roman Catholic family.

"There are people who go and get it done and then forget, but there are others, more sensitive people like me, who are hurt by it for the rest of their lives," she said.

"It's an incredible pain which afflicts you every day of your life," she said.

Now married and wanting to start a family, she said she struggles to talk freely about her abortion in a nation that views it so critically.

OPPOSITION TO CHANGE

While campaigners and United Nations officials have called for an easing of abortion laws, in light of the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is linked to severe birth defects, Brazil's Congress, brimming with evangelical Christians and Catholics, staunchly opposes any such change.

The population, two-thirds Catholic, also is largely opposed to legalization, polls show.

"Because of this, the majority of women have an abortion in secret and then don't tell anyone," said Vanessa Dios, a researcher at Brasilia-based women's rights group Anis.

"They are afraid of being arrested but also morally judged," she said, adding that some women have been excommunicated or thrown out of their church.

One consequence of Brazil's strict abortion laws is women turning outside the country for help.

Medical abortions, in which women use pills such as misoprostol in the early stages of pregnancy, are growing more common in Brazil, according to the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute and Women on Web, an Amsterdam-based reproductive rights group that provides medications.

"I've noticed more women coming to us since the Zika crisis started," said Leticia Zenevich of Women on Web.

But some women who buy the pills online have reported that the Brazilian state regulator Anvisa seized packages containing the medication, Zenevich said.

Emails sent to the group from Brazilian women lament their lack of options. Several described themselves as "desperate" and unable to afford to raise a child.

One wrote that she found phony misoprostol pills sold in Paraguay and that the internet "is full of scams."

"I cannot really trust anyone," she said.

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Faced with strict laws, Brazilian women keep abortions secret

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RIO DE JANEIRO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Years after giving into family pressure and having an illegal abortion, one Brazilian woman says she is haunted by the secret procedure so taboo that hardly anyone will talk about it.

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This map demonstrating abortion laws around the world in 2014.