Mortality With Legal Abortion in New York City, 1970-1972

Abstract

During the two-year period from mid-1970 to mid-1972 about 402,000 women, 65% of whom were nonresidents, obtained legal abortions in New York City. Over the same period, 16 deaths associated with legal abortion occurred in New York City and were reported to the Department of Health. A mail survey of all obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States was utilized to obtain information on women who died elsewhere after a legal abortion in New York City. Four such deaths were identified in the survey, two of which had been previously known to the Department. The overall mortality ratio was 5.0:100,000 legal abortions. Mortality was nine times higher in the second trimester than in the first trimester of pregnancy and was lowest for vacuum aspiration, followed in ascending order by dilatation and curettage, instillation of hypertonic saline, and hysterotomy.