Safe Abortion Day 2023: Access for All Key to Empowering Individuals with Reproductive Rights

New Delhi, September 29, 2023: On the occasion of International Safe Abortion Day, the Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India (FRHS India) reiterates its commitment to ensuring that all women and girls have access to safe and legal abortion services.

In early September, Mexico’s Supreme Court struck down a federal law criminalizing abortion, reaffirming an earlier ruling that criminal penalties for abortion were unconstitutional and allowing the federal healthcare system to provide services. This is a major victory for everyone fighting for women’s rights.

While abortion has been legal in India for decades, there is still much work to be done to ensure that all women and girls have access to safe and legal abortion services. To date, abortion remains a taboo topic in India, and abortion seekers are often stigmatized. There is also a lack of access to contraception and equitable healthcare services.

Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India (FRHS India) is playing a crucial role in this movement. The organization is working to increase awareness about safe abortion and to challenge the stigma and discrimination that women and girls face when seeking these services. FRHS India is also working to improve access to safe abortion services, including medical abortion. Medical abortion is a safe and effective way to terminate a pregnancy up to 12 weeks. It is also a more private and dignified option for women than surgical abortion. However, medical abortion is not yet widely available in India due to regulatory hurdles.

During a roundtable hosted, FRHS India called on the government to remove these barriers and to make medical abortion more accessible to women and girls. The organization also called on the government to invest in comprehensive sexuality education and to provide all women and girls with access to contraception.