[Abortion as a public health problem].

Abstract

In Brazil, abortion is considered a crime, with rare exceptions even abortion is one of the main causes of maternal mortality. It should be an emphasized that among the most frequent reasons for abortion are pregnancies due to rape, that is, sexual violence. This situation requires measures to combat this type of violation of the human rights of women. Another important gap that leads women to resort to abortion as a means of controlling procreation refers to the unmet needs of family planning, requiring attention by the public health system, access to more diversified methods of family planning, and reproductive care for the rational use of services that perform legal abortion, thereby reducing maternal mortality, in accordance with the commitments made by the leaders of the United Nations towards sustainable development objectives.