Illegal Abortion

Given the recent headlines about Dr. George Tiller,  there is an article in the New York Times that I wish everyone in the country would read. The article is titled "The Deadly Toll of Abortion by Amateurs" and is quite simply about just that.

The article focuses on the women of Tanzania, where abortions are illegal and in turn the maternal death rate is higher due to botched abortions:

"Pregnancy and childbirth are among the greatest dangers that women face in Africa, which has the world’s highest rates of maternal mortality — at least 100 times those in developed countries. Abortion accounts for a significant part of the death toll.  Maternal mortality is high in Tanzania: for every 100,000 births, 950 women die. In the United States, the figure is 11, and it is even lower in other developed countries." More