Dear friend,

Today, the Center for Reproductive Rights celebrates International Safe Abortion Day, a moment when activists from around world come together to demand safe, accessible, legal, and stigma-free abortion access.

Over the last 25 years, the Center's World Abortion Laws Map has become the go-to resource for abortion-rights stakeholders worldwide as we work collectively to advance reproductive autonomy everywhere. The map examines and categorizes abortion laws in every country around the globe and is updated in real time making it an invaluable tool for the movement.

We know that restrictive laws do not eliminate the need for abortion care. Instead, they drive people to seek unsafe abortions with often fatal consequences: an estimated 39,000 people die each year from unsafe abortions. It is essential to reform restrictive abortion laws to ensure that everyone can access safe and legal abortion services and make decisions that affect their own lives and futures, free from criminalization.

Thanks to your support, the Center has worked across the globe to expand reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right. More than 60 countries have liberalized their abortion laws over the past 30 years, and only four countries—the United States, Poland, Nicaragua, and El Salvador—have regressed.

But while the global trend has been overwhelming towards the liberalization of abortion rights, there is still significant work to do. Attacks on abortion rights in the U.S. and around the world have emboldened anti-abortion activists and threaten to undermine the progress we've made in the global fight for reproductive autonomy.

We are committed to protecting and defending reproductive rights wherever and whenever they come under attack, and we're so grateful to have you with us today—and every day—as we continue this fight forward.

Onward,

Center for Reproductive Rights