Abortion Access for All

In our last report, we celebrated the decriminalization of abortion in Columbia with you. Shortly after that, we mourned the loss of basic reproductive freedoms in the U.S. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, millions of Americans lost fundamental rights to health care, to bodily autonomy, and to freedom. Ipas condemned this decision and vowed to continue to advocate for access to safe, legal abortion everywhere because we believe everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should be able to determine their own future.

We know from our work around the world that criminalizing abortion does not stop abortions. But they do become harder to get, especially for Black, indigenous, and people of color, as well as those struggling to make ends meet. Women face greater economic struggles, and their children have fewer resources. Women, pregnant people, and providers will go to jail. Many people will be forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. Everyone will have less freedom.

We also know that what happens in the U.S. often has ripple effects globally. In Africa, the movement for women’s rights has been gaining ground. The U.S. telling the world that abortion access is not a human right undermines this important progress. In July, the Kenyan government launched a 10-year national plan for reproductive health care that fails to address the need to expand abortion access, a clear indicator of the weight U.S policies carry in Kenya and around the world. We know that abortion opponents here will push even harder now to restrict people’s access, even though abortion is legal in Kenya under some circumstances.

Although we are discouraged by the fall of Roe, we are no less committed to fighting to expand rights and access globally. Ipas has worked for years with a diverse coalition of global reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations to advance the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act, which was introduced to the U.S. Senate this summer by Senator Cory Booker. This is the first-ever proposed legislation to repeal the Helms Amendment, a 50-year-old policy that restricts the use of U.S. foreign assistance funds for abortion. The Helms Amendment denies millions of women access to abortion, even in countries where they have a legal right to this essential health care. As Senator Cory Booker said in a press release announcing the proposed law, “we must take immediate action to mitigate the global impact of Roe’s overturn.” This legislation can do exactly that.

We’re proud to be part of this historic moment, and to continue the fight to expand abortion access with our partners around the world. We’re so grateful you’re with us.

Links:

• It's Time to End the Helms Amendment
• The US is Dangerously Out of Step on Abortion Access
• Reducing the harm of U.S. foreign policies

At Ipas, we believe in a world where every person has bodily autonomy and can determine their own future.

Did you know that In Latin America, more than 97% of girls and women of reproductive age, live in countries that restrict or completely prohibit abortion, further contributing to increasing maternal mortality rates in the region? Additionally, 75% of the unsafe abortions occur in areas where law criminalizes women, whereas, in areas where abortion is legal and accessible, 9 of 10 procedures are performed safely.

Across Latin America, women and girls are systematically denied their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Ipas believes in a world where every woman and girl has the right and ability to determine her own sexuality and reproductive health. To achieve this vision, in Ipas CAM we work with diverse partners in 9 countries to ensure that women, girls, and other people who can become pregnant have improved access to safe abortion and contraception. Guided by a commitment to human rights, innovation, and sustainability, Ipas has helped to improve SRHR and gender equality for people living within a range of restrictive abortion settings, including Latin America.

We employ an ecosystem approach to our work, which places women and other people who need safe abortion and contraception at the center of all that we do and includes work in the health, social, and legal sectors. Ipas has deep experience in supporting our partners in civil society, feminist and social movements, and government to catalyze legal and policy changes that support SRHR; providing technical support to health systems to implement gender-sensitive, evidence-based abortion and contraceptive care; and conducting action-oriented research that centers the perspectives and needs of those seeking abortion care, including migrant women and girls in Latin America and individuals contending with climate change.

Some of the milestones we have achieved in this last period are:

• Between July 2021 and May 2022, 7 Mexican states decriminalized abortion. We worked with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to implement the training and supply systems needed to translate these legal wins into real access to abortion in 6 states. In Oaxaca, we helped establish abortion services in 7 primary care and secondary-level clinics, as well as an internet microsite with information on access to abortion, including ASC. In Hidalgo, Ipas and the MoH are working to establish legal guidance for abortion at the primary care level.  
• In Argentina, we helped the MoH update the national abortion protocol, build a national registry system, and develop providers’ capacity to use these tools. In Buenos Aires Province, Ipas expanded abortion access to more than 500 primary care facilities in 130 municipalities. We helped 11,935 pregnant women access abortion care between August and December 2021. Additionally, we supported local partners to create and disseminate the "The Right to Abortion is Law" campaign. 
• Ipas has helped 10,879 women access safe abortions in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Nicaragua. This milestone was achieved through our support to each country’s health system, including the dissemination of virtual capacity strengthening resources and/or training for 6,332 health professionals in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Nicaragua as well as the launch of Bolivia’s first public SRHR telehealth service.