報告顯示:全球每年墮胎5600萬 富國比例有所改善
The report in the Lancet said 56m induced abortions take place annually - higher than previously thought.
《柳葉刀》雜誌上刊登的一份報告指出，全球每年會有5600萬例人工流產發生，這一數據要比之前預期的高很多。Researchers acknowledge rates have improved in many rich countries but warn this masks no change in poorer areas over the past 15 years.
相關研究人員承認，這一比率在富裕國家已經有所改善，但在較貧窮地區，這一數據在過去十五年卻沒有太大的變化。The rise in numbers is mostly seen in the developing world - driven in part by population growth and by a desire for smaller families.
這一數據最強勁的增長源來自於發展中國家，因爲這些國家的人口基數增長很快，但一些家庭又不想要那麼多孩子。
Their calculations show that while the number of abortions per person has stayed stagnant in many poorer areas, in richer areas it fell from 25 to 14 per 1,000 women of reproductive age.
經過計算，雖然在低收入地區的人均墮胎數保持不變，但高收入地區適齡婦女的墮胎數已經從千分之25下降到了千分之14。
Researchers point out that abortion rates were similar across countries - regardless of whether terminations are legal or not. They argue that laws banning abortions do not limit the number of terminations and can instead lead people to seek illegal abortions that can be unsafe.
有研究人員指出，不論最終結果合法與否，墮胎率在不同的國家之間是很接近的。他們表示，通過法律禁止人工流產並不能夠減少墮胎的人數，反而會導致不安全的非法墮胎盛行。The report goes on to highlight areas such as Latin America where one in three pregnancies ends in abortion - higher than any other region in the world. And there was a slight increase in abortion rates in Western Europe - which researchers suggest could be linked to an increase in women migrating from Eastern Europe and further afield.
這份報告還指出拉丁美洲是全世界墮胎率最高的地方，有三分之一的懷孕婦女會選擇墮胎。而西歐的墮胎率有小幅度的上升，研究人員認爲這可能是因爲東歐及更遠地區的女性移民數量增加的緣故。Dr Bela Ganatra, from the WHO, said: "The high rates of abortion seen in our study provide further evidence of the need to improve and expand access to effective contraceptive services. Investing in modern contraceptive methods would be far less costly to women and to society than having unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions."
來自世衛組織的貝拉·嘉拿查博士表示：“在研究中，我們發現存在着很高的墮胎率，因此很有必要改善或擴大有效避孕措施的受衆範圍。相比於意外懷孕、然後接受不安全的人工流產，投資現代避孕方法的成本，無論是對婦女還是對整個社會來說，都要低得多。”
