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Armenia: A Way to Make Abortion Safer
– Reported, January 22, 2013
In Armenia, abortion is widely available, but women continue to undergo riskier means of terminating unwanted pregnancies. A major problem is that a well-established alternative method, which is recommended by the international medical community, is underutilized.
There are two methods of abortion available in Armenia. The most commonly known method is a surgical procedure performed in a clinic or a hospital. But this option carries some risk for women. In Armenia, most surgical procedures are performed using outdated protocols and older model aspirators. Women are also administered general anesthesia, and providers are not trained in current cervical priming techniques appropriate for later first- and second- trimester abortions
Another option is medical abortion, using two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, to terminate unwanted pregnancy. This method has been proven to be safe and acceptable. The combination of these two drugs produces an effectiveness rate of up to 98 percent for abortions occurring up to nine weeks after the most recent menstrual period, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) technical and policy guidance published in 2012.
The WHO and the government of Armenia have endorsed the home use of misoprostol in their official guidelines. In 2010, the Republic of Armenias Ministry of Health issued abortion guidelines, titled Clinical Guideline on Organizing and Providing Health Care on Medical Abortion, which recommend a mifepristone and misoprostol regimen for first trimester abortion, and includes home use of misoprostol. If substantial numbers of Armenian women are truly attempting to end their pregnancies without consulting a doctor (as the EurasiaNet article notes – no official data exists), then efforts need to be made to educate women and pharmacists about the correct regimen, and the importance of consulting a doctor before taking action.
Medical abortion is a safe, alternative method to surgical abortion regardless of whether a woman administers pills at home, or in a hospital. It is important that providers are trained in evidence-based clinical guidelines and that they are able to provide abortion services that respect womens dignity, privacy, and choice.
CREDITS: http://www.eurasianet.org/
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