- What’s new
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- Background and context (1.1)
- Guideline objective, rationale, target audience, inclusivity and structure (1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4)
- An enabling environment for comprehensive abortion care (1.3)
- Human rights including a supportive framework of law and policy (1.3.1)
- Availability and accessibility of information (1.3.2)
- Health system factors (1.3.3)
- Health system considerations (1.4, 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 1.4.4, 1.4.5)
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- Background (3.1, 3.1.1)
- Underlying principles and assumptions relating to recommendations on health worker roles (3.1.2)
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- Law & policy Recommendation 6: Mandatory waiting periods (3.3.1)
- Law & policy Recommendation 7: Third-party authorization (3.3.2)
- Clinical services Recommendation 8: Rh isoimmunization for abortion at gestational ages < 12 weeks (3.3.3)
- Clinical services Recommendation 9: Antibiotic prophylaxis for surgical and medical abortion (3.3.4)
- Clinical services Recommendation 10: Pre-abortion ultrasound scanning (3.3.5)
- Clinical services Recommendations 11–14: Pain management for surgical abortion and for prior cervical priming (3.3.6)
- Clinical services Recommendations 15 and 16: Pain management for medical abortion (3.3.6)
- Cervical priming prior to surgical abortion: Recommendations 17-20 (3.3.7)
- Law & policy Recommendation 21: Provider restrictions (3.3.8)
- Law & policy Recommendation 22: Conscientious objection (3.3.9)
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- Clinical services Recommendation 34: Follow-up care or additional services after abortion (3.5.1)
- Incomplete abortion management: Recommendations 35-38 (3.5.2)
- Management of non-life-threatening complications: infection and haemorrhage: Recommendations 39-40 (3.5.3)
- Post-abortion contraception: Recommendations 41-47 (3.5.4)
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- Supported service-delivery approaches: Recommendation 48 (Telemedicine) and Best Practice Statement 49 (3.6.1)
- Self-management Recommendation 50: Self-management of medical abortion in whole or in part at gestational ages < 12 weeks (3.6.2)
- Self-management approaches for post-abortion contraception: Recommendations 51-54 (3.6.3)
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- Annex 1: External experts and WHO staff involved in guideline development
- Annex 2: Selected human rights treaties and their treaty monitoring bodies
- Annex 3: References for the glossary
- Annex 4: Guideline development methods and process
- Annex 5: Health worker categories and roles
- Annex 6: Monitoring and evaluation of quality abortion care: identification of indicators
- Annex 7: Systematic reviews and links to PICOs and recommendations
- Annex 8: Law and policy domain PICO questions
- Annex 9: Clinical services domain PICO questions
- Annex 10: Service delivery domain PICO questions
- Annex 11: Details about guideline dissemination and updating
- Annex 12: Acknowledgements
- References

This section includes information and recommendations first on the issues of mandatory waiting periods and third-party authorization, followed by recommendations on Rh isoimmunization, antibiotic prophylaxis, determination of gestational age of pregnancy, pain management, and cervical priming prior to surgical abortion, and finally also recommendations on the issues of restrictions on health workers who can provide abortions and conscientious objection.