Unsafe abortions still kill thousands of women around world, say experts

Call for global day of action for access to safe, legal abortion

A group of United Nations human rights experts called on nations across the world to repeal the restrictive abortion laws and policies, and all punitive measures and discriminatory barriers to access safe reproductive health services.
The experts also expressed their support for the call of several non-governmental organisations to make September 28 an official UN day for safe abortion worldwide, to urge Governments to decriminalise abortion and provide reproductive health services in a legal, safe and affordable manner.
The call came just ahead of the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion that falls on September 28, according to a message received here from Geneva on Tuesday night.
“In the twenty-first century, unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity,” they observed in a statement.
According to the World Health Organisation, about 22 million unsafe abortions take place each year worldwide and an estimated 47,000 women die annually from complications resulting from the resort to unsafe practices for termination of pregnancy.
“We cannot tolerate the severe violation of women’s human rights on the basis of their sex and biological differences. We cannot tolerate the high incidence of women’s and girls’ preventable deaths resulting from maternity-related issues, including from unsafe abortion,” the message read.
They urged States to repeal restrictive laws and policies in relation to abortion, which do not meet the international human rights law requirements and that have discriminatory and public health impacts, and to eliminate all punitive measures and discriminatory barriers to access safe reproductive health services.
“These laws and policies violate women’s human right to health and negate their autonomy in decision-making about their own bodies.”
Criminalisation of abortion and failure to provide adequate access to services for termination of an unwanted pregnancy are forms of discrimination based on sex. Restrictive legislation which denies access to safe abortion is one of most damaging ways of instrumentalising women’s bodies and a grave violation of women’s human rights.
The consequences for women are severe, with women sometimes paying with their lives.
They said unwanted pregnancies cannot be totally prevented since no contraceptive method is 100 per cent  effective, and women may be exposed to sexual violence.
The experts recommended the good practice found in many countries which provide women’s access to safe abortion services, on request during the first trimester of pregnancy.
“We insist on international legal requirements that women can access abortion at the very least in cases of risk to their life or health, including mental health, rape, incest and fatal impairment of the foetus during the first trimester and later.”
In the past 30 years, women’s rights groups have mobilised on 28 September, named ‘the Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion’, to urge their Governments to decriminalise the termination of pregnancy, end the stigma and discrimination around the practice and provide such services in a legal, safe and affordable manner.
Originally from Latin America and the Caribbean, 28 September, which commemorates the abolition of slavery for children born to slave mothers in Brazil, was renamed as the day of the ‘free womb’ and the movement spread to all the other regions in the world.
While slavery has now been abolished, there is still a long way to go before the bodies and wombs of women around the world will stop being instrumentalised in the name of patriarchal morals or traditions and for political, economic or cultural purposes.
“We join our voices to the strong and brave ones of many non-governmental organisations which have called for safe abortion worldwide by requesting that 28 September be made an UN official international day on safe abortion,” said the experts.
The UN experts are Alda Facio, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice;

Unsafe abortions still kill thousands of women around world, say experts

Call for global day of action for access to safe, legal abortion

A group of United Nations human rights experts called on nations across the world to repeal the restrictive abortion laws and policies, and all punitive measures and discriminatory barriers to access safe reproductive health services. The experts also expressed their support for the call of several non-governmental organisations to make September 28 an official UN day for safe abortion worldwide, to urge Governments to decriminalise abortion and provide reproductive health services in a legal, safe and affordable manner. The call came just ahead of the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion that falls on September 28, according to a message received here from Geneva on Tuesday night. In the twenty-first century, unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, they observed in a statement. According to the World Health Organisation, about 22 million unsafe abortions take place each year worldwide and an estimated 47,000 women die annually from complications resulting from the resort to unsafe practices for termination of pregnancy. We cannot tolerate the severe violation of womens human rights on the basis of their sex and biological differences. We cannot tolerate the high incidence of womens and girls preventable deaths resulting from maternity-related issues, including from unsafeabortion, the message read. They urged States to repeal restrictive laws and policies in relation to abortion, which do not meet the international human rights law requirements and that have discriminatory and public health impacts, and to eliminate all punitive measures and discriminatory barriers to access safe reproductive health services. These laws and policies violate womens human right to health and negate their autonomy in decision-making about their own bodies. Criminalisation of abortion and failure to provide adequate access to services for termination of an unwanted pregnancy are forms of discrimination based on sex. Restrictive legislation which denies access to safe abortion is one of most damaging ways of instrumentalising womens bodies and a grave violation of womens human rights. The consequences for women are severe, with women sometimes paying with their lives. They said unwanted pregnancies cannot be totally prevented since no contraceptive method is 100 per cent effective, and women may be exposed to sexual violence. The experts recommended the good practice found in many countries which provide womens access to safe abortion services, on request during the first trimester of pregnancy. We insist on international legal requirements that women can access abortion at the very least in cases of risk to their life or health, including mental health, rape, incest and fatal impairment of the foetus during the first trimester and later. In the past 30 years, womens rights groups have mobilised on 28 September, named the Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, to urge their Governments to decriminalise the termination of pregnancy, end the stigma and discrimination around the practice and provide such services in a legal, safe and affordable manner. Originally from Latin America and the Caribbean, 28 September, which commemorates the abolition of slavery for children born to slave mothers in Brazil, was renamed as the day of the free womb and the movement spread to all the other regions in the world. While slavery has now been abolished, there is still a long way to go before the bodies and wombs of women around the world will stop being instrumentalised in the name of patriarchal morals or traditions and for political, economic or cultural purposes. We join our voices to the strong and brave ones of many non-governmental organisations which have called for safe abortion worldwide by requesting that 28 September be made an UN official international day on safe abortion, said the experts. The UN experts are Alda Facio, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice;