Treating the complications that result from unsafe abortion costs Africa and Latin America $227-280 million each year, according to “Estimates of Health Care System Costs of Unsafe Abortion in Africa and Latin America” by Michael Vlassoff of the Guttmacher Institute, et al.http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3511409.html These costs (reported in 2006 US$) place a considerable added strain on struggling national health systems in Africa and Latin America, which spend an estimated $490 million annually treating complications from pregnancies and births. Moreover, unsafe abortion costs the developing world at least $341 million when the Asian and Pacific regions are taken into account. The authors urge governments to take into account the direct system costs of unsafe abortion and to compare them with the much lower costs of measures that could prevent unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion-namely, providing contraceptive services and ensuring access to safe abortion where it is legal.