Global Abortion Policies Database: a Descriptive Analysis of Financial Coverage for Abortion Care

AbstractPurpose of the ReviewThe purpose of this review is to report on data available in the Global Abortion Policies Database (GAPD) as of February 2020. The GAPD is a repository of publicly available sources related to abortion for all countries.Recent FindingsResearch indicates that where individuals must pay for abortion procedures, costs can often be unaffordable and catastrophic for households. Faced with financial barriers, individuals may be deterred from seeking healthcare or may resort to clandestine practices.SummaryThere are limited countries with publicly available sources related to financial protection for abortion services. Even where legal access may be available on paper, several countries restrict actual access by limiting financial protection to specific types of individuals seeking abortion or certain legal categories of abortion, thus raising questions of equity and possible human rights violations. As countries advance towards universal health coverage (UHC), there is an urgent need to expand the GAPD to include additional data, building the evidence base on national health systems financing, and to consider the implications of financial protection with respect to access to abortion services.
Source: Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports - Category: OBGYN Source Type: research