International Women's Health Coalition - IWHC Applauds Exceptional New DFID Policy Promoting Access to Safe Abortion

IWHC Applauds Exceptional New DFID Policy Promoting Access to Safe Abortion

October 15, 209- The International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) applauds the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for its updated policy on safe and unsafe abortion. The updated policy, released October 14, states that access to safe abortion services is a both a "right" and "necessary."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 15, 2009

Contact: Kelly Castagnaro, 646-707-1004, kcastagnaro@iwhc.org

This media release is available in Word form here, and in PDF form here.

UK Department for International Development Issues Exceptional New Policy,
Deems Access to Safe Abortion Both a "Right" and "Necessary"

The International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) applauds the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for its updated policy on safe and unsafe abortion.

The updated policy, released October 14, states that access to safe abortion services is both a "right" and "necessary." Citing unsafe abortion as the cause of 13% of maternal deaths worldwide, the policy states that "this preventable mortality and ill-health due to unsafe abortion is seriously undermining countries' ability to achieve MDG 5 (to improve maternal health) and places a high burden on already over-stretched health systems." The policy also states that in countries where abortion is illegal, DFID will "make the consequences of unsafe abortion more widely understood" and will consider "supporting process of legal and policy reform."

"Access to safe abortion services is fundamental to woman's ability to exercise her rights to control her body, to self-determination, and to maintain her health," said Adrienne Germain, President of the International Women's Health Coalition. "DFID's commitment to women's human rights and its leadership in improving sexual and reproductive health is exceptional and should set a standard for the world's governments. Their support is critical for the many advocates working at local, national, and international levels to rescind or liberalize restrictive abortion laws, and to make safe abortion services available to all who need them. In the 21st century no woman should die or suffer the traumas of an unsafe or illegal abortion."

The International Women's Health Coalition leads global and local actions to secure every woman's right to a just and healthy life. We are creating a world where women are free from discrimination, sexual coercion and violence, and have access to health services and information. Visit www.iwhc.org

Tag it: