Impact of Good Family Planning Services in Reducing Abortion

Abortion rates are significantly lower in the area with better family planning services. Abortion of unintended pregnancies is similar in both areas. However, the higher levels of contraceptive use in the treatment area have led to lower levels of unintended pregnancy and abortion. It is more likely that an unintended pregnancy will be aborted in both areas but the decrease in unintended pregnancies was sufficiently large in the treatment area to offset this increase.

This paper aims to assess the effects of family planning services on abortion rates in two similar areas. It examined trends in overall abortion rates and rates for intended and unintended pregnancies in two similar areas typical of rural Bangladesh. Abortion may increase during the fertility transition in less-developed countries as the desire to limit family size increases unless there is widespread availability of quality family planning services.

Reference:

Rahman, M., DaVanzo, J., & Razzaque, A. (2001). Do better family planning services reduce abortion in Bangladesh?. The Lancet, 358(9287), 1051-1056.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673601061827