UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health—recent developements in Abortion Research
In the most comprehensive look yet at the safety of abortion, researchers at the UCSF Bixby Center found that the procedure is incredibly safe for women. In a new study published this week, Bixby Center researchers found that major complications from abortion are rare, occurring less than a quarter of one percent of procedures. This is:
About the same frequency of complications as for colonoscopies.
Less frequent than complications for wisdom tooth removal and tonsillectomy.
Although these new data are similar to what has been found in previous studies, this is the first study to examine complete data on all of the health care used by women who have received abortions. Since some women must travel long distances to find abortion providers, they tend to receive any needed follow-up care at facilities closer to where they live. For many women, this means their local emergency department. But, up until now, no study has systematically examined emergency department use for post-abortion care.