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December 4, 2006
Dr. Dorothy Shaw
In her inaugural address to FIGO, Dr. Dorothy Shaw called on obstetrician-gynecologist societies everywhere to address the problem of unsafe abortion.

The leader of the world’s largest gathering of obstetricians-gynecologists has called for new action to address the continuing toll unsafe abortion takes on women’s lives and health.

Dr. Dorothy Shaw, president of the International Federation of Gynecology & Obstetrics (FIGO), said in her Nov. 10 inaugural address at the organization’s triennial meeting that maternal mortality is a “shameful reality,” with “an estimated 500,000 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth every year, most in the poorest countries.”

Dr. Shaw is FIGO’s first woman president and serves as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. The Nov. 6-10 FIGO Congress, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was attended by more than 8,000 participants from about 130 countries.

In her speech, Dr. Shaw stressed the importance of a range of interventions to ensure healthy mothers and newborns as well as to prevent unwanted pregnancies through provision of comprehensive sex education and contraceptive information and services. 

She gave special attention to the issue of unsafe abortion: “The evidence is clear. Restrictive laws on abortion have clearly been shown to increase maternal mortality.”  

While acknowledging varying views on abortion, she asked, “Can we come to a place of understanding so that we can save women’s lives literally and broadly? Women who resort to unsafe abortion are desperate. ... How does blaming women and prosecuting them solve this problem? Does society care less about the lives of poor women?”

Dr. Shaw called on obstetrician-gynecologist societies everywhere to address unsafe abortion: “I fully recognize that this is a very sensitive and controversial issue, but uncomfortable silence, lack of dialogue and inaction in the face of the evidence is not acceptable. Working with our member societies in partnership with our collaborating agencies will provide thoughtful avenues for progress.”

Dr. Shaw also released the 2006 FIGO World Report on Women’s Health at a press conference during the meeting. Referring to maternal mortality, including deaths due to unsafe abortion, she said bluntly, “The global record in preventing these deaths is a disaster.”

Liz Maguire, President and CEO of Ipas, welcomed Dr. Shaw’s leadership, and added: “We are pleased to see a new willingness by ob-gyns in a number of countries to advocate for safe abortion. Their voice is extremely important, as so many have seen firsthand women’s suffering from botched abortions in settings where access to safe services is restricted.”

Other FIGO leaders speaking out on the issue included Dr. Anibal Faundes of Brazil, former Chairman of the FIGO Committee on Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights and co-author with the late Dr. Jose Barzelatto of a recent book, “The Human Drama of Abortion: A Global Search for Consensus.” In the book, the authors call on countries to “decriminalize abortion, within socially acceptable limits, and legislate to prevent unwanted pregnancies.”

In a session moderated by Dr. Faundes, Dr. Nozer Sheriar, Treasurer of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), presented FOGSI’s initiatives to advance access to safe abortion for women throughout the country, based on its principle that “women should have the right to safe abortion with respect and dignity.”

Several sessions at the FIGO Congress featured abortion, including panels focused on improving abortion quality of care in low-resource settings and models of service delivery for medication abortion methods. In addition to Ipas, the World Health Organization, the International Consortium for Medical Abortion and Gynuity were among the organizations co-sponsoring or participating in panels addressing safe abortion care.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258