How often do abortion complications and deaths occur?
Getting accurate statistics on abortion morbidity (complications) and mortality (death) rates is difficult. The rates are generally accepted as under reported. Reporting, on abortions is strictly voluntary in most states, and both the CDC and the Alan Guttmacher Institute acknowledge a significant undercount in their statistics on the number of abortions performed.” (16) The rate of major complications resulting from abortion is usually reported at around 2%. The risk of complications rises as a pregnancy progresses. In many cases, physicians may not even know complications occur, as many women do not contact them if they experience problems, and many women fail to return for follow-up appointments. (17) The CDC reports that between 1979 and 1986 almost 5% of maternal deaths were due to abortion (including spontaneous abortions), for a total number of 124. The leading causes of death from abortion during 1979-1986 were hemorrhage from uterine bleeding, generalized infection, and blood
