International Safe Abortion Day Highlights the Need for Safe, Legal and Stigma-free Access to Abortion

International Safe Abortion Day, September 28, draws attention to the need for safe, legal and stigma-free access to abortion care.

The day is also a reminder that while everyone, in every country, deserves access to such care, unsafe abortion is still a leading cause of maternal deaths and serious injuries in countries across the globe.

Did you know? 

• Approximately 45% of all abortions worldwide are unsafe. 
• Over 39,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions worldwide and millions more experience health complications. 
• In developing countries alone, an estimated 7 million women per year were treated in hospital facilities for complications of unsafe abortion. 

Restrictive laws do not eliminate the need for abortion care; instead, they drive people to seek unsafe abortions. It is essential to reform restrictive abortion laws to ensure that everyone can access safe and legal abortion services and make decisions that affect their own lives and futures, free from criminalization. 

The Center’s World’s Abortion Laws Map: Upgraded With New Narratives, Better Interactivity and More  

For 25 years, the Center for Reproductive Rights has been examining and categorizing abortion laws of every country in the globe with its World’s Abortion Laws Map. Updated in real time, this valuable tool has become the go-to resource for abortion-rights stakeholders worldwide.  

The Center has relaunched the World’s Abortion Laws Map with several new features to improve user experience, including enhanced mobile viewing, scrolling narratives, improved map interactivity, greater context on global abortion trends and more.  

After the Center conducts a thorough legal review of each country’s abortion laws and relevant court rulings, it classifies the legality of abortion in countries using five categories, ranging from “on request”  to “prohibited altogether.” The upgraded tool illuminates global trends in abortion rights—including how more than 60 countries have liberalized their laws in recent decades, while just four, including the U.S., have removed legal grounds for abortion.  

Do you know the legal status of abortion in the country where you and your loved ones live or work? Explore the World’s Abortion Laws Map here and find out.

Regional Snapshot

• U.S.: One of only four countries restricting abortion access since 1994, the U.S. is now a global outlier.   
• Latin America and the Caribbean: With the help of the Green Wave, the region saw groundbreaking progress, with important victories in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico. 
• Africa: Twenty-four countries have liberalized their abortion laws since 1994, including 12 countries overturning complete abortion bans.  
• Asia: Countries continue to expand grounds on which abortion is permitted, including in Nepal, South Korea and Thailand.   
• Europe: Several European countries have expanded laws permitting abortion on request, and restrictive abortion laws have been overturned in Ireland, Northern Ireland and San Marino.  

Learn more here with the World’s Abortion Laws Map.