Introduction

When abortion is criminalized, the law can punish people who receive abortion care, as well as people who provide it. Even if abortion is allowed in certain cases, fear of criminal penalties can stop people from seeking care and make doctors afraid to provide it… 

Decriminalizing abortion doesn’t mean removing all laws around it, it just means taking it out of the criminal justice system. Decisions about abortion become medical decisions, not legal ones. This is different from legalization, which allows abortion under certain conditions but can still impose penalties if those aren’t met. Decriminalization, by contrast, removes abortion entirely from the criminal code, ensuring no one faces criminal punishment for seeking or providing it.

Countries that have decriminalized abortion treat it like any other health service. This helps ensure safety, privacy, and access to care without shame or punishment.

Why decriminalization matters

Abortion decriminalization matters.

1. It protects people’s health and lives: Research shows that criminalizing abortions doesn’t keep people from getting them. In fact, it doesn’t lower the abortion rate at all–it just makes them more dangerous.Where abortion is highly restricted, people are far more likely to undergo unsafe procedures, leading to serious health risks and even death. Decriminalization helps people get safe medical treatment without fear of arrest or punishment.
2. It reduces stigma: Laws that criminalize abortion send a message that it’s wrong or shameful. Decriminalizing abortion helps remove that shame. It lets people make the best choices for their life and health without fear of judgement.
3. It improves access to care: When abortion is decriminalized, more doctors and clinics are willing to provide it. That means more people can get the care they need, when they need it. No long travel or complicated legal hoops–just healthcare.
4. It also protects confidentiality: when abortion is treated as healthcare, patients and providers don’t have to fear police involvement or mandatory reporting. This makes it safer to seek care, ask questions, and access accurate information.

Global progress

The world is moving towards decriminalization—slowly.

Canada is currently the only country that has fully decriminalized abortion, providing a clear example of what’s possible. In Canada,abortion is treated just like any other medical service. There are no criminal penalties for people who have abortions or for the healthcare workers who provide them. This approach makes care  safer, less stressful, and easier to access.

In contrast, many other countries still use criminal laws to control abortion. In some places, people can be jailed for seeking an abortion, regardless of the reason they need treatment. These laws don’t stop people from seeking abortions; they only make it harder and more dangerous to get one.

Around the world, things are moving gradually in the right direction. More than 60 countries have taken steps to decriminalize or liberalize their abortion laws over the past 30 years, while only four have rolled back abortion rights.

Human rights

Abortion decriminalization is a human rights issue.

Access to abortion isn’t just a medical question. Groups like the World Health Organization and the United Nations agree: People have a right to make decisions about their own bodies, including the choice to have an abortion.

Criminalizing abortion violates several human rights:

1. The right to life and health: People deserve access to safe medical care.
2. The right to information: Criminalizing abortion keeps people from knowing what their options are.
3. The right to privacy: Medical choices should stay between a person and their doctor.
4. The right to equality: Access to abortion is a gender equality issue. And criminal laws often deepen other forms of inequality, affecting people of colorpeople with low incomes, and other marginalized groups the most.
5. The right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment: This includes freedom from unsafe abortion and from being forced to give birth.  

Human rights bodies increasingly recognize that full decriminalization is necessary to protect these basic human rights. Decriminalization aligns abortion law with human rights standards and public health evidence. It sends a message that everyone deserves safe, respectful care—no matter who they are or why they need an abortion.

Reproductive freedom

It’s a powerful step toward reproductive freedom.

Decriminalizing abortion is a powerful step toward fairness, safety, and equality for all. It doesn’t mean that abortion will be unregulated, but it does mean that–like with other medical procedures–people won’t face jail time for making personal decisions about their health.

When abortion is treated as a crime, it creates fear and confusion and worsens inequalities in access to necessary medical care. When treated as healthcare, people get the support they need without shame, delay, or risking their life, health, and future. 

The goal is simple: Let people make decisions about their own bodies with the help of healthcare providers, not lawmakers. That’s what reproductive freedom looks like, and what decriminalization helps make possible.