To mark the Global Day of Action to Destigmatise Abortion (28th March), SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) initiative calls for stronger effort to challenge harmful narratives, dismantle barriers, and demand stigma-free access to safe abortion everywhere in a rights-based manner. SHE & Rights is hosted by Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media), Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), and CNS.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines unsafe abortion as a procedure for terminating a pregnancy performed by persons lacking the necessary information or skills or in an environment not in conformity with minimal medical standards, or both. The persons, skills and medical standards considered safe in the provision of abortion are different for medical and surgical abortion and by pregnancy duration.
Even though right to abortion is part of promises made by our governments by endorsing Beijing Declaration 1995 and critical to deliver on UN Sustainable Development Goal-5 for gender equality and human rights, progress is not satisfactory.
“We are not on track to realise the right to health and gender equality. Despite committing to Agenda 2030 with a common vision and work plan, we are not doing well on delivering on the promises of UN Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.
“All people, including women and girls and gender diverse peoples, have a right to bodily autonomy- that is the right to make free and informed decisions about one’s own body, without coercion or violence. We see violations of bodily autonomy when a lack of choice and decision-making leads to unplanned pregnancy, or to unsafe abortion that is a leading yet totally preventable cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Globally, six out of 10 unplanned pregnancies end in induced abortion, and around 45% of these abortions are unsafe,” said Shobha Shukla, coordinator of SHE & Rights initiative.
“Abortion is our human right. Abortion is healthcare. Abortion is a normal and valid decision. Yet, abortion stigma—rooted in patriarchy, misinformation, and control – continues to restrict access, fuel legal persecution, and force people into unsafe conditions in several countries. This Global Day of Action to Destigmatise Abortion, calls for an end to criminalisation, medical gatekeeping, and harmful cultural narratives that shame and silence people who have abortions,” added Shobha Shukla.
Induced abortion is in fact very common – it is estimated that 73 million induced abortions occur worldwide annually. Around 61% (or 1 in 6) unintended pregnancies end in induced abortion – so these are pregnancies that were not planned – and 29% (or 3 in 10) of all pregnancies end in abortion globally. So, quite a significant number of both- unintended and intended pregnancies- end in abortion around the world.
But what is most troubling is that globally 45% of induced abortions are unsafe. It is estimated that every year 29,000 pregnant people, women and girls die from unsafe abortion and 7 million are injured or disabled due to unsafe abortion worldwide. Unsafe abortion also leads to social and financial burdens for women, communities and health systems.
More than half of all unsafe abortions occur in Asia, most of them in south and central Asia. In Latin America and Africa, the majority (approximately 3 out of 4) of all abortions are unsafe. In Africa, nearly half of all abortions occurred under the least safe circumstances.
But what is perhaps most devastating is that deaths due to unsafe abortion are entirely preventable. It is lack of access to safe, timely, affordable and respectful abortion care that leads to these preventable maternal deaths.