Good data

It’s good to have solid facts, the numbers at your finger tips. Many thanks to the Ottawa-based Dr. René Leiva for getting this letter in the Lancet:

On the basis of data from Statistics Canada, in the 5 years before the legalisation of abortion in 1969, 44 women died as result of complications from illegal abortions. During the same period, however, 23 died of miscarriages. From the time abortion was legalised to 2005, 19 died of complications of legal abortions and 10 from miscarriages. Similar reductions were seen across all obstetric conditions. It can be safely concluded that the real cause of the maternal mortality reduction was the implementation of better medical care.

This goes back to the maternal health debate and how some people were very adamant that women in developing countries need abortions before they need clean surgical environments, basic medications and doctors. Right.

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