When women face unintended pregnancy and don’t have access to safe abortion care, some are forced to resort to an unsafe abortion method, putting their health and lives at risk. The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s definition of unsafe abortion is as follows:

 

“An abortion is unsafe when it is carried out either by a person lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both.”

 

The least safe conditions are when an abortion is carried out by untrained people using dangerous or invasive methods. A leading cause of maternal deaths, unsafe abortion can be devastating to women, their families and communities.

 

No one should have to risk their life or health to determine their own future. Abortion care is one of the most safe and common forms of healthcare worldwide. But to this day, abortion continues to be stigmatised and legally restricted in many countries, preventing?many from accessing safe abortion care.

 

Women and girls who want to end their pregnancy may face:

 

Barriers to accessing safe abortion don’t stop women wanting or needing an abortion. Evidence shows that restrictions don’t prevent abortion, they just make them less safe—forcing women to turn to dangerous methods, leading to injuries and sometimes death.?

 

Unsafe abortion remains one of the leading causes of maternal deaths around the world, despite being almost entirely preventable.

 

There are immediate and long-term health risks of having an unsafe abortion—the toll on women is devastating. This year, over 9 million women will face complications as a result of unsafe abortion including life-long injuries, severe disability, heavy bleeding, damage to internal organs, or losing the ability to become pregnant in the future. 22,800 of these women will die.

 

And it’s not just physical danger at risk. Barriers to safe abortion access and the stigma associated with abortion are detrimental to a woman’s mental wellbeing throughout her lifetime, as she battles with the notion that choices about her reproductive health are not her own.

 

There are also economic consequences, with medical costs forcing women into making a financial sacrifice (e.g. using their life savings), or simply making abortion inaccessible to those with fewer resources. When abortion is restricted and stigma is rife, it’s often marginalised and poor communities that are most affected. They are less likely to be able to access private healthcare or travel to other places where abortion care is safe and legal.

 

Determining your own future should not come at such a physical, mental, and financial cost. It simply doesn’t have to be this way—if we break down all the unnecessary barriers, we could live in a world where no abortion is unsafe. That is what MSI is working towards.

 

Every minute of every day, 67 women around the world resort to an unsafe abortion. This means today, 96,000 women will risk their lives for the right to choose their own future.

 

msichoices.org