report patients seeking miscarriage services or services related to other pregnancy emergencies in order to avoid being punished themselves, woman feel discouraged from seeking professional help for issues related to prenancy or birth. According to Amnesty International, 35,000 secret - and often unprofessional - abortions occur each year in El Salvador, and 57% of pregnant teen deaths are the result of suicide, making it the leading cause of death for pregnant teens in El Salvador.
However, this is not to imply that countries with more lax abortion laws are more or less correct than countries with stricter abortion laws. This data simply serves to show the variety of abortion laws that exist around the world and the types of trends that exist amongst countries with similar geography, cultures, economies, government, etc. A country'sabortion laws are often determined by a variety of factors, including the type of government in control, religious influences within the country, and various cultural normalities. In each case, however, women are the one's most directly influenced by the final decision, regardless of the factors that were considered when determining a country's abortion laws. Being aware of the different regulations that exist around the world and the effects that such regulations can have can help to empower women to actively advocate for the abortion regulations that they see most fit for their own country and other countries around the globe.