In 2022, there were around *** abortions carried out per 1,000 live births in Georgia, which was the highest rate of abortions in Europe in that year. Sweden and Bulgaria had *** and *** abortions per 1,000 live births, respectively. In Poland, where until very recently abortion was banned apart for some exceptional circumstances, only *** abortions per 1,000 births were conducted in 2022. Births in Europe Bulgaria had the youngest mean age of woman at childbirth in the EU in 2022 at 27.8 years. Romania and Moldova both had mean age for childbirths at just over 28 years of age. On the other hand, the average age at childbirth in Ireland, Spain, and Luxembourg was over 32 years of age. In every EU country, the fertility rate for a woman is under *** children, with some of the lowest rates found in Italy and Spain at ***. Contraception use In 2022, Norway had the highest share of women aged 15 to 49 years using any sort of contraception in Europe, with ** percent using. Czechia and Finland both had high levels of contraception use among women at **** and ** percent respectively. Just over a quarter of women use any form of contraception in Montenegro, the lowest share in Europe.

More than ******* abortions were performed in Russia in 2023. Starting from over *** millio* abortions recorded in the country in 2000, the number of terminated pregnancies has continuously decreased over time. The figures include induced abortions as well as miscarriages. The abortion rate in Russia stood at *** procedures per 1,000 live births in 2022. How is abortion regulated in Russia? Abortions are legal in Russia up to the 12th week of pregnancy and up to the 22nd week in cases of rape. They are conducted in state as well as private medical facilities. In 2022, approximately ********* of all pregnancy terminations in the country were conducted in commercial clinics. However, over the past decade, the laws regarding abortion have been tightened, allowing for fewer reasons for pregnancy termination. Moreover, there are proposals to ban abortions in private clinics. In a ranking of European policies by progressiveness and openness to abortion, Russia listed below most Western European countries. Contraception use in Russia Russia was one of the lowest-ranking countries in Europe by access to modern contraception. Approximately ** percent of Russian women aged 15 to 49 years used hormonal contraceptives, while ***** percent used an intrauterine device (IUD). In 2023, the country’s health ministry increased control over the sale and storage of mifepristone and misoprostol, medicines for pregnancy termination.

The rate of legal abortions in the United States has decreased over the last few decades. In 2022, there were around 19.9 legal abortions per 100 live births, whereas the rate was 34 abortions per 100 live births in the year 1990. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022, states within the U.S. have the right to severely limit or completely ban abortion if they wish, meaning that access to such procedures varies significantly depending on the state or region. Abortion in the U.S. In 2022, there were over 613,000 legal abortions in the United States. Abortion rates in the U.S. are highest among women aged 25 to 29 years and more common among unmarried women than those who are married. In 2022, there were approximately 38 legal abortions per 100 live births among unmarried women compared to four abortions per 100 live births among women who were married.
Public opinion The issue of abortion has been and remains a divisive topic among the general public and continues to be a relevant political issue. As of May 2023, around 44 percent of the population was estimated to be pro-life, while 52 percent were pro-choice and three percent mixed or neither. However, this distribution has fluctuated over the years, with pro-lifers accounting for a larger percentage than pro-choicers as recently as 2019.

Abortion remains a controversial topic in the United States and has been an exceptionally political topic since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. This ruling has allowed individual states to completely ban the procedure if they choose, which a number of states have since done. In 2022, the year of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the highest rates of legal abortion in the United States were among women aged 25 to 29 years, with around **** abortions per 1,000 women. How many abortions are there in the United States each year? In 2022, there were an estimated ******* legal abortions in the United States. This was a decrease from the year before, and in general, the number of legal abortions per year in the U.S. has decreased since the late 1990s. The rate of abortion has also decreased significantly. In 1997, the rate of legal abortions per 100 live births was ****, but this had dropped to **** per 100 live births by the year 2022. At that time, the states with the highest rates of abortion were New Mexico, Illinois, and Kansas. Public opinion on abortion As of 20234, around ** percent of U.S. adults considered themselves pro-choice, while ** percent were pro-life. However, these numbers have fluctuated over the years, with a larger share of people identifying as pro-life just five years earlier. Nevertheless, a poll from 2024 indicated that only a small minority of U.S. adults want abortion to be illegal in all cases, with younger people more likely to support the legalization of abortion in any circumstance. Furthermore, surveys have shown that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, U.S. adults have expressed being much more dissatisfied with abortion policy in the country, desiring less strict policy.

The 1996 Uzbekistan Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 4,415 women age 15-49. Fieldwork was conducted from June to October 1996. The UDHS was sponsored by the Ministry of Health (MOH), and was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. The Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology implemented the survey with technical assistance from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program. The 1996 UDHS was the first national-level population and health survey in Uzbekistan. It was implemented by the Research Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan. The 1996 UDHS was funded by the United States Agency for International development (USAID) and technical assistance was provided by Macro International Inc. (Calverton, Maryland USA) through its contract with USAID. OBJECTIVES AND ORGANIZATION OF THE SURVEY The purpose of the 1996 Uzbekistan Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) was to provide an information base to the Ministry of Health for the planning of policies and programs regarding the health of women and their children. The UDHS collected data on women's reproductive histories, knowledge and use of contraception, breastfeeding practices, and the nutrition, vaccination coverage, and episodes of illness among children under the age of three. The survey also included, for all women of reproductive age and for children under the age of three, the measurement of the hemoglobin level in the blood to assess the prevalence of anemia and measurements of height and weight to assess nutritional status. A secondary objective of the survey was to enhance the capabilities of institutions in Uzbekistan to collect, process and analyze population and health data so as to facilitate the implementation of future surveys of this type. MAIN RESULTS Fertility Rates. Survey results indicate a total fertility rate (TFR) for all of Uzbekistan of 3.3 children per woman. Fertility levels differ for different population groups. The TFR for women living in urbml areas (2.7 children per woman) is substantially lower than for women living in rural areas (3.7). The TFR for Uzbeki women (3.5 children per woman) is higher than for women of other ethnicities (2.5). Among the regions of Uzbekistan, the TFR is lowest in Tashkent City (2.3 children per woman). Family Planning. Knowledge. Knowledge of contraceptive methods is high among women in Uzbekistan. Knowledge of at least one method is 89 percent. High levels of knowledge are the norm for women of all ages, all regions of the country, all educational levels, and all ethnicities. However, knowledge of sterilization was low; only 27 percent of women reported knowing of this method. Fertility Preferences. A majority of women in Uzbekistan (51 percent) indicated that they desire no more children. Among women age 30 and above, the proportion that want no more children increases to 75 percent. Thus, many women come to the preference to stop childbearing at relatively young ages when they have 20 or more potential years of childbearing ahead of them. For some of these women, the most appropriate method of contraception may be a long-acting method such as female sterilization, However, there is a deficiency of both knowledge and use of this method in Uzbekistan. In the interest of providing couples with a broad choice of safe and effective methods, information about this method and access to it should be made available so that informed choices about its suitability can be made by individual women and couples. Induced Aboration : Abortion Rates. From the UDHS data, the total abortion rate (TAR)the number of abortions a woman will have in her lifetime based on the currently prevailing abortion rateswas calculated. For Uzbekistan, the TAR for the period from mid-1993 to mid-1996 is 0.7 abortions per woman. As expected, the TAR for Uzbekistan is substantially lower than recent estimates of the TAR for other areas of the former Soviet Union such as Kazakstan (1.8), Romania (3.4 abortions per woman), and Yekaterinburg and Perm in Russia (2.3 and 2.8, respectively). Infant mortality : In the UDHS, infant mortality data were collected based on the international definition of a live birth which, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, is a birth that breathes or shows any sign of life (United Nations, 1992). Mortality Rates. For the five-year period before the survey (i.e., approximately mid- 1992 to mid- 1996), infant mortality in Uzbekistan is estimated at 49 infant deaths per 1,000 births. The estimates of neonatal and postneonatal mortality are 23 and 26 per 1,000. Maternal and child health : Uzbekistan has a well-developed health system with an extensive infrastructure of facilities that provide maternal care services. This system includes special delivery hospitals, the obstetrics and gynecology departments of general hospitals, women's consulting centers, and doctor's assistant/midwife posts (FAPs). There is an extensive network of FAPs throughout rural areas. Nutrition : Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is almost universal in Uzbekistan; 96 percent of children born in the three years preceding the survey are breastfed. Overall, 19 percent of children are breastfed within an hour of delivery and 40 percent within 24 hours of delivery. The median duration of breastfeeding is lengthy (17 months). However, durations of exclusive breastfeeding, as recommended by WHO, are short (0.4 months). Prevalence of anemia : Testing of women and children for anemia was one of the major efforts of the 1996 UDHS. Anemia has been considered a major public health problem in Uzbekistan for decades. Nevertheless, this was the first anemia study in Uzbekistan done on a national basis. The study involved hemoglobin (Hb) testing for anemia using the Hemocue system. Women. Sixty percent of the women in Uzbekistan suffer from some degree of anemia. The great majority of these women have either mild (45 percent) or moderate anemia (14 percent). One percent have severe anemia.

Abstract

The Turkmenistan Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS 2000) is the first national survey of maternal and child health in Turkmenistan. It is a nationally representative survey of 7,919 women of reproductive age (15-49). Survey fieldwork was conducted from June to September 2000.

The TDHS was sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry (MOHMI) of the Republic of Turkmenistan. The Gurbansoltan Eje Clinical Research Center for Maternal and Child Health implemented the survey with technical assistance from the Demographic and Health Surveys Program. The National Institute of State Statistics and Information (Turkmenmelihasabat) conducted sampling activities for the survey. The U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) provided funding for the survey. UNFPA/Turkmenistan assisted with survey coordination and logistic support.

The purpose of the survey was to develop a single integrated set of data for the government of Turkmenistan to use in planning effective policies and programs in the areas of health and nutrition. TDHS 2000 collected data on women's reproductive history, knowledge and use of contraceptive methods, breastfeeding practices and nutrition, vaccination coverage, and episodes of diseases among children under the age of five. Information on the knowledge of and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis were also collected. The survey also included the measurement of the hemoglobin level in the blood to assess the prevalence of anemia and measurements of height and weight to assess nutrition status.

The TDHS 2000 also contributes to the growing international database on demographic and health-related variables.

MAIN RESULTS

The TDHS was designed to provide policymakers and program managers at MOHMI with detailed information on the health status of women and children. Some of the health indicators provided by the TDHS-such as fertility and infant mortality rates-are available from other sources. However, other survey indicators are not available from other sources-for example anemia status and nutritional indices for women and children. Thus, when taken together, the TDHS and existing data provide a more complete picture of health conditions in Turkmenistan than was previously available.

• Fertility rates. For the three years preceding the survey (mid-1997 to mid-2000), the estimated crude birth rate was 24.6 births per 1,000 population. This is higher than the MOHMI rate of 20.3 (the average of the annual rates for calendar years 1997 to 1999).

• Knowledge of contraceptive methods is widespread in Turkmenistan. Among currently married women, knowledge of at least one method is universal (99 percent). Married women have knowledge of, on average, six methods of contraception. Married women of all ages, all educational levels, all ethnic groups, and all regions of the country have a high level of knowledge of contraceptive methods.

• Abortion rates. For the three-year period preceding the survey (mid-1977 to mid2000), the total abortion rate for Turkmenistan was 0.9. The total abortion rate was higher in urban areas (1.0 abortions per woman) than in rural areas (0.7 abortions per woman). The highest levels of induced abortion were in Ashgabad City and the Lebap Region (1.1 and 1.2 abortions per woman, respectively).

• Antenatal care. Almost all respondents who gave birth in the last five years (98 percent) received antenatal care from either a doctor (81 percent) or a nurse/midwife (17 percent). In general, in Turkmenistan women seek antenatal care early and continue to receive care throughout their pregnancy. The median number of antenatal care visits is ten.

• Infant Mortality Rates In the TDHS, infant mortality data were collected based on the international definition of a live birth, i.e., a birth that shows any sign of life, irrespective of the gestational age at the time of delivery (United Nations, 1999). Because of the difference between the government data collection system and that of the TDHS in the definition of a live birth, the TDHS estimate of the infant mortality rate (IMR) would be expected to exceed the official government estimates.

• The TDHS was the first study of anemia in Turkmenistan based on a nationally representative sample of women and children. The survey measured the hemoglobin level of capillary blood.

• Acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome(Aids) Compared with other parts of the world, Turkmenistan has been relatively untouched by the AIDS epidemic. Currently, there is only one known case of AIDS and one other person known to be HIV positive in Turkmenistan. Almost no respondents reported that they knew an HIV-infected person or anyone who had died of AIDS.

• Knowledge. Awareness and knowledge ofHIV/AIDSislimited. Seventy-threepercentof respondents reported having heard of HIV/ AIDS, but only 50 percent believe that they could adoptbehavior patterns thatwould reduce their risk of contracting the disease. Further evidence of limited knowledge of HIV/AIDS was the fact that only 31 percent of respondents recognized that condom use is a risk-reducing behavior.

Geographic coverage

The Turkmenistan Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) is a nationally representative survey. The sample for the 2000 TDHS was designed to allow statistical analysis at the national level, for urban and rural areas, and for the six regions of the country (Ashgabad City, Akhal, Balkan, Dashoguz, Lebap, and Mary).

Analysis unit

• Household
• Women age 15-49

Universe

The population covered by the 2000 TKMDHS is defined as the universe of all women in the reproductive ages (i.e., women 15-49).

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

SAMPLE DESIGN

The sample for the 2000 TDHS was designed to allow statistical analysis at the national level, for urban and rural areas, and for the six regions of the country (Ashgabad City, Akhal, Balkan, Dashoguz, Lebap, and Mary).

The sample design was specified in terms of a target number of households in the six regions of Turkmenistan. The overall target number of households was set at 6,800. This number was allocated to the regions as follows: 800 to Ashgabad City, 1,000 to each of 4 regions (Akhal, Balkan, Lebap and Mary) and 2,000 to the remaining region (Dashoguz), for which more intensive analysis was desired.

The six regions of the country were further stratified into urban areas (cities, towns and small settlements) and rural areas (villages). The sampling frame consisted of the list of standard segments. Each standard segment was created on the basis of contiguous blocks that have clear boundaries-coinciding to the extent possible with census supervisor areas-and have between 200 and 500 households according to measures of size estimated by projection from to the 1995 Census data.

SAMPLE SELECTION

The sample was designed as a two-stage probability sample. Within regions the sample was to be self-weighting. The first stage involved the selection of standard segments (PSUs) by systematic sampling with probability proportional to size. This resulted in the selection of 231 standard segments:118 in urban areas and 113 in rural areas. A household listing operation was conducted in each selected standard segment. In the second stage, households were selected with probability proportional to the inverse of the first stage selection probability. On average, the number of households selected per standard segment was 28.

Since the sample for each of the six survey regions was self-weighting, the sampling fraction for each region was an important design parameter. The sampling fractions were estimated with projected census figures. The weighting factors for the six survey regions are inversely proportional to the sampling fractions.

SAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation of the sample design resulted in the selection of 6,850 households. The data on household membership and age collected in the Household Questionnaire identified 8,250 women eligible for the Women's Questionnaire (i.e., women age 15-49 who were usual household members or who stayed in the household the night before the interviewer's visit).

From the 6,850 selected households, 6,391 were identified as current households and household interviews were completed in 6,302. This yields a household response rate of 98.6 percent. Of the 8,250 women who were eligible respondents, a total of 7,919 were interviewed. This yields an eligible woman response rate of 96.0 percent.

The overall response rate (94.7 percent) is the product of the household response rate and the eligible woman response rate. The overall response rate varies by region from 85.6 percent in Ashgabad City to 97.4 percent in the Balkan Region.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face

Research instrument

Two questionnaires were used for TDHS 2000: a) the Household Questionnaire and b) Women's Questionnaire. These questionnaires were based on the model survey instruments developed for the MEASURE DHS+ project and were adapted to the data needs of Turkmenistan during consultations with specialists in the area of reproductive health and child health and nutrition. The questionnaires were developed at first in English and then translated into Russian and Turkmen. A pretest was conducted in April 2000. Based on the pretest, the questionnaires were revised and finalized.

a) The Household Questionnaire was used to enumerate all usual members and visitors in a sample household and to collect information related to the socioeconomic status of the household. In the first part of the Household Questionnaire, information was

In 2022, there were around 613 thousand legal abortions in the United States. The number of legal abortions in the United States has decreased significantly since the early 1990’s. This number will probably continue to decrease in the coming years since many states have severely limited or completely banned abortion after the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022. The states with the highest abortion rates In 2022, the rate of legal abortions per live births in the United States was 19.9 per 100. In comparison, in 1990 there were 34.4 abortions per 100 live births. The states with the highest rates of abortion per live births are New Mexico, Illinois, and Florida. In Florida, there were around 37 abortions per 100 live births in 2022. Florida had the highest total number of abortions that year, followed by New York and Illinois. Missouri and South Dakota had the lowest number of abortions in 2022. Out-of-state abortions Critics of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade argue that while those who can afford it may be able to travel to other states for an abortion if their state bans the procedure, poorer residents will have no such choice. Even before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, out-of-state residents already accounted for a high share of abortions in certain states. In 2022, 69 percent of abortions in Kansas were performed on out-of-state residents, while out-of-state residents accounted for around 62 percent of abortions in New Mexico. Illinois had the highest total number of abortions performed on out-of-state residents that year, with around 16,849 procedures.

aSource: United Nations Development Program (in millions).bThe total number of pregnancies is the sum of the number of live-births, stillbirths, spontaneous, and induced abortions (in millions).cThe total pregnancy rate (TPR) and the annual pregnancy rate per 1,000 WOCBAs are weighted means per region and is for illustration purposes only. The number of pregnancies was derived directly as the sum of the national estimates within each region and globally.MEC, malaria endemic countries; WHORO, World Health Organization Regional Office.

Abstract

The 1993 Romanian Reproductive Health Survey (RRHS-93) is a household-based survey designed to collect information from a representative sample of women of reproductive age throughout Romania. This nationwide probability survey of reproductive health is the first to be carried out in Romania since 1978.

During the previous regime, contraceptives and sex education were generally unavailable and importation and sale of contraceptives was forbidden; traditional contraceptive methods, with their high failure rates, were almost the only means to avoid unintended pregnancies.

In the absence of modern contraception, illegal abortions, most of them self-induced or induced by lay persons, were widely used to avert unwanted births. Although the extent of the prevalence of illegal abortions was impossible to assess, the dramatic effect on women's health was obvious to government officials but concealed from the public for many years. The true scope of the impact this policy had on reproductive health came to worldwide attention only after the December 1989 revolution and the change of government. During the last decade (1979-1989), Romania had the highest maternal mortality rate in Europe, a rate ten times higher than that of any other European country, and most of these maternal deaths were abortion-related (Stephenson et al., 1992). The magnitude of abortion complications is difficult to quantify but unofficial estimates suggest that nearly 20% of the 4.9 million women of reproductive age are thought to have impaired fertility (UNFPA 1990). The high number of unwanted pregnancies resulting in children abandoned in overcrowded orphanages by families who had been too frightened to attempt an illegal abortion, but who were too poor to afford to raise their child, was another shocking disclosure.

After revoking the restrictive law on abortion and contraception at the end of December 1989, the availability of safe abortion resulted in a drastic decline in me maternal mortality rate and improved women's health and their reproductive rights. However, the health planners who strived to design a family planning program were confronted with a difficult mission: to formulate and implement strategies aimed at improving family planning practices in a climate of economic and political changes and resistance to modern contraception by both the public and the health care providers. Also, insufficient infrastructure, absence of family planning logistics and managerial skills, and the shortage or uneven distribution of the contraceptive supplies were other critical factors that have diminished the impact of the newly founded program.

The survey was specifically designed to meet the following objectives: -to assess the current situation in Romania concerning abortion, contraception and various other reproductive health issues; -to enable policy makers, program managers and researchers to evaluate and improve existing programs and to develop new strategies; -to measure changes in fertility and contraceptive prevalence rates and study factors which affect these changes, such as geographic and socio-demographic factors, breastfeeding patterns, use of induced abortion, and availability of family planning; -to identify and focus further reproductive health studies toward high risk groups.

Geographic coverage

The 1993 RRHS was designed to collect information from a representative sample of women of reproductive age throughout Romania.

Analysis unit

Women of reproductive age

Universe

The universe from which the respondents were selected included all females between the ages of 15 and 44, regardless of marital status, who were living in Romania when the survey was carried out.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The 1993 RRHS was designed to collect information from a representative sample of women of reproductive age throughout Romania. The universe from which the respondents were selected included all females between the ages of 15 and 44, regardless of marital status, who were living in Romania when the survey was carried out.

The survey employed a stratified sample with independent estimates for Bucharest, the capital city, and the 40 judets outside of Bucharest, or the Interior. Bucharest, together with its surroundings, the Agricultural Sector of Ilfov, is the equivalent of a judet. The 1992 census was used as the sampling frame (Comisia Nationala pentru Statistica, 1992). Since there were roughly equal numbers of urban and rural households in the Interior, the Interior sample was designed to be self-weighting. With a projected area probability sample of 5,000 women, 1,000 in Bucharest and 4,000 in the Interior, regional estimates are also possible for the Interior. Based on census data (percentage of households with at least one women 15-44 and unoccupied households) and a projected response rate of 90%, a total of 12,387 households were sampled to obtain complete interviews for approximately 5,000 women. Bucharest was oversampled and represents 22 percent of the sample, although it includes 11 percent of the total population.

The first stage of the three-stage sample design was a selection of "Census Sectors" with probability proportional to the number of households recorded in the 1992 Census. This was accomplished using a systematic sample with a random start in both strata or domains. In the second stage of sampling, clusters of households were randomly selected in each Census Sector chosen in the first stage. Cluster size determination was based on the number of households required to obtain 15 interviews per cluster, on average, in Bucharest, and 20 in the Interior. To obtain an average of 15/20 interviews, cluster sizes varied from 39 to 50 households due to different proportions of unoccupied household and variations in the proportion of households containing females 15-44 years of age by geographic area. Finally, one woman between the ages of 15 and 44 was selected at random for interviewing in each of the households.

Since only one woman was selected from each household containing women of reproductive age, all results have been weighted to compensate for the fact that some households included more than one eligible woman. Survey results are also weighted to adjust for the oversampling of households in Bucharest.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire was first drafted by CDC/DRH consultants based on a core questionnaire used in the 1993 Czech Republic RHS. This core questionnaire was modified, including adding modules targeted to explore important issues for Romania, such as induced abortion and maternal mortality. The survey instrument was then reviewed by Romanian experts in reproductive health and family planning, as well as by AID and AID cooperating agencies who have worked in Eastern Europe. Based on these reviews, a pretest questionnaire was developed and field tested in April 1993.

The RRHS questionnaire covered a wide range of topics related to reproductive health in Romania. The specific areas included were: - Social, economic and demographic characteristics - Pregnancy history - Knowledge and use of contraceptive methods - Sexuality and contraception among young adults - Use of maternal and child health services - Morbidity during pregnancy - Women's health issues - Knowledge and attitudes about contraception - Knowledge about HIV/AIDS

The questionnaire had two components: (1) A short household module that was used to collect residential and geographic information, as well as selected characteristics about all women of childbearing age living in sampled households, and information on interview status. This module was also used to select a respondent randomly when there was more than one eligible woman in the household. (2) The longer individual questionnaire collected information on reproductive health topics discussed below. For Hungarian language speakers, the interview was conducted in their native language.

The major subjects on which information was collected are: pregnancies and childbearing (a history of all pregnancies and births, including use of abortion and planning status of pregnancies); family planning (knowledge and history of use of methods of preventing pregnancy, reasons for use of less effective methods of contraception, pregnancy intentions, and fecundity); maternal and child health (health information about the most recent pregnancy and birth and the use of services); young adult reproductive health (information on sexual relations and pregnancy among females 15-24 years old); women's health (health behavior and use of women's health services); reproductive health knowledge and attitudes (especially regarding birth control pills and IUDs); knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention; and socioeconomic characteristics of women and their husbands/families. The sisterhood module to estimate maternal mortality was also part of the questionnaire.

Response rate

Of the 12,387 households selected, 5,283 included at least one 15- to 44 year-old woman. Of this number, 4,861 were successfully interviewed, for a response rate of 92.0%. Only 1.1% the of selected women refused to be interviewed, while another 6.1% could not be located. Response rates were slightly better in Bucharest and other urban areas (93%) than in rural areas (89%).

Data appraisal

The age distribution of the RRHS sample closely reflected that of the female population as a whole (Comisia Nationala pentru Statistica, 1993A). The sample population is essentially within two percentage points of the census

As of March 2023, a total of 260,836 patients performed legal abortions in Mexico City, of which 179,224 were women who resided in the capital. Meanwhile, over 71,000 patients came from the neighboring state of Mexico. Mexico City was the first state in the country where women could have abortions legally within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.

An outlier in an ocean of dissonance

Varying from state to state, each region in Mexico is unique regarding abortion laws and enforcement. Apart from rape, which is unanimously recognized across all states, factors such as maternal fatality, health, and child defects are the only exceptions for abortions in most local municipalities' penal codes. In many conservative parts of the country, such as Nuevo León, 100 criminal investigations were prosecuted due to abortion in 2020. Given abortion policies' political polarization, public opinion often falls along the lines of 'pro-choice' versus 'pro-life' disputes. According to a 2019 poll, citizens in Zacatecas, Chiapas, and Tamaulipas overwhelmingly disfavored women's right to abortion by over 70 percent, while citizens in Mexico City and Baja California favored women's right to abortion by approximately 53 percent.

A population at strife with abortion rights

In 2008, the Mexican supreme court decriminalized abortion in Mexico City, which set-off a historical precedent for women's rights across the region. Overall, Mexico along with Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, and Cuba are the only five countries in the region to have passed pro-abortion legislation. Yet, the subject across the region continues to be a divisive opinion. According to a 2021 survey, Argentina remains the most progressive population, with 44 percent believing abortion should be allowed according to the woman's determination. However, across the region, around 35 percent of Latin Americans believe that abortion should only be allowed under certain circumstances, such as rape. Alternatively, birth control measures have become increasingly popular in the region. As of 2019, people in Latin America and the Caribbean were the second largest population using contraception in the world.

In England and Wales in 2022, the conception rate among women aged between 30 and 34 years was approximately 115.7 per 1,000 women, meaning this age group had the highest rate of conceptions that year. Slightly lower was the rate of conceptions among 25 to 29-year-olds at 113.7 conceptions per 1,000 women, while there were 80.4 conceptions per 1,000 women aged between 20 and 24 years of age. Trends in teenage conceptions The rate of teenage pregnancies has declined sharply in the last ten years. In 2008, the conception rate among teenagers was approximately 60 per 1,000; by 2021, this rate has dropped to 26.1 as displayed above. While the number of teenage pregnancies has dropped in England and Wales, the share of pregnant teenagers getting abortions has increased. The share of teenage conceptions ending in abortion increased from 40.1 percent in 2004 to 51.6 percent in 2021. Additionally, teenagers are the most likely age group in England and Wales to go through with an abortion after a pregnancy. Birth rate trends in the UK In 2021, the birth rate in the UK was 10.4 births per 1,000 population, which, except for 2020, was the lowest birth rate in the country since the start of the provided time period in 1938. The average age at which a mother gives birth in the UK has also increased alongside the drop in birth rate. In 2000, the average age of a mother giving birth in the UK was 28.5; by 2021, it was 30.9 years old. Furthermore, there were just 41 live births per woman aged 22 in 2022, compared with 71 live births for 22-year-olds in 2002 and 86 live births for women aged 22 in 1992.

In 2024, the sex ratio of the total population in China ranged at approximately ***** males to 100 females. Like most other sexual species, the sex ratio in humans tends to be one to one. But due to factors like sex selective abortions and different life expectancy between men and women, the sex ratio varies in different age groups. Gender imbalance in China China belongs to the countries with a very imbalanced sex ratio at birth. In 2023, the sex ratio in the population aging from 0 to 4 years old ranged at around *** males to 100 females. The high gender inequality can be attributed to the traditional preference for male children in the Chinese society. Although gender identification before birth is not legally allowed in China, selective abortions due to gender preference still exist in many regions of China. The importance of gender equality Gender imbalance can lead to many social problems, like the difficulty of finding a partner. Additionally, a country might also get economic benefits from its gender equality. According to the Global Gender Gap Report which was conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2017, there could be a *** trillion U.S. dollar increase in China’s GDP if the gender gap could be closed. As China’s one-child-policy was officially ended in 2015, the problem of selective abortion due to gender preference is also expected to be alleviated.