In short, tracking the legal status of abortion shows us where women and girls are treated with equality and are afforded the opportunity to direct the course of their own lives. It also reveals how likely a woman is to die from unsafe abortion, whether girls will complete their education, and the limits on women and girls’ ability to participate in public and political life. The legal status of abortion indicates more than just where women and girls are legally permitted to decide whether to a pregnancy term or not. Legal restrictions on abortion do not result in fewer abortions, instead they compel women to risk their lives and health by seeking out unsafe abortion care. According to the World Health Organization, 23,000 women die of unsafe abortion each year and tens of thousands more experience significant health complications. The inability to access safe and legal abortion care impacts 700 million women of reproductive age. While a majority of women live in countries where they can exercise their right to abortion, 41 percent of women live under restrictive laws. Human rights bodies have repeatedly condemned restrictive abortion laws as being incompatible with human rights norms.ĩ70 million women, representing 59% of women of reproductive age, live in countries that broadly allow abortion. These instruments ground safe abortion in a constellation of rights, including the rights to life liberty privacy equality and non-discrimination and freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The right to safe and legal abortion is a fundamental human right protected under numerous international and regional human rights treaties and national-level constitutions around the world. Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
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