Each year, an estimated 20 million unsafe abortions occur worldwide. About 78,000 women, the vast majority of them in developing countries, die from the consequences of these abortions, and untold numbers suffer severe health effects. Even though abortion is legal in almost all countries to save a woman's life and in three-fifths of countries to protect her physical and mental health, safe abortion services are often not provided by public health systems or are of poor quality. The Global Gag Rule and other damaging U.S. foreign policies use opposition to abortion to deny funding to groups that are working to address the full range women's reproductive health needs—but advocates for women worldwide are building alliances to focus attention on the women who suffer, and often lose their lives, as a result of these restrictive laws and policies.

In collaboration with our partners around the world, IWHC seeks to foster a better understanding of women's experiences of unwanted pregnancy and subsequent abortion, and to dispel myths, stigma, and misinformation. Dictated by women's realities and supported by the knowledge that restrictive abortion laws only serve to force the procedure underground and into the hands of unqualified practitioners, we seek to expand the availability and quality of safe abortion services as part of comprehensive reproductive health policies and programs around the world. To this end, in cooperation with WHO, other international organizations, and our colleagues in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, we have helped to introduce "Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance"—a groundbreaking WHO manual on how to set up safe services—to service providers, policymakers, and advocates in a range of countries and regions. Read more>>
 

IWHC is supporting a number of organizations and networks focusing attention on the public health crisis of unsafe abortion in their countries and regions, and working to expand access to safe services. For example:

• In Indonesia, we are supporting the Women's Health Foundation (YKP) to educate national political leaders and decision makers about the importance of a health law that would guarantee women access to reproductive health services, including safe abortion. Read more about YKP and our partners in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa>>
• In Cameroun, we are supporting the Association de Lutte contre les Violences faites aux Femmes (Association for the Struggle Against Violence Against Women or ALVF), which addresses violence against women in Cameroun by providing individual women with the refuge, support, and information they need to confront violence in their own lives. Read more about ALVF and our partners in Africa>>
• In Brazil, we are supporting Católicas pelo Direito de Decidir (CDD-Brasil), or Catholics for the Right to Decide, which has been working on a campaign to secure access to safe and legal abortions in public hospitals. Read more about the CDD-Brasil and our partners in Latin America>>