Abortion care is health care, and health is a human right
This International Safe Abortion Day (ISAD), the
World Health Organization (WHO) and HRP (the Human Reproduction Programme) are
proud to promote the fundamental importance of access to safe abortion care for the health and rights of
women and girls through a photo exhibit co-hosted by the United Nations at the
Palais des Nations in Geneva, 25-30 September, with an event on 28 September at
13:00.
The exhibit is comprised of photos from Moldova, Nepal, Pakistan and Sierra Leone by local female photographers, with an expanded digital photo exhibit here. The photos on display show the role people play in their own sexual and reproductive health, as well as the life-saving, life-changing impact of healthcare workers committed to delivering quality comprehensive abortion care, including information, abortion management, and post-abortion care.
“We should let the evidence guide us, and center all of our policies, recommendations and service delivery on the needs of women, girls, and other people seeking care. This comes out clearly in the WHO abortion care guideline,” said Dr Bela Ganatra, WHO Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH), including HRP.
“Additionally, lately, we have seen so many people
sharing their experiences of how abortion care transformed their lives. Many
individuals are speaking up when they've never spoken up before for fear of the
stigma that this issue still carries. [For healthcare workers], it's not always
easy because of the circumstances around laws and access. It's really important
that these experiences are used as pieces of evidence as important as the big
data and numbers, and that we centralize our decision-making in terms of
listening and supporting the real people whose lives are affected by these
healthcare decisions.”
Access to the highest attainable standard of health,
including sexual and reproductive health, is a core human right. The ability to
decide if and when to have children, and access to safe, timely, affordable,
respectful and person-centred abortion care, including information and
post-abortion care, helps to safeguard the health and well-being of women,
girls, their families and their communities.
Health is a human right, and abortion care is health
care. Promoting and protecting access to quality abortion care is essential to
achieve a world where everyone is able to access the highest standards of
sexual and reproductive health services, and reach their full potential.
Learn more on the WHO health topic page and the accompanying fact sheet. Also view the most recent Science in 5 here. To read more stories on how WHO abortion care recommendations can be concretely used in countries to improve equitable access to care, download our five Abortion Care Implementation Stories here. You can also view our webinar on applying storytelling to document the impact of evidence-based
abortion care programmes.