We need a better way to protect reproductive rights - everywhere

The US election put reproductive rights at the heart of a political ballot. But the impact of the result will be felt far beyond America. Millions of women and girls around the world who didn’t get a vote will, almost certainly, see their access to reproductive healthcare shrink, or disappear altogether. It shouldn’t be this way. 

The last time President Trump was in office, his administration implemented the largest expansion of the Mexico City Policy (known as the Global Gag Rule) in its history. President Biden repealed it – but it looks likely Trump will bring it back. If re-enacted, the policy will prevent international organisations from receiving US government funding if they provide abortion services, or even just provide information about abortion. In countries where the provision of basic healthcare is dependent on international funding, the regressive and restrictive impact of US anti-abortion policy is profound.  

Not only is access to safe abortion dramatically reduced under the Gag Rule, provision of other forms of sexual and reproductive health care also drops significantly. In the absence of readily-available reproductive health services like contraception and health screening, many more women will have unplanned pregnancies, and many health conditions will go untreated. The consequences of decisions made in Washington for women around the world are life-changing, and too often life-threatening.  

That needs to change. Women everywhere must be able to make their own choices and exercise their right to reproductive and bodily autonomy, regardless of the outcome of political contests.  

FIGO – the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics – calls on all governments to fully decriminalise safe abortion and adopt permanent legislation to protect women and girls’ reproductive rights, regardless of election outcomes.  

We know this change is possible – we have recently witnessed France making history to enshrine the right to abortion in the country's constitution and we are convinced that other countries will follow. So FIGO will continue to use our global voice to demand that reproductive rights are protected by legislation and funded to ensure universal access.  

We will continue to deliver programmes of advocacy, education and skills training for sexual and reproductive healthcare, including abortion, across the world. And we will stand with our member associations and other defenders of women’s health rights, wherever they are, for as long as it takes. 

Safe abortion is a basic human right that saves lives 

As the leading global organisation of gynaecologists and obstetricians, FIGO champions reproductive and bodily autonomy, including safe abortion, as a basic and non-negotiable human right of every woman and girl in the world.  

Safe abortion is time-sensitive essential health care - a third of all pregnancies end in induced abortion. It must be available on request, universally affordable, and be accessible as early as possible and as late as necessary.  

When they can’t get timely access to comprehensive reproductive health services, many women who want to get pregnant will struggle to do so. For some women, continuing with a pregnancy can be life-threatening, so without abortion care their own lives are in the balance. And where women can’t access safe abortion care, many will resort to unsafe means. OBGYNs and other health care providers around the world bear witness every day to the consequences: the preventable deaths and serious illnesses of women who couldn’t access safe reproductive care.  

As Dr Laura Gil, Chair of the FIGO Committee on Safe Abortion explains:  

“More restrictive laws do not reduce abortions, they just make abortions unsafe. Unsafe abortion remains a catastrophic public health problem accounting for up to 13 percent of preventable maternal mortality worldwide – that is nearly 39,000 preventable deaths every year” 

Standing together to safeguard reproductive rights 

Health professionals have always been powerful voices in the fight against preventable maternal deaths caused by unsafe abortion practices, and a wider lack of effective reproductive health care. Informed by their first-hand experiences and clinical insights, their message is loud and clear: we must safeguard access to sexual and reproductive health and rights to reduce preventable deaths - including from unsafe abortion.  

The clinicians FIGO represents have long suffered the devastating consequences of working under restrictive laws, as well as the stigma and moral distress that working in those conditions bring.  All healthcare professionals in this field routinely face violence, intimidation and discrimination, inside and out of the workplace for simply doing their jobs. We must put an end to this toxic environment once and for all. 

Over the years, FIGO has contributed to international advocacy campaigns raising awareness and calling for change. Recent initiatives have included work to defend and protect SRHR healthcare workers and activists, our West-African campaign named Je Suis Safe, contributions to UN work on telemedicine and conscientious objection and submitting amicus briefs to prevent regressive national policies. FIGO also supported the creation of a new African consortium for abortion rights called CATALYSTS.  

FIGO will continue to collaborate closely with our member associations, volunteers and partners across the world to protect and progress women’s reproductive rights and create safer work environments for healthcare professionals. Together, we will work with women, health workers, governments, human rights organisations and faith-based leaders to bring down barriers to reproductive healthcare, including safe abortion care – from legal hurdles and health systems challenges to social stigma. 

As FIGO Chief Executive, SheDecides Champion and women’s rights advocate, I am proud of FIGO’s strong position in support of legally-protected comprehensive reproductive health rights. FIGO will continue to stand with our courageous colleagues in the US and around the world. Together we will demand that access to universal reproductive rights and care – including abortion – are permanently protected in law and no longer subject to electoral whims.   

As we come together to renew our energy to fight for a world where reproductive rights are permanently protected, FIGO President Prof Kihara Anne-Beatrice's words remind us we all have a vital role to play. 

“My fellow OBGYNs, health care workers, advocates and allies: may you never forget your power and duty to stand as allies to defend the right of all women and girls to access safe abortion – time-sensitive essential health care.”