Teen Girls Need Access to Safe and Legal Abortion
On International Day of the Girl, Imagine Life with Reproductive Rights Guaranteed
Margaret Wurth, Senior Researcher, Children's Rights Division MargaretWurth
October 11, 2019
Today, on International Day of the Girl, we have an opportunity to reflect on what life could be like if girls around the world had access to safe and legal abortion. I’ve done research in countries with some of the world’s harshest abortion laws. I’ve met girls and young women whose lives were derailed by an unplanned pregnancy during adolescence.
“Lucely,” from the Dominican Republic, became pregnant at age 16. “Everything ended right there,” she said. Abortion is banned in all circumstances in the country, so she couldn’t get a safe and legal abortion. She tried using a home remedy to end the pregnancy, but it didn’t work. She gave birth, and without a support network to help her, she dropped out of school.
Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/11/teen-girls-need-access-safe-and-legal-abortion