New releases from the Guttmacher Institute:

Treating the complications that result from unsafe abortion costs Africa and Latin America $227–280 million each year, putting a considerable strain on struggling national health care systems. Globally, 15–25% of women who need hospital-based care for complications from unsafe abortion never receive it. If these women had access to the services they needed, the costs to health care systems would at least double, the authors point out. Read more here.

Increases in global contraceptive use have contributed to a decrease in the number of unintended pregnancies and, in turn, a decline in the number of abortions worldwide. The decline in worldwide abortion occurred alongside a global trend toward liberalizing abortion laws. Indeed, abortion occurs at roughly equal rates in regions where it is broadly legal and in regions where it is highly restricted. Read the full report here.