The report in the Lancet said 56m induced abortions take place annually - higher than previously thought.
《柳叶刀》杂志上刊登的一份报告指出,全球每年会有5600万例人工流产发生,这一数据要比之前预期的高很多。
Researchers acknowledge rates have improved in many rich countries but warn this masks no change in poorer areas over the past 15 years.
相关研究人员承认,这一比率在富裕国家已经有所改善,但在较贫穷地区,这一数据在过去十五年却没有太大的变化。
The rise in numbers is mostly seen in the developing world - driven in part by population growth and by a desire for smaller families.
这一数据最强劲的增长源来自于发展中国家,因为这些国家的人口基数增长很快,但一些家庭又不想要那么多孩子。
Their calculations show that while the number of abortions per person has stayed stagnant in many poorer areas, in richer areas it fell from 25 to 14 per 1,000 women of reproductive age.
经过计算,虽然在低收入地区的人均堕胎数保持不变,但高收入地区适龄妇女的堕胎数已经从千分之25下降到了千分之14。
Researchers point out that abortion rates were similar across countries - regardless of whether terminations are legal or not. They argue that laws banning abortions do not limit the number of terminations and can instead lead people to seek illegal abortions that can be unsafe.
有研究人员指出,不论最终结果合法与否,堕胎率在不同的国家之间是很接近的。他们表示,通过法律禁止人工流产并不能够减少堕胎的人数,反而会导致不安全的非法堕胎盛行。
The report goes on to highlight areas such as Latin America where one in three pregnancies ends in abortion - higher than any other region in the world. And there was a slight increase in abortion rates in Western Europe - which researchers suggest could be linked to an increase in women migrating from Eastern Europe and further afield.
这份报告还指出拉丁美洲是全世界堕胎率最高的地方,有三分之一的怀孕妇女会选择堕胎。而西欧的堕胎率有小幅度的上升,研究人员认为这可能是因为东欧及更远地区的女性移民数量增加的缘故。
Dr Bela Ganatra, from the WHO, said: "The high rates of abortion seen in our study provide further evidence of the need to improve and expand access to effective contraceptive services. Investing in modern contraceptive methods would be far less costly to women and to society than having unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions."
来自世卫组织的贝拉·嘉拿查博士表示:“在研究中,我们发现存在着很高的堕胎率,因此很有必要改善或扩大有效避孕措施的受众范围。相比于意外怀孕、然后接受不安全的人工流产,投资现代避孕方法的成本,无论是对妇女还是对整个社会来说,都要低得多。”