International seminar on medication abortion : availability and use, and impact on abortion safety and women’s health

Seminar organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Abortion Research, the STEP UP Research Programme Consortium, and the Population Council-Senegal.

Dramatic increases in misoprostol sales have been reported worldwide. With the exception of Latin America (where use was already high), all regions of the world registered increased sales in misoprostol in the past decade. This increase in misoprostol sales has been associated with its use for a number of obstetric indications. Two of the indications for which misoprostol is being widely used include pregnancy termination and treatment of incomplete abortion. WHO guidelines recommend medication abortion as an appropriate medical procedure for both of these indications. A recent review of global availability of misoprostol published in 2009 concluded that availability has been improving in low-income countries where the use of this drug could significantly impact morbidity and mortality associated with unsafe abortion.