life. Concern over high rates of abortion and high maternal mortality rates led the Chilean government to launch a publicly funded family planning program in 1964. Deaths due to illegal abortions dropped from 118 to 24 per 100,000 live births between 1964 and 1979. There was also a statistically significant decrease in maternal deaths due to abortion from 1990 to 2000. Experts attribute the decline in hospitalizations due to abortion during this period to the increased use of sterilization and antibiotics by illegal abortion providers, the increased availability of the abortifacient drug misoprostol, and the increased use of contraception. In terms of accessibility, in 2002 it was noted that most of the family planning services were offered to married women. A 2015 study by the Chilean epidemiologist Elard Koch has shown that the decreasing trend in maternal deaths due to abortion has continued through 2009. These results challenge the common notion that less permissive abortion laws lead to greater mortality associated with abortion. Koch states that the increases in women's education and in community support programs for women with unplanned pregnancies have contributed to the reduction of induced abortions and maternal deaths in Chile. In the period 2000 to 2004, abortion was the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the country, accounting for 12% of all maternal deaths. While there are no accurate statistics, it is estimated that between 2000 and 2002 there were between 132,000 and 160,000 abortions in the country. A 1997 study found that the majority of eighty women prosecuted in Santiago for having an abortion were young, single mothers, and that many were domestic workers who had moved to the city from rural areas. It also found most of the women were reported to authorities by the hospital at which they sought treatment for their complications, and had no legal representation, or were defended by inexperienced law students. Public opinion A July 2006 MORI survey found that 26% of Chileans believed that abortion is "justified", up from 18% in 1990. A July 2008 all-female nationwide face-to-face poll by NGO Corporación Humanas found that 79.2% of Chilean women were in favor of decriminalizing abortion when the life of the pregnant woman is at risk; 67.9% said it was urgent to legislate on the matter. According to the study, 74.0% of women believed abortion should be permitted in cases of rape, 70.1% in instances of fetal abnormality