The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that almost 56 million abortions take place annually worldwide.
Of the abortions that took place between 2010 and 2014, the WHO classified just under half as ‘unsafe’.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) responded that, since abortion ends the life of a baby, it is ‘always unsafe’, and accused the WHO of being an abortion campaigner.
‘Misleading’
The WHO released the study in conjunction with the Guttmacher Institute, a research body set up by abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
The organisations’ joint press release called for more countries to legalise abortion, claiming that more unsafe abortion takes place in countries where it is illegal.
SPUC challenged these claims, however, labelling them “misleading”.
Distorted
The pro-life group said that figures about ‘unsafe’ abortions often include complications arising from miscarriage, as opposed to induced abortion, leading to a distorted picture.
It added: “The safety of abortion in developed countries (where it is likely to be legal) is also exaggerated. 8.2% of maternal deaths in the developed world are from abortion (more than Africa at 3.9% and Asia at 5.7%).”
SPUC’s Alithea Williams queried why WHO and the Guttmacher Institute were campaigning for more abortion in countries where complications were more likely to arise.
She added: “Whatever the accuracy of these figures, every abortion is a tragedy, and of course by definition a procedure which seeks the death of one party involved is always going to be ‘unsafe’.”