This report summarizes 2015 state-level findings from a large-scale study of six states, titled Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion in India (UPAI), that seeks to fill some of these evidence gaps. Focusing on Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the report: estimates the incidence of abortions occurring in facility and nonfacility settings; provides representative, in-depth information on the characteristics of abortion-related services (induced abortion and postabortion care) provided by public- and private-sector facilities; estimates levels of facility-based provision of care for women with abortion-related complications; and uses abortion incidence data to estimate levels of unintended pregnancy. To provide new, reliable data on abortion incidence in India, we calculated and then summed estimates of each of the three components of abortion: surgical abortions and medical methods of abortion (MMA) provided by health facilities, MMA provided in nonfacility settings (i.e., somewhere other than a public, private or NGO health facility), and other types of abortions provided in nonfacility settings. In addition to presenting estimates of the incidence of abortion, pregnancy and unintended pregnancy, this report also highlights findings on service provision that are relevant for informing policies and programs.

Susheela Singh Rubina Hussain Chander Shekhar Rajib Acharya Ann M. Moore Melissa Stillman Manas R. Pradhan Jennifer J. Frost Harihar Sahoo Manoj Alagarajan Aparna Sundaram Shveta Kalyanwala Haley Ball. Abortion and Unintended Pregnancy in Six Indian States: Findings and Implications for Policies and Programs, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2018.