Europe: 'Third of pregnancies terminated'

One-in-three pregnancies in Europe ends in an abortion, World Health Organisation statistics have revealed.

A study by the US-based Guttmacher Institute and the WHO showed that globally, 90 per cent of women will have had a termination by the time they are 45.

The research found that one-in-five pregnancies worldwide still ends in a termination although the annual number of abortions fell to under 42 million from 46 million between 1995 and 2003.

The report said an estimated 20 million unsafe abortions occurred in 2003, 97 per cent of them in developing regions and places where the procedure is banned.

Western Europe had the lowest abortion rate in the world in 2003 at 12 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, the study said citing broad use of birth control methods as a reason.

The rate was 17 for Northern Europe and 21 for North America.

However, Europe as a whole saw nearly a third of all pregnancies end in abortion, largely due to the high figures from its eastern countries.

Asia, which accounts for the biggest part of the world's population, had the highest number of abortions - about 26 million in 2003. China accounted for about 9 million.

Paul Van Look, director of the WHO's department of reproductive health and research, said: "Each year, about 70,000 women die due to unsafe abortion and an additional five million suffer permanent or temporary disability."

Meanwhile, separate studies by The Lancet medical journal show pregnancy-related deaths are falling around the world, but not at a fast enough pace to meet a United Nations target.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.