Study Shows Making Abortion Illegal Leads To Death, Not Curtailing Abortion

It comes as little surprise to hear that making a practice — in this case abortion — illegal merely drives it underground, but doesn’t end it.

[from Legal or Not, Abortion Rates Compare - New York Times by Elisabeth Rosenthal]

A comprehensive global study of abortion has concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it.

Moreover, the researchers found that abortion was safe in countries where it was legal, but dangerous in countries where it was outlawed and performed clandestinely. Globally, abortion accounts for 13 percent of women’s deaths during pregnancy and childbirth, and there are 31 abortions for every 100 live births, the study said.

The results of the study, a collaboration between scientists from the World Health Organization in Geneva and the Guttmacher Institute in New York, a reproductive rights group, are being published Friday in the journal Lancet.

Another example where ideology prevails over pragmatics. Is the world being run by idiots? Rhetorical question.