Introduction

Abortion is one of the world’s most common health care services. It’s considered an essential service by the World Health Organization—and when carried out properly, it’s also a safe and simple one.  

Almost 30% of all pregnancies end in abortions, and they happen all around the world: in places where they’re legal, restricted, and altogether banned. In fact, the legal status of abortion makes little difference in overall abortion rates.   

But laws and policies make a huge difference when it comes to safety. Where legal restrictions put safe, quality abortion services out of reach, people are forced to seek care elsewhere. Nearly half of the world’s 73 million annual abortions are unsafe—resulting in tens of thousands of deaths per year and accounting for up to 13% of maternal deaths.  

The numbers speak for themselves: Safe abortion is a matter of life and death. 

The good news? More and more countries are recognizing that people have a right to safe abortion, just like they have a right to other essential health care. Despite the rise of anti-rights movements looking to reverse progress on abortion, the global trend is toward increased protections and access—paving the way for a future where all abortion is safe abortion.

Nigeria

1. In Nigeria, a court victory guarantees abortion rights for survivors of sexual violence.

A 2025 court decision marked a crucial step toward abortion reform in Nigeria, where unsafe abortion claims roughly 6,000 lives each year. 

Under Nigeria’s current laws, abortion is legal only in life-threatening emergencies. Most people are forced to seek illegal care, and across the country 3 in 5 abortions are unsafe.  

But this June, the Federal High Court acknowledged the right to safe abortion for victims of sexual violence. The decision came in a case brought by the Reproductive Justice Initiative Foundation with support from the Center for Reproductive Rights, arguing that pregnancy resulting from sexual violence violates the victim’s right to physical and mental health.  

This is a major victory in a country with high rates of sexual violence. By recognizing safe abortion as a human rights issue, it sets a major legal precedent that could be used to further expand abortion access across Nigeria. 

Nepal

2. In Nepal, a decades-long battle drives sweeping abortion reform.

The fight for abortion in Nepal is one of the great reproductive rights success stories of the past 20 years. Today, its abortion laws are among the most liberal in the region. But two decades ago, up to one fifth of its women prisoners were there for abortion-related crimes. 

Nepal also one had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with an estimated half of those deaths resulting from unsafe abortion. This public health crisis finally led to a 2002 law legalizing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and 18 in cases of rape or incest.  

Barriers like cost, however, still severely limited access. In 2007, a national Center partner filed a case on behalf of a woman who couldn’t pay for an abortion, leading to a landmark ruling that the government had to guarantee access to safe and affordable care. But as of 2014, a lack of follow-through meant that less than half of the estimated 323,000 abortions performed that year were safe.  

In 2018, the Center worked with its partners and advocates to drive the passage of a new law establishing abortion as a fundamental right. When the government again failed to act, the Center supported a lawsuit to hold it accountable, and by the end of 2022 abortion had been made free in all government health facilities. The country also adopted guidelines to advance adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, which were reaffirmed and strengthened by the Supreme Court in a separate lawsuit, Forum for Women, Law, and Development v. Nepal.

Since 2000, millions of people have gained the right to safe abortion—and the country’s maternal mortality rate has dropped by 71%. This remarkable progress is a testament to the dedication of activists and advocates nationwide. 

England

3. In England and Wales, a landmark reform seeks to strike down a 19th century law.

This June, the UK House of Commons took an important step towards long-overdue reform by voting to repeal a Victorian-era law that criminalizes women who obtain abortions outside legal pathways in England and Wales. 

In most parts of the UK, laws do not allow abortion on request, and in England, Scotland and Wales laws only allow abortion on broad socio-economic grounds and following approval by two doctors. In practice, because of the way the law is interpreted, most women can access abortion care when they need it. But the continued criminalization of women under the 1861 law leaves them exposed to legal risk, deters some from seeking medical attention, and creates uncertainty for healthcare providers. 

Over the past few years, there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of investigations and prosecutions of women for ending their own pregnancies, including a number of criminal convictions. 

The amendment passed in a landslide, with support from almost 75% of members. While it still needs to clear further stages before becoming law, the vote marks a critical breakthrough in the effort to end the criminalization of women seeking abortion care. 

And that’s not Europe’s only law reform to improve access to abortion care. Just this year, Denmark and Norway extended the legal timeframe for abortion on request and removed the parental consent requirement for minors; Luxembourg abolished its mandatory waiting period; and the Netherlands made medication abortion available through general practitioners. 

Across the region, lawmakers are continuing to align their countries’ abortion laws with international human rights standards and public health guidelines—helping to ensure quality abortion care for all.  

Read the report: Europe Abortion Laws: Policies, Progress, and Challenges

Latin America

4. In Latin America, landmark wins protect girls against forced pregnancy and motherhood.

Latin America has historically been home to some of the world’s most regressive abortion laws. But a wave of grassroots activism has started to turn the tide. 

One key movement, known as “Son niñas, no madres” (“They are girls, not mothers”), made history this year with four milestone legal victories in cases that drew attention to the negative impacts of the region’s restrictive laws. 

The cases, Norma v. Ecuador, Susana v. Nicaragua, Lucía v. Nicaragua, and Fátima v. Guatemala, all involved girls who were raped at or below the age of 13. Denied abortion care, each was forced into pregnancy and motherhood.  

The Center, in a collaborative effort with local co-litigating organizations, brought complaints on each girl’s behalf to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which issued decisions in January and June 2025. In these landmark rulings, the Committee found that the denial of abortion care had violated the girls’ human rights, directing states to amend their laws to ensure access to safe, legal, and effective abortion. They also called for reparations to the victims, as well as proactive efforts to prevent and provide comprehensive care in cases of sexual violence.

Reaching far beyond national and regional borders, the Committee’s rulings apply across 173 states, strengthening the global legal framework for abortion.

United States

5. Around the U.S., courts block harmful state restrictions on abortion care.

Courts issued major decisions earlier this year in Arizona and Michigan, removing key barriers to abortion access.  

Despite the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the majority of the U.S. public supports the right to abortion—and voters have been making that known at the ballot box. Michigan voters passed a state constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion in 2022, and Arizona voters followed suit in 2024.  

But state laws restricting abortion remained on the books in both states. In Michigan, this included a requirement that patients receive biased, stigmatizing information and then wait 24 hours before obtaining an abortion, as well as a restriction preventing certain qualified clinicians from providing abortion. A statute in Arizona criminalized virtually all abortion care after 15 weeks.  

The Center filed lawsuits last year in both states, challenging these restrictions as unconstitutional. 

This March, an Arizona judge permanently blocked the state’s 15-week abortion ban, allowing Arizona providers to again care for their patients safely and without fear of criminal charges. And in Michigan, a court struck down three of the challenged restrictions this past May.   

“It’s about time that these unnecessary and stigmatizing barriers to care are finally thrown out for good,” said Renee Chelian, executive director of Northland Family Planning Centers, one of the plaintiffs in the Michigan lawsuit. “Our patients no longer have to worry that they may not be able to get the time-sensitive care they need.” 

Our fight

Our fight

Everyone has a right to safe abortion. Like any essential health service, people need abortion care everywhere—regardless of what the law says. Putting safe abortions out of reach doesn’t keep people from having them. It just keeps people from having them safely.  

Safe abortion saves lives, and the Center will keep fighting until every abortion is a safe one.