This archive report was first published on 15 November 2019.
Published on November 15, 2019, women's rights groups from around the world have urged governments to make safe abortion a priority under maternal healthcare.
At the ICPD25 forum in Nairobi, the groups emphasized that continued criminalization of safe abortion hinders efforts to provide quality maternal care, particularly in the developing world.
Dr. AnaCristina Gonzalez Velez, a member of the Global Doctors for Choice, noted that women in Latin America, Asia, and Africa live in countries with the most restrictive abortion laws, where maternal deaths remain a significant issue.
"Maternal morbidity is still a concern in these regions because women are accessing unsafe abortions due to restrictive regulations and lack of access," Dr. Velez said.
Ms. Sivananthi Thanenthiran, executive director of Arrow, argued that legalizing safe abortion is not a foreign imposition on African countries, but rather a necessary step towards improving maternal healthcare.
"It has been argued in some regions that legalizing safe abortion is a foreign imposition on African countries, but when you look at our entire legal system, you find that it is actually a foreign imposition to start with," Ms. Thanenthiran said.
Women's organizations also emphasized the importance of allowing women to make their own decisions regarding abortion, free from stigma and societal pressure.
