FIGO Statement for International Safe Abortion Day
FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) is celebrating and supporting International Safe Abortion Day on September 28th 2019.
FIGO regards reproductive choice, including access to safe abortion services, as a basic and non-negotiable tool for ensuring the human rights of every woman, not just in one region or country, but globally.
When an abortion is provided by qualified providers in appropriate settings, it is one of the safest medical procedures known to science. But it is unacceptable that each year up to 13 percent of maternal deaths worldwide result from unsafe abortion.
Being able to control fertility and make choices about when and how many children to have is fundamental to wider efforts on gender equality, health and prosperity. Women will not be equal until they can control if, when and how many children they have, including having access to safe abortion.
It is right that the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage includes commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality. We urge leaders to uphold these rights and make concrete commitments for progress at the upcoming Nairobi Summit on the 25th Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development.
FIGO’s projects support 132 National Member Societies to be strong advocates for sexual health and rights in their contexts, and works to ensure promises made in global policy spaces translate into tangible differences in the lives of women and girls.
FIGO will continue to support and champion the role of healthcare professionals in advocating for these rights at all levels.
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