Vietnam HCM City Reports 89,000 Abortion Cases in 2010

Vietnam’s southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City has reported 89,000 abortion cases in 2010, raising concerns about loose management on reproductive health, state media reported, citing an official.  The figure, including 2,000 cases reported at adolescents, fell 10% from a year earlier, said Nguyen Ngoc Thong, director of the city’s reproductive health center.  Vietnam is listed among the world’s top ten countries with the highest abortion rate, especially among adolescents, local experts said, noting that each Vietnamese woman experiences two times of abortion during her life. The United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) attributed the situation to little knowledge of reproductive health among women, particularly those in rural areas.  The ignorance of contraceptive methods and bias against abortion somewhat causes higher number, the UNFPA said, warning that abortion claims one live every one week in the Southeast Asian country. (Phap Luat Tp.HCM – HCM City Law Jan 21 p8)