Evaluation of the Causes of Therapeutic Abortion Registered in the Khorasan Razavi Department of Forensic Medicine from 2012 to 2019

Therapeutic abortion is a complicated issue in Islamic countries. The new population growth policies in Iran introduced updated indications for therapeutic abortion in recent years. This study was performed to evaluate the causes of therapeutic abortion in Khorasan Razavi Department of Forensic Medicine from 2012 to 2019. This longitudinal study was performed on all recorded documents of permitted therapeutic abortions from 2012 to 2019 using a researcher made checklist. A total of 2729 therapeutic abortion permits. The mean maternal and gestational age at the time of abortion were 30.30 ± 6.78 years and 16 weeks, respectively. The main source for referral was obstetrics and gynecologist (76.2%). Fetal causes were the most common causes of therapeutic abortion (96.4%). The most common fetal and maternal causes were trisomy 21 and cardiac disorders, respectively. The most common cause of therapeutic abortion was fetal causes. Among the maternal causes, maternal cardiac disorders should be identified and prevented by better pregnancy care.