Problem of Septic Abortion in Bangladesh and the Need for Menstrual Regulation

Abstract

The legal provision governing the practice of induced abortion in Bangladesh is very restricted; termination of pregnancy is not allowed except to save the life of the mother (Bhiwandiwala, 1982). The revolutionary changes towards liberalization of laws allowing performance of abortion in many countries of the world during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s have not yet influenced the legal structure of Bangladesh (Lee, 1973). Abortions are known to be performed in many countries despite the existing legal status, liberal or restricted. As estimated in 1980, about 30 to 55 million abortions were performed annually throughout the world, of which about half were illegal (Liskin, 1980). Until recently there was very little knowledge about the rate and pattern of induced abortion in Bangladesh and its health implications. Generally, the practice of induced abortion was believed to be very infrequent and socially condemned. There was also some social stigma attached to the procedure, because the need for pregnancy termination was mostly perceived, in a cultural sense, as a clandestine solution to out-of-wedlock pregnancies.