Unsafe Abortion in India: 67% of abortion cases a big failure in India, Daily 8 Women's suffers with death; Report

It is estimated that 16.6 million abortions take place in India every year. A significant number of these abortions are done under highly unsafe conditions.

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It is estimated that 16.6 million abortions take place in India every year. A significant number of these abortions are done under highly unsafe conditions. 

Unsafe abortion leads to the death of 13-15 women in India each day. It is the third-largest cause of maternal mortality in India.

According to statistics from various reports published on the WHO website:

Between 2015 and 2021, on average, 76.3 million induced (safe and unsafe) abortions occurred worldwide each year.

There were 39 induced abortions per 1000 women aged between 15–and 49 years.

3 out of 10 (29%) of all pregnancies, and 6 out of 10 (61%) of all unintended pregnancies, ended in induced abortion.

Around 7 million women are admitted to hospitals every year in developing countries due to unsafe abortions.

What is an unsafe abortion?

When abortion is carried out by a person who lacks the necessary skills or does not meet the minimal medical standards required to perform an abortion, it is considered to be unsafe. 

Any form of abortion, which is not appropriate for the duration of pregnancy, or poses a threat to the life of the mother is unsafe abortion. 

Abortion is considered to be dangerous if:

The procedure is carried out with outdated methods.


The provider does not have complete knowledge of the medicines used to terminate the pregnancy.

Any untrained person uses dangerous methods such as conventional concoctions and inserting foreign bodies.

Unsafe abortion is strongly associated with maternal complications such as haemorrhage, sepsis, and trauma and is the fourth leading cause of maternal death in India. 

Women in India often settle for unqualified providers to abort their babies, despite abortion being made legal in the country through the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

Only 20 per cent of Bihar and Jharkhand residents are aware that abortion in India is legal, whereas the awareness of the same is only about 12 per cent in Madhya Pradesh. 

Why is the rate of unsafe abortion so high in India?

Indians have a very dim attitude and knowledge about reproductive health and sexual wellbeing. Lakhs of women get pregnant every year due to a lack of contraceptives, forced marital sex, or sexual assault. 

Unwanted pregnancy is what forces women in India to approach unsafe abortion.

Another reason that contributes to unsafe abortions in India is the stigma associated with the pregnancy of unmarried women. 

Many healthcare providers refuse to perform an abortion with the woman’s consent alone; they demand parents to be present and approve of the abortion. 

The fear forces many young women to keep the pregnancy clandestine and settle for unsafe abortion.

As reported, 80-90 per cent of all abortions are done during the first trimester; sex-selective abortions largely take place in the second trimester.

Things are complicated in rural India. Most women are not educated or informed about the signs of pregnancy, the legal aspects of abortions, or the safe approach to abortion.

There’s a cultural preference for male babies in India. As reported India is likely to witness an estimated 6.8 million fewer births of girl children by 2030 due to abortions based on sex selections.

In June 2019, 947 children were born across 500 villages in Uttarakhand state’s Uttarkashi district. Among the 200 such births in 132 of the villages, none was a female child.

If data surfacing on the internet is to be believed, approximately 10 million female fetuses have been illegally aborted in India since the 1990s. 

An estimated 1,00,000 abortions (most of which are illegal and unsafe) take place in India every year because the fetus is female.

Although the Medical Termination Act, of 1971 has given legal approval to medical termination of pregnancy several barriers prevent Indian women to access safe abortion services.

The stereotypical outlook towards abortion and getting pregnant with a female child is to blame here.

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