Over five million abortions have been committed globally between January 1 and this moment, according to Worldometer.
According to the reference website, since the dawn of this day alone, over 43,000 abortions have been committed.
Worldometer, formerly Worldometers, is a reference website that provides counters and real-time statistics for diverse topics. It is owned and operated by a Chinese data company Dadax which generates revenue through online advertising.
Dadax says the data on abortion as displayed on Worldometers is based on the latest statistics published by the World Health Organisation.
“Abortion as a term most commonly — and in the statistics presented here — refers to the induced abortion of a human pregnancy, while spontaneous abortions are usually termed miscarriages,” the site says.
As of the time of filing this story, no less than 5,411,466 people have committed abortions globally, according to the statistics which changes virtually every second.
According to the World Health Organisation, 45 percent of all abortions are unsafe and almost all of these unsafe abortions occur in the developing world.
“Each year, almost half of all pregnancies – 121 million – are unintended, and six out of 10 unintended pregnancies end in induced abortion. When an unsafe abortion is carried out to terminate a pregnancy, there can be devastating and long-term physiological, financial, and emotional costs to the woman and her family, as well as to her community at large,” WHO said.
The world health body noted that the physical complications of unsafe abortion include hemorrhage (heavy bleeding), infection, sepsis, peritonitis, and trauma to the cervix, vagina, uterus, and abdominal organs.
“One in four women who undergo an unsafe abortion is likely to develop temporary or lifelong disability requiring medical care.
“Between 4.7 percent and 13.2 percent of all maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortion. Mortality from unsafe abortion is much higher in developing regions, and in particular, disproportionately affects women in Africa,” it said.
WHO noted that abortions are safe when they are carried out with a method that is recommended by WHO and that is appropriate to the pregnancy duration, and when the person carrying out the abortion has the necessary skills. Such abortions can be done using tablets (medical abortion) or a simple outpatient procedure.
“When women with unwanted pregnancies do not have access to safe abortion, they often resort to unsafe abortion.
“An abortion is unsafe when it is carried out either by a person lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimum medical standards or both.
“Characteristics of an unsafe abortion touch upon inappropriate circumstances before, during, or after an abortion.
“Unsafe abortion can lead to immediate health risks – including death – as well as long-term complications, affecting women’s physical and mental health and well-being throughout her life-course. It also has financial implications for women and communities.
“Unsafe abortion procedures may involve the insertion of an object or substance (root, twig, or catheter or traditional concoction) into the uterus; dilatation and curettage performed incorrectly by an unskilled provider; ingestion of harmful substances; and application of external force,” it said.
