There remains a wide gap between national laws on abortion and the reality faced by women, the President of the UK’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has warned.
Professor Lesley Regan states: "The rhetoric around abortion care, both nationally and internationally, often leaves little room for thoughtful, open debate centred on women’s needs. Changing the hearts and minds of communities, health care professionals, policy makers and health system managers is crucial if we are to successfully address the barriers that girls and women face accessing safe, high quality healthcare."
Professor Regan set out her concerns at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Congress 2017, which is held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, South Africa.
Her presentation, Abortion care – bridging the gap between policy and reality, covered the challenges surrounding abortion care in the UK and overseas, and explains how the College is planning to improve access to and the quality of services.
She said: "According to the World Health Organisation, some 225 million women around the world have no access to family planning, leaving them with little control over whether they become pregnant. Providing these women with effective contraception could prevent as many as 24 million abortions and six million miscarriages in addition to 70,000 maternal and 500,000 infant deaths.
"Reducing the incidence of unsafe abortion remains an urgent public health imperative and improving access to comprehensive reproductive health services protects the health of girls and women and upholds their basic human rights and dignity."
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