The morbidity and mortality of illegal abortion are briefly discussed with reference to South Africa, where it seems that 1 in every 8-10 pregnant women deals with an unwanted pregnancy in this way. A review of the literature regarding legal abortion has been undertaken, detailing mortality and morbidity with various methods in many countries. The medical problems resulting from a permissive abortion policy have been highlighted, and an attempt has been made to define the place of medically induced abortion in health services, as it is understood by countries with extensive experience in this field. It is hoped that this contribution will help to define the real issues in the current abortion debate in South Africa.
本文参照南非简要讨论了非法堕胎的发病率和死亡率，在南非，似乎每8至10名孕妇中就有1人以这种方式处理意外怀孕问题。本文对有关合法堕胎的文献进行了综述，详细介绍了许多国家采用各种方法后的死亡率和发病率。文中强调了宽松堕胎政策引发的医学问题，并尝试界定药物流产在医疗服务中的地位，这是该领域经验丰富的国家所理解的。希望这一论述有助于明确南非当前堕胎辩论中的实际问题。
