On May 2, a leaked draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court hinted at a likely overturning of the landmark 1973 decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, which effectively legalized abortion across all U.S. states and allowed women to choose to have the procedure without excessive government restriction. Fifty years later, this latest attack on reproductive freedoms could have ripple effects across the U.S. and the rest of the world.
Globally, over 120 million unintended pregnancies occurred each year between 2015 and 2019, 61% of which ended in abortion. Abortion services have been transformed by access to telehealth and medication abortion, which currently account for 54% of abortions in the U.S. In countries that restrict access to the procedure, the percentage of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion has increased over the past 30 years, from 36% between 1990 and 1994 to 50% between 2015 and 2019.
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Access to abortion care is a human right, essential for guaranteeing the health and reproductive rights of women and girls everywhere. As champions of reproductive rights, we must work hard to make these rights a reality and continue fighting to not just maintain these wins, but also build on them across the African continent.
While the U.S. may be regressing and denying the human rights of women and girls, we now look to countries such as Benin and Kenya, which have recently signaled their commitment to protecting and fulfilling the rights of women and girls to access abortion care.
In March, a high court in Kenya ruled that abortion care is a fundamental right under the country’s constitution and that it is illegal to arbitrarily arrest and prosecute patients and health care providers for seeking or offering abortion services. The court further confirmed that criminalizing abortion under the penal code without a constitutional statutory framework impairs women’s reproductive rights, and it directed the Kenyan Parliament to enact an abortion law and public policy framework that aligns with the constitution.
Benin has also made a groundbreaking move in expanding access to abortion care, thanks to the tireless work of activists such as those at the Association Béninoise pour la Promotion de la Famille, or ABPF. A new law allows abortion care in cases of “material, educational, professional or moral distress,” which were excluded previously.
These incredible advances were made possible through the efforts of local health and rights organizations, including the Reproductive Health Network Kenya, or RHNK — a network of health professionals committed to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as advocacy and service provision. As organizations providing SRHR services, RHNK and ABPF have faced numerous challenges, including the arrest, harassment, and extortion of health providers by the police.
Worldwide, fundamental reproductive freedoms are under attack by extremist movements and lawmakers opposed to gender equality and rights. We know from our experience in SRHR work that these groups have fought long and hard to control women’s and girls’ bodies and deny them their reproductive freedom.
These groups deny scientific findings and play politics with the bodily integrity of women and girls. They challenge well-grounded evidence that banning abortion does not stop women from choosing to have the procedure, regrettably forcing them to turn to potentially dangerous alternatives. These groups would also oblige health care providers to choose between saving a woman’s life and facing criminal charges. There is no such thing as preventing abortion; there is only banning safe abortion.
We are more committed than ever to reducing deaths among women and girls who lack access to medical abortion and are forced to turn to unsafe methods for fear of arrest and harassment. In partnership with other powerful voices in the region and beyond, we will continue to supply and support safe and legal abortion care everywhere, challenge regressive laws, and protect the rights of women and girls to have autonomy over their own bodies, including to safely end a pregnancy if they so wish.
We must take a stand against the erosion of a woman’s fundamental right to her own bodily autonomy. Working in silos is no longer an option. Those of us in the global feminist movement and SRHR ecosystem must come together, protect hard-fought wins, mobilize, and strategize to protect the rights of women and girls, including their right to safe abortion care.
About the authors
Nelly Munyasia
Nelly Munyasia is the executive director at Reproductive Health Network Kenya, a network of trained and committed providers ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. She is a trained nurse-midwife and a health systems expert, with a commitment to championing and advocating for quality sexual and reproductive health for women, girls, and other young people.
Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry
Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry is the Africa regional director at the International Planned Parenthood Federation. She has over 30 years of international human rights experience and leads her team to advocate, promote, and deliver sexual and reproductive health and rights in 42 sub-Saharan countries. Her leadership helps ensure that IPPF’s Africa regional office, through locally owned organizations, protects and safeguards the rights of the most vulnerable in society.
