Studies suggest that the experiences of unmarried young women seeking abortion in India differ from those of their married counterparts, but the evidence is limited. Research was undertaken among nulliparous young women aged 15-24 who had abortions at the clinics of a leading NGO in Bihar and Jharkhand. Over a 14-month period in 2007-08, 246 married and 549 unmarried young abortion seekers were surveyed and 26 who were unmarried were interviewed in depth. Those who were unmarried were far more likely to report non-consensual sexual relations. As many as 25% of unmarried young women, compared to only 9% of married young women, had had a second trimester abortion. The unmarried were far more likely to report non-consensual sexual relations leading to pregnancy. They were also more likely to report such obstacles to timely abortion as failure to recognise the pregnancy promptly, exclusion from abortion-related decision-making, seeking confidentiality as paramount in selection of abortion facility, unsuccessful previous attempts to terminate the pregnancy, and lack of partner support. After controlling for background factors, findings suggest that unmarried young women who also experienced these obstacles were, compared to married young women, most likely to experience second trimester abortion. Programmes need to take steps to improve access to safe and timely abortion for unmarried young women. ©2010 Reproductive Health Matters. All rights reserved.Keywords: unplanned pregnancy, abortion services, marital status, adolescents and young people, India P RE-MARITAL sexual relations have increasingly been documented in India, 1,2 and studies suggest that few young people are using condoms or any other contraceptive method consistently, risking unintended pregnancy. A recent study among unmarried college students, for example, found that 8-12% of sexually experienced young women or girlfriends of sexually experienced young men had ever had an unintended pregnancy and all of these pregnancies had been terminated. 3 Evidence on the abortion-related experiences of unmarried young women is sparse. 4 Several facility-based studies from India have suggested that young and unmarried women constitute significant minorities of all abortion patients, 4-10 that young abortion seekers are more vulnerable than adult women seeking abortion 4 and that those who are unmarried and young are even more vulnerable than their married counterparts, in that they are more likely to delay seeking an abortion and to go to unqualified providers. 11 163 Few studies, (with one exception 4 ) have explored other aspects of the abortion-seeking experience related to being young and unmarried.We aimed to shed light on the experiences of unmarried young abortion-seekers aged 15-24, compare their experiences with those of their married counterparts, and explore the proximate factors leading to delays in them obtaining abortions into the second trimester. Data were obtained from facilities in two poorly developed neighbouring states in north Ind...

Some of the commitments nations have made in international agreements, notably in the ICPD Programme of Action (1994) and the resolution of the UN Committee on Population & Development (2012), to young people include: realisation of the right to education and attainment of a secondary school education; delaying marriage beyond childhood and ensuring free and full choice in marriage-related decisions; exercise of the right to health, including access to friendly health services and counselling; access to health-promoting information, including on sexual and reproductive matters; acquisition of protective assets and agency, particularly among girls and young women, and promotion of gender equitable roles and attitudes; protection from gender-based violence; and socialisation in a supportive environment. These are crucial for a successful transition to adulthood with reference to sexual and reproductive health outcomes. This paper assesses the extent to which these commitments have been realised, drawing from available studies conducted in the 2000s in developing countries. It concludes that while some progress has been made in most of these aspects, developing countries have a long way to go before they can be said to be helping their young people achieve a successful sexual and reproductive health-related transition to adulthood.