
Access to family planning after an abortion is a vital part of comprehensive reproductive health care. Clinical studies have shown that fertility can rapidly return following an abortion. But access to such care has not been widely available to women in Pakistan.

Ipas’s Dr. Demeke Desta shares what it was like before the law changed—and the progress he’s seen since.

The High Court in Malawi has ruled that adolescent survivors of sexual violence have the right to access abortion services in both public and private health facilities. Previously, abortion was only legally permitted to save a pregnant person’s life.


Everyone deserves the freedom to decide whether and when to become pregnant. When people don’t have access to contraception and accurate information on family planning, they have less control over their lives and futures. But of the 923 million people in low- and middle-income countries who want to avoid pregnancy, 218 million lack access to modern contraceptive methods due to barriers like cost, limited services, misinformation, provider bias, and gender inequality.






