Legal but not safe
Summary
Gita Pandey died from complications following a medical abortion in Nepal, highlighting ongoing risks despite legal abortion services and concerns over unsafe practices and medical abortion kit misuse.
Key Points
- Gita Pandey died from complications after using medical abortion services at a legal nursing home in Nepal.
- Unsafe use of medical abortion kits and under-equipped health facilities contribute to maternal deaths despite abortion being legal for over two decades in Nepal.
- Around 100,000 women annually seek abortions at legal clinics, but many more may be using unsafe methods unreported, including medical abortion kits misused as contraception.
- Maternal mortality has significantly decreased due to legal abortion, but unsafe abortion complications remain a major challenge to further reducing deaths.
