1 August 2023
Jameen Kaur, FIGO Advocating for Safe Abortion Project, and Julia Hanne, Options Consultancy Services Ltd
Increasing access to safe abortion reduces maternal mortality and disability. However, currently, 45% of all abortions globally are unsafe and are a catastrophic public health problem, accounting for up to 13% of preventable maternal deaths worldwide and causing hundreds of thousands of survivors to live with preventable long-term complications.
The World Health Organisation states that in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a medical abortion can safely be self-managed by the pregnant person outside of a health care facility (e.g., at home), in whole or in part, and with access to quality medicines, accurate information and the support from a trained health worker (if needed).